Catterick Golf Club

The course sits just outside Leyburn, a proper test of golf set across rolling Yorkshire moorland. Eighteen holes wind through open fairways with enough elevation change to keep you honest - it's not a gentle jaunt, this one. The back nine especially demands decent striking; I watched more than a few golfers bite off more than they could chew on the par-4s that climb away from the clubhouse.

It's a members' club primarily, though visitors can play if they're introduced by a member or book through their reciprocal arrangements. Worth checking the website first because walk-up play isn't the deal here. The greens are well-maintained and the layout respects the landscape rather than fighting it - you're golfing within the Dales rather than against them.

Golfers will get the obvious appeal: a genuine inland course that asks questions without being punitive, and the sort of clubhouse hospitality that makes you want to linger over a pint afterwards. Non-golfers might find it a bit single-issue, but there's a nice bar if you fancy tagging along with someone who knows a member.

If you're basing yourself at Park Leisure's Yorkshire Dales holiday park just five miles away, or one of the glamping spots nearby like Eastfield, Catterick makes for a solid half-day excursion. The Wensleydale landscape around here is the real draw though - you're really coming for the walking and the stone villages, and the golf is the bonus.