Best Hidden Gems in North Yorkshire
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best hidden gems in North Yorkshire are Rievaulx Abbey, Yarnbury Lead Mines, Parcevall Hall Gardens, Trollers Gill, Semerwater, The Coldstones Cut, Swinner Gill and Brimham Rocks.
North Yorkshire is a county of sweeping dales, high moorland and deep river valleys, and hidden among its folds are places that many travellers never find. Beyond the well-trodden honeypots lie quiet gorges, ruined mines and gardens that reward those who go looking.
In the wooded valley of the Rye stands Rievaulx Abbey, one of the most complete monastic ruins in England, while above Grassington the ghostly remains of the Yarnbury lead mines scatter across the moor. Wharfedale hides the narrow limestone gorge of Trollers Gill and the terraced slopes of Parcevall Hall Gardens, and in Raydale the natural lake of Semerwater sits still and ancient.
Higher still, the walk-in artwork of the Coldstones Cut looks out over Nidderdale, Swinner Gill drops through old lead workings above Swaledale, and the weathered stacks of Brimham Rocks rise from the heather. Together they show a side of the county that lies just off the main routes, waiting for the curious.
Here are eight of the best hidden gems to seek out in North Yorkshire.
Rievaulx Abbey
Photo: John Baker via Geograph.org.uk
Rievaulx Abbey is the great ruin of a Cistercian monastery in a wooded valley of the River Rye near Helmsley, one of the most complete and atmospheric monastic remains in England. Founded in 1132, it grew into one of the wealthiest abbeys in the country before Henry the Eighth dissolved it in 1538.
Visitors walk among the tall, roofless walls of the church and the ranges around the cloister, with a museum of finds from the monks' lives on site, along with a cafe and shop. Cared for by English Heritage, it is a place to seek out and linger.
Yarnbury Lead Mines
Photo: Gordon Hatton via Geograph.org.uk
Yarnbury Lead Mines sit at the end of the moor road above Grassington, the usual way onto Grassington Moor, an upland scattered with the remains of centuries of lead mining. Across the moor lie the ruined Cupola smelt mill, first used in 1792 and closed in 1882, a long stone flue climbing to a surviving chimney, old dams, wheel pits and dressing floors.
A waymarked lead-mining trail with information boards leads around the site, which is a scheduled monument on open-access moorland. It rewards walkers ready to seek out the industrial past on the high fells.
Parcevall Hall Gardens
Photo: Michael Garlick via Geograph.org.uk
Parcevall Hall Gardens are ornamental gardens on a south-facing limestone hillside above the Skyreholme valley, near Appletreewick in Wharfedale. Laid out from 1927 around a 16th and 17th-century manor house, the twenty-odd acres rise through formal terraces, a rock garden, rose garden, borders and woodland walks, with pools and plantings brought from China and the Himalayas.
The hall itself is a private diocesan retreat house and is not open, but the gardens open through the season with a tearoom and parking. They make a colourful and peaceful place to seek out in the dale.
Trollers Gill
Photo: Andrew Whale via Geograph.org.uk
Trollers Gill is a narrow limestone gorge with steep walls near Appletreewick in Wharfedale, in the Yorkshire Dales. The beck that runs through it is usually dry, the water sinking underground through the limestone and only flowing on the surface after heavy rain, when the rocks turn slippery.
Walkers reach it across fields and scramble up its narrowest part, often on a circular route from Appletreewick or Skyreholme. Local legend tells of the Barguest, a spectral black dog said to haunt the gorge.
It is a wild and dramatic place to seek out on foot.
Semerwater
Photo: Bill Boaden via Geograph.org.uk
Semerwater is a small natural lake in Raydale, a side valley off Wensleydale near Bainbridge, one of only two natural lakes in the Yorkshire Dales. It formed at the end of the Ice Age when glacial debris dammed the valley, and its short outflow is the River Bain.
Large glacial boulders, including the Carlow Stone, lie along the shore, and the lake is used for sailing, canoeing and fishing, with a small car park reached by a minor road. An old legend tells of a village drowned beneath the water, while genuine Iron Age remains were found on the lakebed in 1937.
It rewards a quiet visit.
The Coldstones Cut
Photo: Michael Garlick via Geograph.org.uk
The Coldstones Cut is a walk-in hilltop artwork and viewpoint on Greenhow Hill above Pateley Bridge, in Nidderdale. A maze of ramps, passages and high platforms enclosed by great drystone walls leads up to viewing points that look out over the Yorkshire Dales on one side and straight down into a deep working limestone quarry on the other, where huge trucks look like toys far below.
Made by the sculptor Andrew Sabin and opened in 2010, it sits at over thirteen hundred feet, reached on a short but steep walk up from a car park, and is free and open all hours. It makes a striking place to seek out above Nidderdale.
Swinner Gill
Photo: Gordon Hatton via Geograph.org.uk
Swinner Gill is a deep, rocky side valley of upper Swaledale, entering the dale from the east about a mile from Keld in the Yorkshire Dales. Its beck drops through a gorge to the Swale, with a waterfall where East Grain comes in higher up, and the ruins of old lead mines and a small smelt mill lie in and around the gill.
On the hillside above stand the ruins of Crackpot Hall, a Georgian farmhouse lived in until the 1920s. Circular walks reach it from Keld, near where the Pennine Way and the Coast to Coast cross, so it is worth seeking out on foot.
Brimham Rocks
Photo: SMJ via Geograph.org.uk
Brimham Rocks is a spread of weathered gritstone outcrops on high moorland above Nidderdale, between Summerbridge and Pateley Bridge. Long weathering has shaped the rock into balancing blocks and mushroom and animal forms, given names like the Idol and the Dancing Bear, rising from the heather.
It is National Trust land, popular for walking among the formations and for bouldering and climbing, with a car park, kiosk and visitor centre. The shapes are the work of nature, not the Druids of old legend.
It is a fine place to seek out for young and old alike.
FAQs
Where can you find the best hidden gems in North Yorkshire?
They are spread across the dales and moors, from Rievaulx Abbey near Helmsley to Brimham Rocks above Nidderdale and Semerwater in Raydale. Wharfedale alone holds Trollers Gill, Parcevall Hall Gardens and the Yarnbury lead mines. Each lies just off the main tourist routes.
Are these North Yorkshire hidden gems free to visit?
Several are, including the Yarnbury lead mines on open-access moorland and the Coldstones Cut, which is free and open all hours. Rievaulx Abbey and Brimham Rocks are cared for by English Heritage and the National Trust, and Parcevall Hall Gardens open through the season, so charges may apply.
Do you need to walk far to reach them?
Many involve a walk, sometimes a steep or rough one. The Coldstones Cut is reached on a short but steep climb, while Trollers Gill and Swinner Gill lie on longer circular routes over fields and fells, so sturdy footwear is wise.
Conclusion
From the soaring ruins of Rievaulx to the balancing stones of Brimham Rocks, North Yorkshire holds a generous range of quiet places for the traveller willing to wander. The dales hide gorges, waterfalls and old lead workings, natural lakes and terraced gardens, along with a hilltop artwork that frames the landscape in stone.
Some are free and open at all hours, others open only through the season or ask for a scramble across rough ground, but each offers a genuine sense of discovery away from the busier spots. Lace up sturdy boots, check the weather on the high moors, and set out to find them at your own pace.
Whether your taste runs to history, wild scenery or a peaceful garden, these are the best hidden gems to seek out in North Yorkshire.
