\n Snainton sits on the A170, around nine miles from Scarborough and roughly the same distance from Pickering.\n<\/p>\n
\n Its position makes it a convenient base for exploring both the Yorkshire coast and the North York Moors, but the village\u2019s most famous connection lies beyond the surrounding countryside.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sir Ben Kingsley was born in Snainton in 1943 before going on to become one of Britain\u2019s most internationally recognised actors.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sir Ben Kingsley (Image: Ian West\/PA Wire)\n<\/p>\n
\n He is best known for playing Mahatma Gandhi in the 1982 film Gandhi, a performance that earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor.\n<\/p>\n
\n Kingsley has since appeared in a long list of major films, including Schindler\u2019s List, Shutter Island, House of Sand and Fog and Iron Man 3, and Thursday Murder Club.\n<\/p>\n
\n His connection to the village gives Snainton a surprising link to Hollywood that many drivers passing through on the road between Scarborough and Pickering may not realise.\n<\/p>\n
\n Today, Snainton is generally viewed as a quiet and charming village with a strong community feel.\n<\/p>\n
\n Visitors praise its peaceful atmosphere and location between some of North Yorkshire\u2019s most popular destinations.\n<\/p>\n
\n Scarborough and its beaches lie one way, while Pickering, Dalby Forest and the North York Moors can be reached easily.\n<\/p>\n
\n Its history stretches back much further, with the name Snainton possibly deriving from the Old English “Snocingt\u016bn”.\n<\/p>\n
\n The name is thought to mean a settlement connected with a person called Snoc.\n<\/p>\n
\n Although Sir Ben Kingsley is the village\u2019s best-known former resident, Snainton also has links to two important botanists.\n<\/p>\n
\n Snainton (Image: GOOGLE MAPS)\n<\/p>\n
\n George Vasey was born in the village before moving to the United States, where he became a leading figure in botanical science.\n<\/p>\n
\n He worked for the United States Department of Agriculture and helped develop and organise its botanical work and collections.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sydney Cross Harland was also born in Snainton in 1891.\n<\/p>\n
\n Harland became an internationally recognised botanist and geneticist, specialising in cotton and carrying out scientific work in several countries.\n<\/p>\n
\n After spending much of his career abroad, he returned to Snainton and died in the village in 1982.\n<\/p>\n
\n Those connections mean the small North Yorkshire parish can claim an Oscar-winning actor and two prominent scientists among the people born there.\n<\/p>\n
\n The village\u2019s location has made it popular with visitors looking for a quieter place to stay while exploring the surrounding area.\n<\/p>\n
\n Dalby Forest, with its walking and cycling routes, is within easy reach, while the attractions and coastline of Scarborough are only a short drive away.\n<\/p>\n
\n Pickering also provides access to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and routes leading further into the national park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Snainton sits on the A170, around nine miles from Scarborough and roughly the same distance from Pickering. Its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711209,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-711208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}