Northallerton 

This bustling market town is North Yorkshire’s capital and administrative centre, and is a popular base for exploring the Dales, the North York Moors, and the Teesside region. Town life centres on the wide High Street, where the markets take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Northallerton was a one-time staging post on the London to Edinburgh route and thanks to this heritage the good townsfolk have over thirty inns and pubs around the town to choose from. The Golden Lion on the High Street retains the feel of an 18th century coaching inn, while the Fleece by the market cross dates in part from the Middle Ages.

If quaint tearooms are more your thing than ancient alehouses, head for Betty’s Café on the High Street. No one is entirely sure who Betty was but a select chain of cafes honour her, the other three being in York, Harrogate and Ilkley.