Rough Hill

The walk up Rough Hill delivers proper Yorkshire Dales scenery without the crowds you'd find on some of the bigger peaks. It's not a dramatic summit - you're looking at moorland views rather than alpine drama - but that's rather the point. The hill sits just a few miles outside Ripon, making it an easy escape if you're based at one of the nearby holiday parks like Ribblesdale Pods or Howgill Lodge.

This is a straightforward fell walk, best tackled by anyone with a decent pair of boots and a bit of stamina. The terrain's mostly open moorland, so you won't struggle with technical scrambling, though the weather can change fast up here. Allow a couple of hours for a round trip from the nearest parking, depending on your pace and how long you linger at the top. Families with older kids will get on fine; younger ones might find the moorland a bit featureless for their taste.

The real appeal is how it fits into a broader walking holiday in the area. You've got Bolton Abbey Estate Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite just down the road at five miles, which puts you within striking distance of Wharfedale's better-known trails. Rough Hill works as a quieter alternative when you want to avoid the honeypot sites. On a clear day the views sweep across the Dales - not mountain-spine dramatic, but genuinely lovely. It's the kind of walk where you'll actually see other walkers, unlike some of the rougher edges nearby, and the moorland has a honest, undressed quality that feels properly Yorkshire.