Have you ever wondered what life is like in one of North Yorkshire’s most idyllic villages?

West Burton is a ‘dream’ for anyone hoping for a peaceful slice of life away from the hustle and bustle of the big local towns, and is just over an hour’s drive from the center of Middlesbrough. The sleepy village is popular with tourists and hikers, popping into West Burton for a trip to the local pub or tearoom, and West Burton even has its own scenic waterfall.

Megan Banner of Yorkshire Live says she has always dreamed of living in rural North Yorkshire, so she traveled to West Burton to find out what life in the quiet village could be like. Here’s what Megan thought of her time at West Burton.

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Rural North Yorkshire is exactly what I picture when I picture my dream life. Its idyllic villages built of Yorkshire stone cottages and farmhouses, in the quiet peace of the Dales, and that’s exactly what West Burton was when I got there.

Basking in the spring sunshine, West Burton was exactly my idea of ​​a dream, the sleepy village was beautiful and even boasted its own waterfall. I couldn’t help but imagine what life would be like here.

West Burton is beautiful, the definition of tranquility, the only noise was dogs barking in the distance, birds chirping and trees rustling in the breeze from the hills of the Dales. The fact that there was no phone signal added to the tranquility here.

Spring had definitely arrived, the manicured green was blooming with daffodils. The trees had blossomed and the hills of the valleys looked picturesque in the spring sunshine – thriving with sheep adding to the mood.

The village itself had a pub, where many hikers sat outside enjoying their lunch, a butcher – which was busy, a strangely closed shop and tea room, a park and a church. In my opinion it was all you would need to live in rural North Yorkshire.

During my visit, I chatted with people who agreed with me about its beauty. A family, who were staying in the nearby village of Aysgarth, were visiting for the day, they said: ‘Unfortunately we don’t live here but would love to too, it’s absolutely beautiful.

“We are staying in Aysgarth just down the road but, we have been here several times, [pointing at West Burton tucked into the Dales] look at it, it’s beautiful.

“The waterfall is our favorite, it is absolutely stunning.”

I walked to the waterfall at the bottom of the village and wow, I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was – when I say I could have sat there all day, I really meant it. I can’t imagine how beautiful it would be in the summer sun with people paddling the waterfall and stream below.

There seemed to be quite a few vacation rentals in the village, especially near the waterfall – I imagine it gets busy in the summer with hikers and day trippers on the weekends.

One person who worked in the local butchers said: ‘I’ve lived here all my life and don’t plan on going anywhere so it can’t be bad can it. There are a lot of tourists, there are a lot of holiday homes.

“There were a lot of BnBs 20 years ago but not so many now except the pub – this week [Easter] is the busiest of the year for me, except Christmas. But yeah, my job is here now, so I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

The pub was booming with hikers and tourists sitting outside in the sun having lunch. From the top of the village you can see all of West Burton and the hills of the valleys in the background – this creates a stunning backdrop in all directions.

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