North York Moors National Park

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View from Sutton Bank, where road climbs to a steep 140 metres.

Andrew Montgomery

Overview

Inland from the North Yorkshire coast, the wild and windswept North York Moors rise in desolate splendour. Three-quarters of all the world's heather moorland is found in Britain, and this is the largest expanse in England. Ridge-top roads climb up from lush green valleys to the bleak open moors, where weather-beaten stone crosses mark the lines of ancient roadways. In summer, heather blooms in billowing drifts of purple haze.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Exterior of Whitby Abbey during sunset.

    Whitby Abbey

    Whitby

    There are ruined abbeys, and there are picturesque ruined abbeys. And then there's Whitby Abbey, dominating the skyline above the East Cliff like a great…

  • Rievaulx Abbey

    Rievaulx Abbey

    North York Moors National Park

    In the secluded valley of the River Rye about 3 miles west of Helmsley, amid fields and woods loud with birdsong, stand the magnificent ruins of Rievaulx…

  • AB07AK The Captain Cook Memorial Museum at Whitby North Yorkshire England. Image shot 2007. Exact date unknown.

    Captain Cook Memorial Museum

    Whitby

    This fascinating museum occupies the house of the ship owner with whom Cook began his seafaring career. Highlights include the attic where Cook lodged as…

  • North Yorkshire Moors Railway

    North Yorkshire Moors Railway

    North York Moors National Park

    This privately owned railway runs for 18 miles through beautiful countryside from Pickering to Whitby. Lovingly restored steam locos pull period carriages…

  • Whitby, Yorkshire, England. 7 July 2014 A replica of Captain Cook's ship The Endeavour used as a tourist attraction in Whitby

    Endeavour Experience Whitby

    Whitby

    In 2018, a full-size replica of Captain Cook’s HM Bark Endeavour became a permanent fixture in Whitby harbour and opened to the public as a visitor…

  • ED091G England, Yorkshire, Whitby, Whitby Jet Heritage Centre, Jewellery Manufacturing

    Whitby Jet Heritage Centre

    Whitby

    A museum housing the remains of Whitby's last Victorian jet workshop lies at the bottom of the 199 steps, with original tools rescued from a derelict…

  • Tourists on a path overlooking colourful beach huts, the coast and harbour piers at Whitby, North Yorkshire, UK - taken on a sunny day at the end of summer

    Whitby Sands

    Whitby

    Whitby Sands, stretching west from the harbour mouth, offers donkey rides, ice-cream vendors and bucket-and-spade escapades, though the sand is mostly…

  • RK21BH Museum of Whitby jet by W Hamond in the harbour town of Whitby in North Yorkshire,England

    Museum of Whitby Jet

    Whitby

    Housed inside a 1901 chapel, this small museum has created a temple to Whitby jet – one of the town’s most prized exports, a gothic icon, and a favourite…

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