Why Yorkshire is the coolest region in England

Rural Yorkshire has long been loved for its sweeping natural beauty and captivating local architecture. Those sprawling moorlands and stone-built manors will be showcased afresh on the big screen in February 2026 with the release of Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights. Yorkshire’s aesthetic riches have earned it the nickname “God’s Own County”, offering “exceptional homes amid timelessly beautiful scenery”, says Ed Stoyle, head of Savills residential sales for Yorkshire. 

The hotly anticipated new movie from the director of Saltburn is based on Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel and stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Cathy and Heathcliff. Filming locations included the epically scenic valleys of Swaledale and the time-capsule village of Low Row, longtime favourites with clients, according to Stoyle. 

Yorkshire hospitality is front and centre at many of the county’s new breed of high-end hotels. Fennell, Robbie and Elordi stayed at Simonstone Hall in Hawes during filming. This country-house venue has a seasonally focused fine dining restaurant called Tine and was named by The Times as one of its “100 best places to stay in the UK” for 2025. “Luxury hotels are very successful in Yorkshire,” says Stoyle. “Grantley Hall in Ripon is another that has done extremely well. It’s popular as a spa destination and a wedding venue.” 

In Low Row itself, The Punch Bowl is an atmospheric 17th-century inn, well regarded for its restaurant and – a constant theme here – its expansive vistas of the dales.

“The food and drink offering at quality pubs and restaurants in Yorkshire is fantastic,” says Stoyle. “I think our area has more excellent places to eat than many other parts of England.” 

Among the new crop of innovative restaurants receiving accolades are sustainability-focused establishments set in lovingly preserved historic buildings, where the region’s rich agricultural heritage comes into its own. Mýse sources hyper-local ingredients and received a Michelin star within a year of opening in 2023, while the eco-conscious Forge at Middleton Lodge, where head chef Jake Jones has been shaping the menu for two years, picked up its first Michelin star in 2025. 

The Abbey Inn in Byland, which opened in its current guise in 2023, is one to watch: a relaxed pub and restaurant in a 19th-century building, owned by the celebrated chef Tommy Banks. A regenerative farming advocate, he previously reinvigorated The Black Swan in Oldstead to widespread acclaim, winning a Michelin star in the process. 

While the Brontës remain towering figures in the region’s cultural heritage, the Yorkshire countryside also has a stellar contemporary art pedigree. “Yorkshire offers a wealth of world-class art,” says Kevin Rodd, interim director of Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the pioneering arts venue that opened in the grounds of Bretton Hall, near Wakefield, in 1977. “This is a unique place where sculpture and nature meet across breathtaking vistas and indoor galleries. 

“Many of our exhibitions simply couldn’t exist anywhere else. The beautiful landscape, changing seasons and Yorkshire light all come together to impact how visitors experience nearly 100 sculptures across 500 acres.” 

There are whispers of significant new arts venues opening in rural Yorkshire in the coming months and years, and Bradford, the UK’s City of Culture 2025, is hosting a David Hockney exhibition at Salts Mill, Saltaire, that runs until January 2026.

It’s not just new buyers who are heading to Yorkshire, though stylish incomers include the founder of Orlebar Brown, Adam Brown, and his husband, Tom Konig, who have restored a beautiful sandstone farmhouse in Sleightholme Dale. There is significant movement within its borders, too. Once here, residents find it hard to leave. “Those in rural locations who are looking to downsize will often stay in Yorkshire, but consider a move into Harrogate, for example,” says Stoyle. In his experience, “people moving to the county tend to have connections to the area, such as family or family history”. Property owners with local links include ex-Burberry designer Christopher Bailey and national treasure Alan Bennett.

One thing that rural Yorkshire has in common with other UK beauty spots is an increase in potential buyers who are keen to work from home. “Since the pandemic, Yorkshire has seen more interest from people who are working remotely or hybrid,” says Stoyle.

“They might no longer need to travel into London so regularly, and that has opened up where they can live.” 

The county is attracting a new kind of audience with its particular brand of culture and hospitality – and, as Stoyle says, “there are plenty of large homes for those in the market for them, in glorious scenery”. 

ED STOYLE, HEAD OF SAVILLS RESIDENTIAL SALES, YORKSHIRE edward.stoyle@savills.com