The Big Apple

You'll spot it long before you reach Leyburn - a vast red apple standing sentinel over the market town like some kind of cheerful giant. The Big Apple is exactly what it says: a proper landmark that's become shorthand for the town itself, visible from miles across the Dales. It's not complicated, and it doesn't pretend to be. You stop, you photograph it, you admire the audacity of plonking something so visibly artificial into one of England's most pastoral landscapes.

There's something genuinely likeable about its simplicity. Kids find it amusing rather than educational, which is fair enough - it's a massive apple, not a museum. The real draw is the walk around it and the photo opportunities, especially if you're after proof that you've actually been to Leyburn. The views across the surrounding countryside are the main event here, honestly.

It's free to visit and takes about twenty minutes including photos, though you can spend longer if you're the type to sit on nearby benches and soak in the views. Early morning or late afternoon light makes for better photographs than midday sun. This works well as a quick stop if you're based at either Yorkshire Dales Holiday Park or Eastfield Glamping Farm - neither far away - giving you a proper look at the town before heading into the Dales proper. Worth the detour? Only if you're in the area anyway, but when you are, it's worth ten minutes of your time.