Brompton

Brompton-by-Sawdon sits on the A170 about eight miles west of Scarborough, strung along the road where the Vale of Pickering meets the rising ground of the North York Moors. It is a small, unhurried place of stone cottages and wide grass verges, the kind of village travellers pass through on their way to Dalby Forest or the coast without realising quite how much history is tucked behind its hedgerows.

The village has been home to the Cayley family since medieval times, and it was here that Sir George Cayley, the engineer now regarded as the father of aeronautics, worked out many of the principles of manned flight in the early 19th century. A sign at the village boundary still declares Brompton 'The Birthplace of Aviation', and Cayley is buried in the churchyard of All Saints' Church, the handsome Norman and medieval building at the heart of the village. The same church has a literary claim to fame: William Wordsworth married Mary Hutchinson here on 4 October 1802, and the wedding certificate is still displayed inside.

Top things to do in Brompton

Brompton itself is compact, but it makes a good, quiet base for exploring the surrounding moors, forest and coast.

• All Saints' Church — the parish church where Wordsworth married and Cayley is buried, with monuments to the Cayley family and a display on the village's aviation history.
• Dalby Forest — a large Forestry England site a short drive north, with waymarked walking and mountain-biking trails, a Go Ape course and the Dalby Forest Drive toll road running through it.
• Low Hall and Brompton Hall — Low Hall is a Grade II-listed 17th-century manor house off Barnard Lane; Brompton Hall, a Georgian building that once belonged to the Cayley estate, now serves as a special school and is not open to visitors but is an attractive landmark from the road.
• Scarborough — eight miles east along the A170, with its two beaches, castle headland and seafront amusements, easily reached for a day out.
• Pickering and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway — a short drive west, Pickering is the southern terminus of the steam heritage railway running up to Grosmont and Whitby.

Getting to Brompton

Brompton lies directly on the A170, the main road linking Thirsk and the A19 to Scarborough via Pickering, so it is straightforward to reach by car. The village has no railway station of its own; the nearest mainline stations are at Scarborough and Malton, both roughly a twenty-minute drive away, with regular services to York and beyond. Local buses running along the A170 between Scarborough and Pickering stop in the village, though services are infrequent and a car is the most practical way to explore the surrounding area.

Best time to visit Brompton

Late spring through early autumn suits Brompton best, when Dalby Forest's trails are dry underfoot and the Vale of Pickering's farmland is at its greenest. Summer brings the longest days for exploring the moors and coast, while autumn colours the forest and the surrounding hedgerows. Winters are quiet and can be damp, but the village and its church make an atmospheric stop on a crisp, cold day, and log fires in nearby pubs are a welcome reward after a walk.

Where to stay in Brompton

Brompton itself has relatively little visitor accommodation, so most people base themselves in Scarborough, Pickering or one of the surrounding villages and treat Brompton as a stopping point on the way to Dalby Forest or the coast. Bed and breakfasts and self-catering cottages are dotted through the nearby villages of the Vale of Pickering, and camping and glamping sites take advantage of the proximity to the moors.

Food and drink in Brompton

The village's historic pub, the Cayley Arms — a 19th-century coaching inn on the High Street, said to have been built by Sir George Cayley himself — closed permanently some years ago, so options in the village itself are limited. Visitors are better served in nearby Pickering and Scarborough, both a short drive away, which offer a full range of pubs, cafes and restaurants, or at Dalby Forest's visitor centre, which has a café for walkers and cyclists.