Old Hall Park

There are many excellent places nearby for a wander – it’ll take you 20 minutes or so to drive to UNESCO-listed Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden, or about 10 minutes to get to Newby Hall and Gardens, a fab family-friendly estate with a miniature railway, river boat trips and a doll’s house exhibition. Countryside ramblers will find plenty of marked trails running from Boroughbridge, including the Roman Ramble, which takes you off to the Roman site in neighbouring Aldborough, and the riverside Roecliffe Ramble. If you’d rather plonk down by the river, day fishing licences can be picked up locally. There’s also much to enjoy when poking around in the nearby towns of Harrogate and Ripon, or by heading up to York, just over half an hour’s drive away. Even more fably, should you fancy abandoning your wheels on site for a bit each of them is a cinch to get to by public transport.