Dearcomb Hill

The walk up Dearcomb Hill pays off with proper views across the rolling moorland that stretches beyond Harrogate. It's not a monster of a climb - more of a steady trudge than a lung-buster - and the track is well-trodden enough that you won't need a map reader's degree to find your way up.

What you get at the top is genuinely worth the effort: the Nidderdale landscape spreads out below you, and on a clear day you can pick out Pateley Bridge away to the northwest. The moorland itself has that spare, windswept quality that North Yorkshire does so well - proper heather country, and you'll often have the place largely to yourself even during weekends.

This is a cracking option if you're based at one of the nearby campsites - Breaks Fold Farm Glamping is only three miles away, or Olicana Park if you want something closer to Harrogate. Most walkers allow an hour or so to get up and back down, maybe longer if you fancy sitting about admiring the view.

Families with older kids will get on fine with it. Younger ones might find the moorland a bit featureless after twenty minutes, so bring snacks and a realistic sense of how long their attention spans last on open ground. Winter and spring bring better visibility, though the wind can be properly fierce up there. It's free, obviously - it's a hill - and there's no visitor infrastructure, so sort yourself out in Harrogate first.