Yorkshire Wolds cottages

With carefully manicured gardens, peaceful duck ponds and picture postcard cottages, Yorkshire’s Wolds seem to hark back to times gone-by; its bucolic countryside and quintessentially English villages mean this is an area largely unspoilt by the modern world. Drive around here (even in the summer) you’re likely to go miles without seeing a single soul, just the peaceful chatter of birdsong and the gentle, rolling landscape providing the perfect setting for country walks and blissful picnics. It’s certainly easy to see why this rural landscape has charmed countless artists and poets, most notably David Hockney. You can see where the Wold’s rolling hills and pleasant valleys meet expansive rapeseed fields and sheep-grazed farmland in many of his famous works, 

Landscapes like this are made for bike rides. Explore undulating hills, green pastures and woodland. Cycle to the top of Garrowby Hill (the highest point in the Wolds) or enjoy gentler slopes, this really is a haven for cyclists or walkers. The 79 mile hike on the Wolds National Trail (which stretches from the Humber all the way to Filey Brigg on the coast) is a feat for even the most experienced adventurer. Put your best walking shoes on to tackle this in a couple of days, or spread the route out over a week to stop and appreciate the views.

In the Wold’s towns and villages, you’ll find the same famous Yorkshire hospitality found in the Moors and Dales in its inviting pubs and local shops, and you’ll soon adapt to the gentler pace of life to be found here. The Wold’s unspoilt market towns such as Pocklington and Beverley rival any to be found in Yorkshire’s more famous areas. Beverley can almost be seen as a ‘mini York’, with its own Minster, quirky side-streets and popular racecourse. Head over to Market Weighton, to discover the home of the ‘Yorkshire Giant’ William Bradley, who as 7ft 9 inches wall was (and still is) the tallest Englishman on record. The second highest village in the Yorkshire Wolds is Huggate. Visit here for chocolate-box pretty cottages, a 14th century tower, a spire that overshadows many others in the area and England’s deepest well at 108 cm deep- it’s thought it took over 15 minutes to hoist the water up! This lack of easily accessible water is thought to be reason for many of the Wold’s distinguishing traits. Here the gentle streams seem to snake and disappear in the landscape, giving them a magical quality that entranced many settlers before us. Explore the Great Wold Valley and you’ll discover the Neothlithic monuments and burial mounds put here centuries ago at Duggleby Howe, Willy Howe and the great Rudston monolith. With water so precious, and the streams so unpredictable, this became an important area for worship. 

You’ll find history all over the Wolds. The lost medieval village of Wharram Percy, where only the historic church remains, provides a fascinating location to explore. This once bustling village was largely wiped out by the Black Death in the 14th century. Palatial country houses are also abundant here, where elegant architecture and impressive gardens signal the incredible riches of their previous inhabitants. Visit Burton Agnes Hall for ghostly tales, Elizabethan architecture and an enthralling maze or try Burnby Hall near Pocklington where you’ll find the national collection of waterlilies and the acclaimed Stewart Museum. The Yorkshire Wolds also stretches across to Yorkshire’s coastline and here you’ll find dramatic chalk cliffs (to rival any of Dover’s!) which are home to an impressive variety of seabirds and wildlife. The best way to admire them is by boat or by heading over to the Bempton Cliffs reserve to see puffins, guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes nesting within the stark white cliffs.

A cottage in the Yorkshire Wolds is certainly the perfect place for a relaxing break, with stunning countryside to explore on bike, by car or by foot. Take a look below at our Yorkshire Wolds cottages today to discover one of the UK’s best kept secrets for yourself.