Sleights stretches for over a mile up the hillside from the river bridge to the top of the A169, the main road from Whitby to Pickering. The lower village, by the river and the station, is known as Briggswath on the north bank.
The village has a good range of shops, pubs and a village hall, and St John's Church stands beside the main road. Sleights Moor above the village gives wide views across the valley and towards the coast.
From Sleights station, paths follow the river downstream towards Ruswarp and upstream towards Grosmont, and lanes climb to the pretty hamlet of Littlebeck and the waterfall at Falling Foss.