Free-range tour for family

Rainbows never fail to bring a smile to people's faces. So imagine my delight when upon arrival at my family's weekend retreat in Yorkshire, vivid colours framed the country house, snuggled in rolling green hills and ancient trees. What a picture…at least it would have been if I'd found my camera in time!

The venue – Newfield Hall – a former stately home dating back to the 1850s has a simply idyllic location and beauty spots within a short drive. Hotspots of note include Gordale Scar, Malham Tarn and of course Malham Cove – a huge curving amphitheatre shaped cliff about 260ft high with views of patchwork fields dotted with dairy cows as far as the eye can see.

Country house retreats – organised by HF Holidays – are a great way to base yourself in a scenic area and dictate your own itinerary with a choice of arranged walks and visits to chose from. Staff know the area well and are on hand with helpful and often expert advice on walking routes.

Avid walkers can hop onto the Penine Way that passes the bottom of the drive on its way to Malham while climbers are spoilt for choice with limestone crags and 12-18 per cent gradients for cyclists who can face them.

If all that sounds like way too much hard work, Newfield Hall is equally well-equipped if the weather turns with an indoor heated pool, library full of walking maps and spacious grounds to wander through and play a spot of amateur golf. Rooms are geared up with comfortable beds, en suite bathrooms, tea and coffee making facilities and free wifi. There is even a TV although views from the room mean it can't compete and not forgetting the outstanding kitchen and dining team. Full English breakfasts are served up every morning with local sausages, bacon and all the trimmings or if you prefer some serious fuel for the hills a superb range of cereals, fruits and nuts.

Each evening, guests gather and join for an evening of story swapping of their day's successes after selecting from lavish, three-course meals including selections from fish, meat and vegetarian options, fresh vegetables. Plenty of rambling around in the hills meant we could take advantage of options like lamb tagine, roast brisket of beef (which was incredibly tender and came with the biggest Yorkshire puddings I've ever seen!) and Italian pasta dishes.

There was also a fabulous cod dish with new potatoes dish and roast duck with cinnamon cabbage. All lip-smackingly good and hearty portions to boot. Children were catered for equally well with child-friendly pasta dishes and healthy nuggets made with real chicken and pizzas packed full of vegetables – oh and about as much ice cream as they could stomach. Special thanks to the staff that coped with spillages and on occasion hoards of rowdy children.

As a family with boys aged six and four we opted for some of the lower-level walks of which there plenty. Peregrine falcon chicks had just flown their nests at Malham Cove when we followed a one-mile walk from the town (which would have been easily accessible with a buggy) where the RSPB had guides and telescopes set up for people interested in learning more about the spectacular birds.

We watched fascinated as the young chicks made their first attempts at flying and hunting while the boys waded, knee-deep in the stream looking for fish and frogs.

Munching potted beef sandwiches from packed lunches made by the team at Newfield Hall and having climbed the 80m high steps to the top of the cove, we sat in a sheltered spot and tried to visualise Daniel Radcliffe fighting Lord Voldermot from the Harry Potter films as scenes from The Deathly Hallows were filmed on the limestone pavement.

Around us rare wild flowers and ferns such as wood sorrel, Herb Robert, Green Spleenwort and Wall Rue sprang out from the huge cracks in the surface – a fascinating place to visit. Another day took us to Janet's Foss – a waterfall (foss) named after a magical woodland fairy queen called Jennet – where our eldest had a chilly swim (all be it a short one) the pool it was so inviting. Follow the clear path past fragrant meadows into the forest where hundreds of wishing pennies have been pressed into lucky fallen tree trunks creating intricate patterns that glint in the sunlight.

The path carries on to Gordale Scar, a huge valley created by the ice age – and a great place for geography lessons and watching rock climbers dangle from jagged crags. The whole area is perfect for family holidays as it's so accessible for even young children with plenty of sheltered spots if the weather does turn wet. One other place worthy of a mention here is the Ribblehead viaduct.

At 400m and made up of 1.5m bricks, it's a magnificent feat of engineering, made all the more significant by the hundred or so labourers who lost their lives in its construction between 1870 to 1874. If you are lucky enough, the Settle & Carlisle Statesman steam train passes over the line and makes for fabulous photographs with black plumes of smoke set against a back drop of green fields.

There is nothing more satisfying than falling into beds (bunks for the kids) with full stomachs and tired legs after busy days bagging peaks in the fresh air with your family around you.

It's what holidays are about and Newfield Hall ticks all the boxes for a family break complete with the creature comforts you would need.