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…
Must-see attractions in North Yorkshire
York
York Minster is the largest medieval cathedral in northern Europe, and one of the world's most beautiful Gothic buildings. Seat of the archbishop of York,…
North Yorkshire
Stately homes may be two a penny in England, but you'll have to try pretty damn hard to find one as breathtakingly stately as Castle Howard, a work of…
Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal
North Yorkshire
The alluring and strangely obsessive water gardens of the Studley Royal estate were built in the 18th century to enhance the picturesque ruins of 12th…
York
York's National Railway Museum – the biggest in the world, with more than 100 locomotives – is well presented and crammed with fascinating stuff. It is…
York
Interactive multimedia exhibits aimed at bringing history to life often achieve exactly the opposite, but the much-hyped Jorvik manages to pull it off…
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…
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 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
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…
York
This restored medieval townhouse, tucked down an alleyway, includes a permanent exhibition of life in the times of Henry VIII. It was once the home of…
York
York's most impressive semi-timbered building is still owned by the fraternity that built it almost 650 years ago and it is the oldest surviving guildhall…
York
This historic home, which once housed York Minster's medieval treasures, is an anomaly: in the 19th century it was bought by Yorkshire industrialist Frank…
York
In the grounds of the peaceful Museum Gardens, you can see the Multangular Tower, a part of the City Walls that was once the western tower of the Roman…
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…
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…
York
Most of York's Roman archaeology is hidden beneath the medieval city, so the superb displays in the Yorkshire Museum are invaluable if you want to get an…
York
As well as an impressive collection of Old Masters, York Art Gallery possesses works by LS Lowry, Pablo Picasso, Grayson Perry, David Hockney, and the…
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…
Whitby
The 199 steps of Church Stairs lead steeply up from the end of Church St, passing the spooky graveyard of St Mary's Church, a favourite haunt of Goth…
York
This excellent museum has displays of everyday life through the centuries, with reconstructed domestic interiors, a Victorian street and a prison cell…
York
The Shambles takes its name from the Saxon word shamel, meaning 'slaughterhouse' – in 1862 there were 26 butcher shops on this street. Today the butchers…
York
Tucked away behind an inconspicuous gate and seemingly cut off from the rest of the town, the Church of the Holy Trinity is a fantastically atmospheric…
York
There's precious little left of York Castle except for this evocative stone tower, a highly unusual four-lobed design built into the castle's keep after…
North Yorkshire
The most attractive part of town is the Montpellier Quarter, overlooking Prospect Gardens between Crescent Rd and Montpellier Hill. It's an area of…
North York Moors National Park
With a scatter of gorgeous stone cottages, a gurgling brook and a flock of sheep grazing contentedly on the village green, Hutton-le-Hole must be a…
North Yorkshire
You can learn all about Harrogate's history as a spa town in the ornate Royal Pump Room, built in 1842 over the most famous of the town's sulphurous…
North Yorkshire
There are many abbey ruins down leafy country lanes in Yorkshire, but Jervaulx has an unusual claim to fame as the birthplace of Wensleydale cheese. It…
North York Moors National Park
In the 1750s landscape-gardening fashion favoured a Gothic look and many aristocrats had mock ruins built on their estates. Thomas Duncombe II of Duncombe…
North Yorkshire
At this family-oriented attraction you can see coral reefs, turtles, octopuses, seahorses, otters and many other fascinating creatures. The biggest draws…
North Yorkshire
Founded in 1992 by the 'black sheep' of the Theakston family, who refused to work for the multinational company that took over Yorkshire's highly regarded…
North Yorkshire
Founded in 1827, and still run by the Theakston family (despite a spell in the ownership of global brewer Scottish & Newcastle), Theakston's has long been…
North York Moors National Park
On the outskirts of Helmsley lies the superb ornamental landscape of Duncombe Park estate, laid out in 1718 for Thomas Duncombe (whose son would later…
North Yorkshire
A huge green thumbs-up to Harrogate's gardeners: the town has some of the most beautiful public gardens in England. Flower fanatics should make for the…
York
Under the same management as Jorvik and housed in an atmospheric old church, Dig gives you the chance to be an 'archaeological detective', unearthing the…
North Yorkshire
The Valley Gardens, opposite the Royal Pump Room, is a pretty, popular strolling space with a cafe serving ice cream, pitch-and-putt golf and a bandstand…
North Yorkshire
The Rotunda Museum is dedicated to the coastal geology of northeast Yorkshire, which has yielded many of Britain's most important dinosaur fossils. The…
North York Moors National Park
Helmsley Walled Garden would be just another plant-and-produce centre were it not for its dramatic setting next to Helmsley Castle and its fabulous…
North York Moors National Park
The impressive ruins of 12th-century Helmsley Castle are defended by a striking series of deep ditches and banks, to which later rulers added the thick…
North York Moors National Park
The largely open-air Ryedale Folk Museum is a constantly expanding collection of North York Moors buildings from different eras, including a medieval…
