The great northern motoring weekend: pubs, B-roads and muddy boots

One place to stay, a drive worth taking and a walk before dinner. Start with that much and see what the weekend needs.

The first draft of a weekend away can be exhausting. Three towns before lunch, a scenic road after it, a museum if there's time and a different hotel every night. Somewhere in the middle, everyone is meant to relax.

Try taking things out. For a first motoring break in the Yorkshire Dales, we'd choose one base for two nights and let Saturday have a single main outing. You can always add something when you get there. Recovering an afternoon already spent chasing the itinerary is harder.

Hawes is a useful place to build that sort of weekend around. Its National Park Visitor Centre shares a home with the Dales Countryside Museum; there is a car park, a small picnic area and toilets. Staff can help with ideas for the town and surrounding countryside. Hawes visitor information

Arrive, unpack, stay put

On Friday, aim to arrive with enough energy to enjoy dinner. Book accommodation that suits the whole party, including anyone who finds stairs or a long walk from the car difficult. If you fancy a pub supper, check food service as well as the existence of a pub. A kitchen has its own timetable.

Once the bags are upstairs, leave them there until Sunday. Two nights in one place save a surprising amount of deciding where the phone charger has gone.

Saturday can then begin with a choice rather than a departure deadline. Pick a drive that suits the weather and the people in the car. A B-road number is no promise of a wide carriageway or an easy journey; inspect the route rather than collecting road numbers. Make the distance short enough to include getting out.

The Dales authorities publish walks with route instructions and maps, including shorter walks from their car parks. Choose one for the group's ability and the day's conditions. Keep coats and footwear handy so that a walk doesn't require dismantling the boot. Walking and parking advice

Give lunch some space

A meal can be the day's main booking. Everything else becomes easier to move around it. For an optional Hawes stop, Wensleydale Creamery has a cheese shop, places to eat and a ticketed Cheese Experience. Check its current visitor arrangements; the shop and the organised experience need different amounts of time.

You could also buy lunch and use the picnic area at the visitor centre. There is no requirement to spend every meal indoors just because the room you've booked includes a restaurant downstairs.

For the drive itself, accept that other people have places to be. Leave farm entrances and passing places clear. If the intended car park is full, use another proper parking place and change the plan. The National Park specifically warns against spilling onto verges and blocking access. A view isn't improved by knowing your car is in somebody's way.

On a wet afternoon, the museum in Hawes is an option to investigate, subject to its opening arrangements. A shorter walk and an earlier return are equally reasonable. There is no prize for reaching dinner with the wettest trousers.

Sunday needs less planning still. Have breakfast, pack once, and choose a manageable stop on the way home if there's time. Leave the complicated loop for another visit. By then, you may have found a road or a village you'd like to see properly.