Friendly villages in North Yorkshire with good walking trails

[ThisBusyHiker]

Hi all. DH and I looking to move so he has less of a commute - he's based in Darlington and I work remotely with monthly trip to London. We really love York, but ideally we'd like a a village as we both grew up pretty rural and need nature around us, and want to bring up kids this way, but it'd be good to have some community things going on/local shop/yoga if lucky. We're also big hikers and get out when we can. Any recommendations up to 45 mins around Darlo? We're keen to find/be a part of a community which is welcoming.
We really like the look of Osmotherley, seems there's a bit going on and great for walks - does anyone know it well/can recommend?
Any other recommendations welcome. Cheers :)

A19 is horrific. Constant crashes, roadworks and it gets incredibly grid locked at peak hours ie 7.30-9.30am and 4-6pm

Great Ayton is an absolute nightmare to get to Darlington (I grew up there)

Crathorne or Hutton Rudby would be better bets, Crathorne has much fewer amenities than HR. Might also be worth looking at Hurworth and Piercebridge for 15 min commutes and under an hour drive to the Lake District, or Kirklevington if happy a touch further away.

Piercebridge looks lovely 🙏

Darlington is (like many places) a town of two uneven halves.

There’s a lot of deprivation and house prices will reflect differences in area, with some bits really having a lot of problems.

The so-called “West End” is on the other hand fairly prosperous and leafy, with good schools, parks and some lovely housing stock, broadly within walking distance of the town centre. The caveat is that there is a lot of new builds going up, which longer term might put pressure on schools/infrastructure.

The town centre itself has lost most of the big names and is now well served with vape shops, nail bars and so on - but there is also a lot of fairly well established little independent businesses, so again, a mixed picture.

If you felt comfortable sharing budget, I’d be happy to give you some examples?

Thank you for that. DH has said mostly the same - he knows it fairly well but I haven't been yet. I understand there is a real divide as you are saying. We could go to 400k (and have seen some incredible houses around that mark!) but if we decided to move there it would be to have more financial flexibility (we are TTC and I would likely have to reduce hours to very little/not work as no family support nearby). So we'd probably look for much less - seen some nice houses in the Denes (?) area for 180ish (!) but yes would depend on area etc.

Hurworth, Neasham, Croft, Barton, Middleton Tyas? All fantastic villages near Darlo - accessible for anywhere you would need to go & the facilities & train station of Darlington nearby. I grew up in Hurworth & we spent our weekends walking in the Dales or the North York Moors. Lovely countryside to hand around the villages as well.

I think you’d have lots of (nice) choice, but definitely come and have a look :-)

Be mindful if looking at villages that those without primaries (inc piercebridge) are really being squeezed for school places by the new builds around the edges of town. You’ll have more childcare options in bigger places too, obviously.

Gainford and Staindrop are my last two suggestions - big villages between Darlington and Barnard castle that have primaries (and Staindrop has a secondary too). Very old and pretty but with a mix of housing stock and still fairly real/not too chocolate box-y

My word! 😂
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/168378551#/?channel=RES_BUY

Thank you so much, you've been so helpful. I imagine living more central and getting to know the surrounding villages in time might be sensible. Time to do some exploring!

That is definitely not a typical Hurworth house 😂😂😂

Hah, I thought perhaps not 😂 quirky!

The small (tiny as in much smaller than the town of Darlington) city of Ripon. Easy A1 access and 40 minutes to Darlington but also easy access to the Dales, river walks within the city, Studley Royal Deer Park (Fountains Abbey).

Regular (half hourly) bus to Harrogate and to Leeds.

Most places within the city accessible on foot.
Lots of indie shops, cafe, restaurants and bars. Plenty of community activities and groups. Leisure centre, tennis club, amdram, etc.

Selective education with Ripon Grammar having the 11+. Really well regarded school.

I moved here after growing up in Darlington and living in surrounding villages.

Www.visitripon.co.uk

Great Ayton is lovely.

Also Hutton Rudby. Lovely large village, quick access to A19, primary school, three pubs, doctors, shop and petrol station. Thriving village community.
Less than 30 mins drive to Darlington, 15 minutes to Northallerton which has direct train link to London.

Ripon is nice but it’s quite a long way from a train station.

A 15 minute drive to Thirsk train station, with trains to Kings Cross, main East Coast line and Trans Pennine to Manchester/Manchester Airport.

Large car park at the station.

Barnard Castle is brilliant - such easy access to beautiful walks, lovely bustling high street with plenty of independents and only 40 minutes to Darlington.

I’m surprised no one has suggested Swaledale yet. If you want rural and enjoy hill walking, take a look at Reeth or some of the villages further up the dale!