What is the best classic car driving route in the North York Moors?

The B1257 from Helmsley to Stokesley, the 'Yorkshire TT', is the classic choice for its flow and views, with Blakey Ridge the best for open moorland and the A169 the best moor-to-sea run.

Where can I get fuel on the North York Moors?

There is no fuel on the moor tops. Fill up in Pickering, Helmsley, Kirkbymoorside, Thornton-le-Dale, Stokesley, Castleton, Whitby or Scarborough before you head onto the high roads.

When is the best time to drive the moors in a classic?

Late August into early September for the heather, or midweek in May and June for empty roads. Avoid summer weekends when the coast roads and Whitby are busiest.

What should I carry for a classic car trip on the moors?

Screenshot your route before you leave, because mobile coverage is patchy above the 300-metre contour. Carry water, a basic breakdown kit and the number of a classic-friendly recovery service.

Are there classic car events in the area?

Yes, the moors have a full calendar of shows, rallies and Mathewsons viewing weeks. See our what's on page for the current year's dates.

Driving the Moors

Classic Car Driving Routes in the North York Moors

By Jon Cosson · Updated 18 October 2026

Six suggested touring routes for classic cars across the North York Moors, Sutton Bank, the B1257 'Yorkshire TT', Blakey Ridge, the A169 moor road, the coast road and the gentle Dalby forest amble. Each with distances, where to fill up, where to park and which pub to aim for.

A blue Triumph Stag convertible on a winding moor road through purple heather in the North York Moors

Moor-top touring: the roads here reward an unhurried pace.

This is classic-car country in more ways than one. It is Bangers & Cash territory, the Mathewsons auction house is just down the road in Thornton-le-Dale, and the moors are one of the great touring grounds in England for an older car: moor roads with sightlines measured in miles, dale lanes that never straighten, and a coast road with the North Sea on one side. These six routes can be driven individually in half a day each, or strung into a long weekend from a single base. Each one lists the practical details older cars actually need, where the last fuel is, where you can leave the car, and where to stop for lunch.

At a glance

Headline route: the A169, Pickering to Whitby, about 22 miles of open moor and a sudden sea view.
Steepest: Rosedale Chimney Bank, around one in eight average, one in three at its worst.
Best light: late August into September, when the heather is out.
Fuel: fill up in Pickering, Helmsley or Whitby before you climb.
Conditions: gradients, closures and restrictions change, check before you set off.

1. Sutton Bank & the Hambleton escarpment

The finest view in England, plus the classic 1-in-4 climb

Run west out of Helmsley on the A170 past the turnings for Rievaulx and Cold Kirby, then drop over the famous escarpment. The bank rises around 160 m in under a mile, a 1-in-4 gradient with a hairpin bend partway down, the road James Herriot lived beside and called the finest view in England. Older cars are far happier climbing it than descending it in a hurry: use a low gear both ways and let the brakes rest at the top. Park at the National Park Centre and walk five minutes to the edge for the view over the Vale of York and Gormire Lake, then loop back via the quiet lanes through Kilburn (of White Horse and Mouseman fame) and Coxwold.

Distance: About 25 miles round trip from Helmsley
Time to allow: Half a day with stops
Start: Helmsley market place (A170 west)
Fuel: Fill up in Helmsley or Thirsk, there is no fuel on the bank itself
Parking: Sutton Bank National Park Centre (pay & display, large car park, café and toilets)
Pub stop: Helmsley's market-square inns, or the Hambleton villages below the escarpment

Route map

▶ Start■ Finish⛽ Fuel areaP Parking☕ Pub⚠ Hazard━ Main route

Route in order: Helmsley Market Place → Sutton Bank National Park Centre (Sutton Bank 1 in 4 with hairpin; caravans prohibited.) → A170 below Sutton Bank → Kilburn, White Horse turning → Coxwold → Helmsley Market Place

Mapped road distance: 24.4 miles. Optional extras are not included.

Open in Google Maps Download GPX

Google Maps may limit intermediate stops on some devices or choose different roads. The GPX contains the complete mapped line.

