Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the local landscape and people. It's generally open daily 10am to 5pm, but call for
January variations; adult tickets are £3, children go free.
NORTH YORK MOORS NATIONAL PARK
To the east, the Moors, on the other side of the Vale of York from the Dales, have a
wild beauty all their own, especially in summer when purple heather blooms. Eng-
land's largest expanse of moorland, this is a deeply spiritual landscape dotted with
early burial grounds, ancient stone crosses, and ruined abbeys. A 554-sq.-mile section
of it has been preserved as a National Park popular among walkers and other lovers
of the great outdoors.
If you're heading up from York, don't miss, en route to the Moors,
Castle Howard
(see below).
North of it, the market town of
Pickering
is one of the gateways to the
Moors, which are crisscrossed by an extensive network of public bridle and footpaths.
Two noteworthy trails are
Lyke Wake Walk
(www.lykewake.org), a 40-mile east-to-
west trek right across the Moors, linking the hamlets of Osmotherly and Ravenscar
via the rugged path established by 18th-century coffin bearers. The more challenging
Cleveland Way
(www.nationaltrail.co.uk/ClevelandWay) follows a horseshoe-
shaped line along the park's perimeter for 109 miles from Helmsley to Saltburn-by-
the-Sea. Local tourist information centers have maps (see above, under “Essentials”).
The delightful market town of
Helmsley
serves as a great base for exploring the
Moors, with superb accommodations (see “Feversham Arms & Verbena Spa,” p. 652),
a ruined medieval
castle,
and easy access to the atmospheric nearby ruins of
Rievaulx Abbey
and
Byland Abbey.
See www.english-heritage.org.uk, or call
&
0870/333-1181
for all three sites. For local history of a different kind, head 14
miles west to the market town of
Thirsk,
famous as home to Alf Wight, vet and
author (under the pseudonym James Herriott) of
All Creatures Great and Small
. His
old surgery is now
The World of James Herriot,
Kirkgate (
&
01845/524234;
www.worldofjamesherriot.org), a museum on Wight's life and on veterinary science as
a whole, with an interactive gallery for kids. It's open daily April to October 10am to
5pm (11am-4pm the rest of the year); entry is £6 for adults, £4.20 children 5 to 15.
The National Park also embraces a large portion of the North Yorkshire coast, from
just north of Scarborough to just past Boulby but circumventing Whitby.
Castle Howard
HISTORIC SITE
This 18th-century palace designed
by Sir John Vanbrugh, of Blenheim Palace (p. 226) fame, occupies dramatic grounds
with lakes, fountains, gardens, and an adventure playground. Boat trips on the lake
and kids' trails and quiz sheets make it a great family bet. Begun in 1699 for the 3rd
Earl of Carlisle, Castle Howard has a striking facade topped by a painted and gilded
dome, and, inside, a chapel with stunning 19th-century stained-glass windows by Sir
Edward Burne-Jones. The many important paintings on display include a portrait of
Henry VIII by Holbein and works by Rubens, Reynolds, and Gainsborough. On the
grounds, the family mausoleum is by Hawksmoor.
Castle Howard.
&
01653/648333.
www.castlehoward.co.uk. Admission house and gardens £13 adults,
£7.50 children 5-15, £34 family ticket. Apr-Oct daily 10am-5pm, plus at Christmas.
THE NORTH YORKSHIRE COAST
North Yorkshire's 45-mile coastline has an active if waning fishing industry, with some
ports doubling as traditional seaside resorts.
Bridlington
and
Filey
in the south are
low key, with wide, child-friendly beaches. On the chalk promontory of
Flambor-
ough Head
between the two resorts, you can take bracing cliff-top walks to see some
of the 200,000 seabirds, including puffins, that reside at the
RSPB Bempton Cliffs
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