Helmsley

NORTH YORKSHIRE

Famed for their wild beauty, the North York Moors formed the backdrop of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s children’s book The Secret Garden. With countryside views, the market town of Helmsley features heavily in the film adaptation out this month and is the perfect base to explore the area.

WHAT TO DO Begin with a stroll around Helmsley’s five-acre Walled Garden – one of a number of local locations in the film (helmsleywalledgarden.org.uk). Created in 1758 to grow fruit and vegetables for a nearby stately home, it now provides ‘horticultural therapy’, helping people improve their physical and mental health through gardening. On screen, Duncombe Park stood in as Misselthwaite Manor and, while the house is closed to the public, its grounds are open from mid-april (duncombepark.com). Other landmarks in the film include Helmsley Castle, a medieval fortress open all year round (english-heritage.org.uk). Just over ten miles away, the valley of Farndale on the North York Moors was the setting for many of the movie’s more brooding scenes and offers ample opportunity for walkers. Back in Helmsley, watch owls and eagles soar at the National Centre for Birds of Prey (ncbp.co.uk) or walk through bluebell woods to Rievaulx Abbey – once a Cistercian monastery (english-heritage.org.uk).

WHERE TO STAY The Pheasant Hotel in nearby Harome has been through many permutations, but its most recent is as an award-winning 16-room guesthouse and restaurant. Set around a courtyard of fruit trees, which will be full of blossom in April, it also overlooks the village’s picturesque duck pond (thepheasanthotel.com).