The Yorkshire Dales include some of the most attractive countryside in Britain, distinctive because of the magnificent limestone landscape that forms much of the National Park. On the high, exposed moorlands the landscape is lonely, austere and dramatic. The valleys, however, present a striking contrast. The word "dale" comes from the Danish for "valley", and here the walker can explore small woods, riverside meadows and neat green fields separated by miles of drystone walls, dotted with unspoilt villages such as Burnsall and Grassington.