Yorkshire Dales

Buttertubs Pass, north of Hawes and named after its 20m-deep limestone potholes near the top, is a must-do climb

- Rob Ainsley

The grooved valleys, sinuous rivers and panoramic passes make the verdant Yorkshire Dales one of Britain's showcase cycling regions. No wonder the 2014 Tour de France kicked off with its screenfilling scenery. (They enjoyed closed roads, but the cycle.travel website offers a very close alternative route on some of the Dales' many quiet, picturesque back lanes.) Rugged farms, robust market towns, and cyclist-friendly fireside pubs and cafes help, too.

There are at least three dozen named dales in this imposing north-western chunk of Yorkshire, just about every one a cycling joy. Candidates for the grandest include Swaledale (fjord-like in its upper reaches between Keld and Muker); Wharfedale (most cinematic, with film-set Kettlewell, Grassington, and Bolton Abbey); and Wensleydale (broad and lush, with vivacious market town Hawes, and All Creatures Great and Small's Askrigg). You'll likely have the off-radar ones to yourself: quiet Coverdale; Kingsdale with its secret caves; or Littondale and its wonderfully remote pub.