Helmsley for Christmas Shopping

Helmsley, just a few miles from Rosella Cottage in Rosedale Abbey, is one of the most beautiful market towns in North Yorkshire.

If not in the whole-wide World for that matter! 

You'll discover pretty streets of creamy sandstone cottages and Grand Georgian townhouses clustered around a traditional market square.

Helmsley Market Square.

And all with a backdrop of the scenic Howardian Hills just to the South and the stunning North York Moors on the doorstep to the North.

Helmsley has long been known as a thriving market town and a bit of a foodies Mecca, and great for Christmas shopping.

It's jam-packed with exquisite tea-rooms, lovely cafés, great pubs, and traditional delicatessans.

There are also lots of independent retailers and galleries which are worth a look before building up an appetite for lunch.  

And sitting just outside Helmsley are two World-class destinations which any holiday-maker to North Yorkshire must see.

I'm talking, of course, about Castle Howard just over 10 miles south of Helmsley, and Rievaulx Abbey about 8-miles to the North. 

Castle Howard was the setting for the TV depiction of Evelyn Waugh's classic "Brideshead Revisited" - the English tale of forbidden love and loss of innocence in pre-war England.

Castle Howard provided the perfect backdrop in the film and famous TV mini-series of Waugh's book. 

Rievaulx Abbey is Simply Majestic.

Rievaulx Abbey and Terrace are simply breath-taking and magical places.

It's hard to describe the unique quality of the runied-Abbey...but make a visit and see for yourself.