Swinton Bivouac

Stay close to your Swinton Bivouac home or flit all over North Yorkshire for historic estates, moor walks, seaside towns, gardens, gorges, Yorkshire teas and market towns. Start off at Druids Folly with a picnic and a walk into the surrounding woodland and o’er the moors, or explore some of the rivers, moorland and dales of the nearby Swinton Park estate. Masham, a market town known for its annual sheep fair and its two breweries, is about five miles to the west; hire a bike here if you’d prefer to get around by pedal. Within a half-hour walk you’ll reach the villages of Ilton, Fearby and Healey, and an eight-mile drive will bring you to the ancient cathedral city of Ripon; both Ripon Cathedral and Ripon Racecourse are hits with travellers of all types. Swinton Bivouac is between the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors national parks: you might drive yourself slightly bonkers trying to fit in one trip all the things you can do here, but if you’re pushed for time top picks are Wordsworth favourite the Aysgarth Falls; dinner on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway; a summer boat trip at Castle Howard and exploring the White Scar Caves and Stump Cross Caverns. The Stump Cross Caverns are at the town of Pateley Bridge, which has the officially most old (and maybe most tasty) sweet shop in England in its High Street; the 53 miles of the Nidderdale Way start out from Pateley Bridge too to walk off all the bonbons.