Route line drawn from OpenStreetMap road data to follow the roads described. Check closures, gradients and restrictions before you set off.

Routing: OSRM, map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Locations checked October 2026. Fuel markers identify the towns named in the guide, not verified filling stations.

Driving note: Caravans and trailers are prohibited on Sutton Bank. The climb is hard on older cooling systems in summer traffic, watch the temperature gauge.

2. The B1257, the Yorkshire TT

Twenty of the best miles of tarmac in the North

Locals call the B1257 the Yorkshire TT and it earns the nickname: a climb over Newgate Bank, then a long, flowing run down Bilsdale beside the River Seph with Roseberry Topping and the Cleveland Hills rising ahead, before the steep pull over Clay Bank and the drop to Stokesley. Come back over the moor tops through Osmotherley or return along the escarpment to Sutton Bank for a natural pairing with route 1. It is a road of long sightlines and sudden tight bends, a car with modest power and good balance is more fun here than a fast one.

Distance: About 50 miles, Helmsley to Stokesley and back over the tops via Osmotherley and Hawnby
Time to allow: Half a day
Start: Helmsley, heading north on the B1257
Fuel: Helmsley or Stokesley at either end; nothing in between
Parking: Newgate Bank forest car park and the Clay Bank top car park both make good photo stops
Pub stop: Chop Gate and the Bilsdale valley, or Great Broughton near the Stokesley end

Route map

▶ Start■ Finish⛽ Fuel areaP Parking☕ Pub⚠ Hazard━ Main route

Route in order: Helmsley Market Place → Newgate Bank car park (Steep gradient.) → Chop Gate → Clay Bank top car park (Steep gradient.) → Great Broughton → Stokesley → Osmotherley → Snilesworth moor road → Hawnby → Helmsley Market Place

Mapped road distance: 48.9 miles. Optional extras are not included.

Open in Google Maps Download GPX

Google Maps may limit intermediate stops on some devices or choose different roads. The GPX contains the complete mapped line.

Route line drawn from OpenStreetMap road data to follow the roads described. Check closures, gradients and restrictions before you set off.

Routing: OSRM, map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Locations checked October 2026. Fuel markers identify the towns named in the guide, not verified filling stations.

Driving note: Very popular with motorcyclists at weekends, and there are steep gradients at both Newgate Bank and Clay Bank. Sheep roam freely; expect them on the road, not beside it.

3. Blakey Ridge & the dale heads

The roof of the National Park

Climb out of Hutton-le-Hole onto the ridge road and you are running along the top of the moors, roughly twenty miles across the centre of the park with Farndale on one side and Rosedale on the other, miles of open heather, no walls, no hedges, and in August a purple horizon in every direction. Lunch at the Lion Inn, one of the highest pubs in Britain, then drop into the Esk Valley at Castleton and return south past Rosedale Abbey. The bold can finish over Rosedale Chimney Bank, which climbs between Rosedale Abbey and Hutton-le-Hole and shares the title of steepest road in England with Cumbria's Hardknott Pass: it averages around one in eight (13%) and reaches one in three (33%) at its worst, gaining 568 feet in under a mile. It takes its name from a long-gone ironstone-mine chimney, and cyclists know it as the Chain Breaker. Sensible classics take the gentler road back to Hutton-le-Hole instead.

Distance: About 45 to 50 miles from Kirkbymoorside via Hutton-le-Hole, Blakey Ridge, Castleton and Rosedale
Time to allow: Half a day, longer in heather season
Start: Kirkbymoorside or Hutton-le-Hole
Fuel: Kirkbymoorside or Castleton, there is no fuel anywhere on the ridge
Parking: Roadside pull-ins along the ridge, the Lion Inn car park for patrons, and the village car parks at Hutton-le-Hole and Rosedale Abbey
Pub stop: The Lion Inn at Blakey, one of England's highest inns

Route map

▶ Start■ Finish⛽ Fuel areaP Parking☕ Pub⚠ Hazard━ Main route┄ Optional extra

Route in order: Kirkbymoorside → Hutton-le-Hole → Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge (Parking for patrons.) → Castleton → Rosedale road turning → Rosedale Abbey → Blakey Ridge return, avoiding Chimney Bank → Hutton-le-Hole

Optional Chimney Bank: Rosedale Abbey → Rosedale Chimney Bank (1 in 3 at its worst; not for laden cars or marginal clutches.) → Hutton-le-Hole road above Chimney Bank

Mapped road distance: 47.6 miles. Optional extras are not included.

