Rogan's Seat

Rogan's Seat sits 1,033 metres above Richmond, commanding views across Swaledale that stretch for miles on a clear day. It's a proper fell top - nothing fancy, no café or visitor centre, just moorland and the kind of horizon that makes you understand why people walk up here in all weathers.

The walk itself takes about two hours from Richmond town centre if you're reasonably fit, climbing steadily through fields before breaking onto open moorland. It's not technical, but the gradient keeps you honest. The payoff is genuine: you can see right across the Yorkshire Dales on a good day, with Wensleydale opening up to the west.

This is walker territory, really. Kids might flag on the ascent, though the summit itself holds enough interest - there's a shelter up there and the kind of wind that makes you feel properly alive. History buffs will find plenty of traces of old lead mining in the surrounding landscape, though nothing dramatically obvious.

Free to visit, of course - it's moorland. Allow three hours return if you're not rushing, longer if you fancy poking about the summit area. Best visited in spring or autumn when the ground's firm underfoot; winter can turn it boggy and miserable. Summer works fine too, though the midges can be ruthless.

If you're based at Usha Gap Farm & Campsite just a few miles away, Rogan's Seat makes a proper half-day excursion. Park in Richmond and start from there - the town itself is worth an hour's wander beforehand.