Thornton-le-Dale
One of the loveliest villages in North Yorkshire and an ideal place to visit whilst on holiday. It is located about 5 miles from Pickering on the A170. The village has a wide range of cafés, restaurants, pubs, shops and galleries. Sit by the village pond and look at the wildlife while you eat your ice cream, its very much the done thing to call at Thornton-le-Dale for your ice cream either homemade or whippy depending on you taste (highly recommended!).
The stream meanders its way through the village and provides a gentle walk which goes past a ‘Thatched Cottage’. The thatched cottage is one of the most photographed locations in the area and features on many biscuit tins and chocolate boxes.
In 1907 Thornton-le-Dale was voted the most beautiful village in Yorkshire and it still attracts many visitors, especially artists and photographers.
The boundary of the National Park loops southwards near Pickering to include Thornton-le dale in the National Park. The shops, cafés, inns, streams and forge are just some of the reasons for exploring the village. There is a car park in the grounds of a fine Tudor building which is now a residential home, with a public bar.
The church dates back to the 14th century. It contains an almsbox with three locks and a font shaped about 1200. The clock in the tower was set going in 1920 as an offering for peace after four years of war. Roxby Castle used to stand a mile or so along the road to Pickering. This was the home of the Cholmleys. Sir Richard Cholmley was known as the Great Black Knight of the North at the time of Elizabeth I and is buried in the parish church.
Other features of the village include a 600-year-old market cross and a set of stocks on the green, 12 almshouses completed in 1670 by Lady Lumley and an old grammar school founded in 1657. The only way to explore it is on foot. Follow the riverside path away from the main road and you will come to the thatched cottage, then beyond it attractive rows of cottages and town houses.