Cray Tarn

The walk up to Cray Tarn takes you through proper moorland, the sort of landscape that makes you remember why you came to Yorkshire in the first place. It's not a massive water body - more a moody upland pool than a grand lake - but that's rather the point. The reflection of the surrounding fells on a still day is genuinely lovely, and the walk itself is the real draw here.

You're looking at roughly an hour and a half to get up from Leyburn way, depending on your pace and which route you take. The terrain is straightforward enough - moorland paths, nothing treacherous - but it does climb, so decent boots matter. Spring and early summer are your best bet, when the light's good and you're not fighting through bog. Midwinter mist can actually be atmospheric if you're into that sort of thing, though visibility goes to pot.

Families with older kids will get on fine here; younger ones might struggle with the distance. It's free, obviously, being a natural tarn. What you won't find is facilities - no café, no visitor centre, just water and sky and the sort of quiet that makes you want to sit down for twenty minutes.

If you're camping at Stablefell Holidays or Cherish Glamping nearby, this is a proper morning excursion that doesn't require a car journey. Combine it with a wander round Leyburn's market town streets and you've got a solid day. Worth the walk if you like fell scenery without crowds.