Goathland

Goathland lies in a side valley a few miles south of the Esk, spread around wide greens where the moorland sheep wander freely. It became famous as Aidensfield in the television series Heartbeat, and its North Yorkshire Moors Railway station played Hogsmeade in the first Harry Potter film.

The village has pubs, tea rooms, shops, a hotel and the church of St Mary. On the western edge, a path drops steeply through the woods to Mallyan Spout, a 70-foot waterfall on West Beck and the best-known waterfall in the national park.

Goathland is the start of the Rail Trail, an easy 3.5-mile walk along the trackbed of Stephenson's original 1836 railway to Grosmont via the hamlet of Beck Hole, with its tiny pub and quoits pitch. Take the steam train back.

In January the Goathland Plough Stots, a traditional long-sword dance team, tour the village on the Saturday after Plough Monday, a custom revived in 1923.

Goathland is not on the Esk Valley line; reach it by North Yorkshire Moors Railway from Grosmont or Pickering, or by the Coastliner bus.