Open in Google Maps Download GPX

Google Maps may limit intermediate stops on some devices or choose different roads. The GPX contains the complete mapped line.

Route line drawn from OpenStreetMap road data to follow the roads described. Check closures, gradients and restrictions before you set off.

Routing: OSRM, map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Locations checked October 2026. Fuel markers identify the towns named in the guide, not verified filling stations.

Driving note: High, exposed and prone to sudden mist even in summer; cattle grids, unfenced sheep and drifting snow in winter. Chimney Bank is genuinely severe, do not attempt it heavily laden or with a marginal clutch or cooling system, and check current conditions before you commit.

4. The A169 moor road to Whitby

Moor to sea, the classic top-down run

Out of Pickering the A169 climbs steadily onto open moor, sweeps past the great amphitheatre of the Hole of Horcum and the Saltergate escarpment, passes the Fylingdales radar on the skyline, and finally drops to the sea at Whitby with the abbey on the headland. Long straights, big dips and sweeping bends throughout, and it is regularly ranked among the finest scenic drives in the country. The catch is that on warm summer weekends it can become a 22-mile queue, so go early or out of season. Come back through the Esk Valley villages, Goathland, Egton Bridge and Grosmont, where you can watch the steam railway at work, for a wooded, gentler contrast to the moor road.

Distance: About 22 miles out, Pickering to Whitby, and about 30 miles back through the Esk Valley villages
Time to allow: A day if you stop at Whitby
Start: Pickering
Fuel: Pickering at the southern end, Whitby at the northern, nothing in between
Parking: Hole of Horcum car park at Saltergate for the view; multi-storey and park & ride options in Whitby, which fills early in summer
Pub stop: The Fox & Rabbit at Lockton on the way out; fish and chips on the harbour in Whitby

Route map

▶ Start■ Finish⛽ Fuel areaP Parking☕ Pub⚠ Hazard━ Outward━ Return

Route in order: Pickering → Fox & Rabbit, Lockton → Hole of Horcum car park, Saltergate → Whitby → Sleights → Blue Bank (Change down early.) → Grosmont → Egton Bridge → Goathland → A169 rejoining point → Pickering

Mapped road distance: 53.6 miles (outward: a169 22.5 miles; return: esk valley 31.1 miles). Optional extras are not included.

Open in Google Maps Download GPX

Google Maps may limit intermediate stops on some devices or choose different roads. The GPX contains the complete mapped line.

Route line drawn from OpenStreetMap road data to follow the roads described. Check closures, gradients and restrictions before you set off.

Routing: OSRM, map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Locations checked October 2026. Fuel markers identify the towns named in the guide, not verified filling stations.

Driving note: Fast A-road with blind crests, and drivers slowing unpredictably for the Horcum viewpoint. The long descent into Whitby is hard on older brakes, and Blue Bank into Sleights is the one to respect: change down early and stay off the brakes, because drums fade.

5. The coast road and Robin Hood's Bay

Cliffs, bays and harbour towns

North out of Scarborough on the A171 with the sea appearing and disappearing on your right, past the Ravenscar turn and down into Robin Hood's Bay, then on to Whitby for the harbour and the abbey steps, with Staithes a worthwhile run further north. Close the loop back over the moors on the A169 and you have combined the best of the coast and the tops in one day. It is slower going than the moor roads, but a lovely contrast. Pair it with our coast guide for the villages worth the detour, and our A171 Moor Road guide for the northern half of the same road.

