Every year, people want to create as many festive memories as possible in North Yorkshire, from visiting dozens of Christmas markets to dazzling light trails.

If you’re looking for a night or two away to soak in the seasonal spirit then you’re in luck, as Malton has been named as one of the best places in the UK for a festive getaway by The Guardian.

The publisher said: “Between the rolling chalk hills of the Yorkshire Wolds and the wild North York Moors, the market town of Malton has a curiously seasonal claim to fame.

“In the 19th century, Charles Dickens regularly visited his friend, solicitor Charles Smithson, who had his offices on Malton’s Chancery Lane, which the writer used as the model for Scrooge’s counting room in A Christmas Carol.

@visitmalton Malton Christmas Festival 2022 🎄 Did you visit us today and support our wonderful, local businesses? If not, there’s one day left and we hope to see you and your loved ones there ❤️ #VisitMalton #Malton #NorthYorkshire #LocalFood #DiscoverYorkshire #ChristmasFestival #ChristmasMarket #FoodMarket #FoodCapital #SupportSmallBusinesses ♬ It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas - Michael Bublé

“It’s a connection that the Be Amazing Arts company runs with in its immersive theatre performance of the Christmas Ghost Story (5-24 Dec), following an actor playing Dickens around town as he recounts his tale.

"Tickets (£33.75) include canapes from the Cooks Place, and a warm winter drink to toast to Christmas Future.”

Map of UK’s best festive getaways according to The Guardian

Malton praised for being ‘Yorkshire’s food capital’

The Guardian explained: "Its bunting-strung market (second Saturday of every month) is packed with local bakers and brewers, its handsome streets and old stable yards filled with small-batch gin producers and artisan coffee shops. Pick up a bottle of vanilla spice gin at Rare Bird Distillery or yorkshire pudding beer from Malton Brewery.

"On the corner of Finkle Street and Market Place, Malton Relish has won accolades for its Christmas pudding made with dried figs soaked in local beer. Leave space for mince pie and mulled wine macaroons at Florian Poirot, Talbot Yard, and snowmen truffles at the Patisserie Malton on nearby Saville Street."

When it comes to desirable homeware and festive gifts for loved ones, the publisher commented: “There are non-edibles too: beautifully utilitarian homewares at Hare and Wilde, natural soap bars at Cosy Cottage Soap Company, even a cricket bat from Nixon Cricket, hand-shaped from clefts of willow by owner Nick.”

A Brief History of Christmas Markets

If you're looking for things to do, “the Malton Christmas festival (2-3 Dec) adds even more festive flavour to the mix, with producer stalls and street food, alongside choirs, brass bands, an Emerald Elf show and Santa’s Grotto."

Other activities include gingerbread house workshops at The Patisserie on December 8 and “a bake along story time” with Father Christmas at The Cooks Place on December 23.

Santa will be on board the North Yorkshire Moors railway until December 24.

For history fans, you might want to head to the “theatrically grand” Castle Howard, which has starred in Brideshead Revisited and Bridgerton.

The Guardian says it “really amps up the drama at Christmas.”

This year there is a magical Neverland theme to explore until January 2.

“The rooms are filled with fairies, mermaids and pirates, installations and soundscapes to transport lost boys and girls.

“Don’t miss the bauble emporium, Santa’s Grotto show, and marshmallow toasting and Yorkshire turkey rolls in the courtyard.”