Large Holiday Cottages in Yorkshire

Large holiday cottages Yorkshire: which dale or coast suits your group?

Most of our big cottages sit in the Yorkshire Dales, the southern dales above all. The rest are spread through Nidderdale, along the North Yorkshire coast and out on the flat farmland south-east of York. Decide together whether your large group wants fells and a country inn or crabbing and fish and chips, then pick a valley.

Skipton, Malhamdale and Wharfedale

We have 21 big cottages around Skipton, more than anywhere else in North Yorkshire. It's a busy market town with a canal basin and trains to Leeds, so it's an easy base for a group arriving from several cities, and Bolton Abbey's riverside paths are 15 minutes east. On an estate just west of town, Eden House is a stylish 17th-century barn for 11 with a wood burner.

About 20 minutes north-west, Hanlith Hall is a luxury house for 19 in nine bedrooms that has the lot: somewhere to swim, a hot tub, a sauna and a games room, and four-legged guests are welcome. Malham Cove's limestone cliff is just up the valley. Further up Wharfedale there are 5 big homes around Grassington and three in Kettlewell, where Dale House, a spacious Victorian former hotel, sleeps 18 in eight bedrooms and Littondale takes 14. Clifford House Farm, a traditional farmhouse for 11 at Buckden, has walks straight from the door.

• Best for: walkers, three-generation families and friends who want a pint they can stroll back from
• Good to know: lanes are narrow, so check how many cars each cottage can park

Wensleydale, Swaledale and Richmond

The northern dales are quieter and greener, with waterfalls, farm tracks and drystone walls climbing every hillside. There are 9 big cottages around Leyburn, including Glebe House, a spacious place for 13 with a games room and a tub outside, and Fieldside, a pet friendly barn conversion for 12. Fieldmere Farmhouse sleeps 10 with an enclosed garden. Hawes, at the head of the valley, has the Wensleydale Creamery, and Aysgarth Falls is halfway down.

Over the hill in Swaledale, Hackney House in Reeth takes 13, and Scarr House Farm near Muker sleeps 12 in six bedrooms with stunning views over hay meadows that flower in June and July. Our most unusual stay is St. Michael's Lodge, a converted church near Richmond that sleeps 17 under a vaulted ceiling, full of character.

• Best for: a relaxing family holiday with cheese, waterfalls and very little traffic
• Good to know: Leyburn is the main market town for both valleys, so stock up there before heading higher

Nidderdale and How Stean Gorge

Want something a bit wilder? Nidderdale, just east of the national park in North Yorkshire, has 4 big homes near Pateley Bridge and three lodges right by How Stean Gorge. Each of those sleeps 10, with a private tub, a wood burner and room for pets. The gorge runs caving, canyoning and a via ferrata for groups, or you can follow the paths along the ravine. Ripon, Harrogate and the ruins of Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal are all within an hour's drive.

• Best for: a stag do or a group getaway with adrenaline in the day and bubbles at night

Ingleton, Barnard Castle and Teesdale

Out west, Warth Barn near Ingleton sleeps 10 a short drive from the waterfalls trail and the road up through Chapel-le-Dale to the Ribblehead Viaduct. Just over the North Yorkshire border, there are 3 big houses around Barnard Castle, with High Force and the Bowes Museum for days out. It's a sensible halfway point if half your group is driving down from the North East.

The Yorkshire coast and the North York Moors

Only five of our properties sit near a beach, so book early for summer. In Staithes, a fishing village tucked into the cliffs north of Whitby on the edge of the North York Moors, Captain's Quarters at Keel Lodges sleeps 12 in five bedrooms, has moorland views and is pet friendly. Whitby Abbey and the harbour are a short drive south, and Rievaulx Abbey is about an hour inland across the moors. Further down the coast past Scarborough and its two bays, a bungalow in Filey sleeps 9 under a mile from the sand, and there are 3 more around Bridlington.

Our biggest holiday home of all is in East Yorkshire. Carlton Manor sleeps 22 in 11 bedrooms, about six miles from the beach at Hornsea and handy for The Deep aquarium in Hull.

• Best for: families with buckets and crabbing lines, and cycling or walking on the Cleveland Way
• Good to know: Scarborough has the biggest supermarkets on this stretch

A base for York

For a city weekend with a luxury retreat to come back to, Woodland Lodge, out on the flat farmland between Selby and Howden in East Yorkshire, sleeps 14 in seven bedrooms, with a hot tub, an outdoor kitchen and over an acre of countryside around it. York is about 40 minutes away, with the Minster, the Shambles and Jorvik for the day and plenty of restaurants for the night. It doesn't take pets.

The biggest houses in Yorkshire, side by side

Fifteen of our cottages in Yorkshire sleep 12 or more and five sleep 16 or more. Each large Yorkshire cottage below is booked as a whole, so it's yours alone for the week.

Hot tubs and games rooms

Eighteen of our cottages in Yorkshire have a hot tub, nine have a games room and two have a swimming pool, both in the southern dales. Most of the tubs are in the Dales, so you can soak with a view of the fells after a long day out. See every group cottage with a hot tub if that's top of your list, or browse our holiday cottages for 12 for the full UK range.

Bringing the dog

Sixty-two of the 82 cottages are dog friendly, so the family pet rarely has to miss a Yorkshire holiday cottage break. On open access land in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, dogs must be on a short lead from 1 March to 31 July and near livestock all year, so pack the lead for lambing time, or browse more dog-friendly group cottages across the UK.

Which part of Yorkshire suits your group?

• Twenty or more under one roof: Carlton Manor in East Yorkshire, the only house here for 22
• A milestone birthday or celebration with a swim: Utopia House, or the Malhamdale house above
• Serious walkers: Upper Wharfedale or Swaledale, straight onto the fells from the door
• Thrill seekers: the lodges at How Stean Gorge
• A family seaside holiday: Staithes or Filey, with Whitby and Scarborough close by
• A hen weekend or a stylish city break: Woodland Lodge, with York for the night out

Getting there and when to go

By train and by car

Trains from Leeds reach Skipton in about 45 minutes, and the Settle-Carlisle railway carries on through Settle and over the Ribblehead Viaduct. For the coast, trains run from York to Scarborough. Most Dales hamlets have no station, so you'll need cars or a taxi for the last stretch.

• Check how many cars each property takes before everyone drives up separately
• Do one big supermarket shop in Skipton, Northallerton or Ripon on the way in, so everyone can eat together on the first night
• Book taxis back from the pub ahead on Saturday nights, as there are very few in North Yorkshire's dales

The best time to go

Spring brings lambs and quieter lanes, and summer fills the coast and the honeypot villages, so book early for August. Autumn is the pick for walkers, and a winter week by the fire after a day on the fells is hard to beat. Prices for large holiday cottages Yorkshire wide start from around £64 a night, with the middle of the range about £139. Heading west instead? Compare our big group houses in Cumbria and the Lake District, Northumberland and the rest of our UK destinations guide, or start from our big group cottages across the UK.