The Private Hill

Tours are often available around this working farm, allowing you to meet and greet the site's rare breed pigs and fluffy alpacas. Eager to explore the surrounds as well as the site? Bring a mountain bike – or just a good pair of walking boots – and head off into the lanes and footpaths that crisscross the surrounding area. For trips to towns, Pocklington (20 minutes’ drive), Pickering (half an hour) and Helmsley (45 minutes) are within easy reach for weekly markets, walks and architecture, while the mighty city of York is 35 minutes away if you fancy browsing the boutiques in its atmospheric Shambles, discovering Yorkshire's Viking past or a close-up look at the stained-glass window of the city's spectacular minster.