Margot's Sunflowers at Winley Hill

A field of sunflowers sounds twee until you're actually standing in it. Margot's Sunflowers, sprawled across Winley Hill just outside Northallerton, is the real deal - acres of the things turning their faces skyward, creating one of those views that makes you understand why people bother with Instagram. The flowers are at their peak in late summer, usually July through September, though timing varies with the weather.

There's not much to it beyond walking through the field and taking photographs, but that's rather the point. Families with young kids will get an hour's entertainment easily enough, particularly if you make a game of spotting insects or counting petals. Walkers treating it as a pit stop on a longer route around the Northallerton area find it adds character to an otherwise fairly ordinary stretch of countryside. The hill itself offers views across North Yorkshire that justify the mild climb.

Details on access and any admission charges are thin on the ground - your best bet is to ring ahead or check local tourism information for Northallerton before heading out. If you're staying at Whorlton Pods nearby, it's barely five miles away and worth dropping in on a decent afternoon. Go midweek if you can; weekends draw the usual social media crowd, which somewhat diminishes the experience of standing quietly in a field of flowers.

Not a destination that'll keep you occupied all day, but as a detour during a park holiday in the region, it's well worth twenty minutes of your time.