Distance: About 45 miles, Scarborough to Whitby to Pickering
Time to allow: A full day
Start: Scarborough, north on the A171
Fuel: Scarborough and Whitby; the A171 in between is bare
Parking: Park at the top of Robin Hood's Bay and walk down, the bank into the village is steep, narrow and no place for a classic
Pub stop: Robin Hood's Bay's old smugglers' inns, or Ravenscar for the view back along the bay

Route map

▶ Start■ Finish⛽ Fuel areaP Parking☕ Pub⚠ Hazard━ Main route┄ Optional extra

Route in order: Scarborough → Robin Hood’s Bay top car park (Do not drive down the bank.) → Whitby → Pickering

Optional Staithes detour: Whitby → Staithes upper village parking

Mapped road distance: 43.1 miles. Optional extras are not included.

Open in Google Maps Download GPX

Google Maps may limit intermediate stops on some devices or choose different roads. The GPX contains the complete mapped line.

Route line drawn from OpenStreetMap road data to follow the roads described. Check closures, gradients and restrictions before you set off.

Routing: OSRM, map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Locations checked October 2026. Fuel markers identify the towns named in the guide, not verified filling stations.

Driving note: Sea fret can roll in without warning and salt air is no friend to old bodywork, a rinse afterwards is worth the trouble.

6. The Forest & Villages amble

The gentle one, for an unhurried open-top potter

From Thornton-le-Dale, follow Dalby Forest Drive through Low Dalby to Staindale Lake and the Bridestones car park. Return through the southern forest exit, then continue through Lockton and Allerston before returning to Thornton-le-Dale.

Distance: About 25 miles round trip from Thornton-le-Dale
Time to allow: An afternoon or a summer evening
Start: Thornton-le-Dale
Fuel: Thornton-le-Dale or Pickering before you start
Parking: Staindale Lake and the Bridestones car parks inside the forest, and the village car parks at Thornton-le-Dale and Lockton
Pub stop: The Cayley Arms at Allerston: closed Tuesdays; from 5pm Monday to Saturday, with lunchtime opening on Sundays only

Route map

▶ Start■ Finish⛽ Fuel areaP Parking☕ Pub⚠ Hazard━ Main route

Route in order: Thornton-le-Dale → Low Dalby visitor centre → Staindale Lake car park → Bridestones car park → Lockton → Cayley Arms, Allerston → Thornton-le-Dale

Mapped road distance: 22.5 miles. Optional extras are not included.

Open in Google Maps Download GPX

Google Maps may limit intermediate stops on some devices or choose different roads. The GPX contains the complete mapped line.

Route line drawn from OpenStreetMap road data to follow the roads described. Check closures, gradients and restrictions before you set off.

Routing: OSRM, map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Locations checked October 2026. Fuel markers identify the towns named in the guide, not verified filling stations.

Driving note: The forest drive has a 20mph limit and a Forestry England hourly parking charge; mind walkers, cyclists and families, and check the current rate on the Forestry England site before you go.

Making a weekend of it

Two days works beautifully: the B1257 and Sutton Bank on the first day from a western base around Helmsley, then Blakey Ridge, the A169 and the coast on the second. From the southern edge, Thornton-le-Dale, Allerston or Pickering, every route above starts within about forty minutes, and the Dalby Forest Drive makes a gentle evening amble when you have had enough of the tops. See where to stay for bases, and our itinerary if you want the non-driving highlights woven in.

Quiet lanes: Helmsley, Hutton-le-Hole and Goathland

For the gentlest, most timeless moors driving, forget the numbered routes and take the back roads between Helmsley and Hutton-le-Hole, or wander the lanes around Goathland, Heartbeat's Aidensfield, where it is all sheep, drystone walls and honey-stone villages, and nowhere to be in a hurry. These are shared, often single-track roads, so use the passing places and let faster locals through.

Driving an older car up here

Fuel discipline. Treat the moor tops as a fuel desert, leave the last town with a comfortable margin, and remember many village pumps keep short hours.
Cooling and brakes. Long climbs in summer traffic and long descents into Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay are where older cars struggle. Low gears down, gauge watched up.
Sheep and cattle grids. Stock roam free on the unfenced moor roads, and lambs behave unpredictably in spring.
Weather. Mist can drop over Blakey Ridge in minutes; ice lingers on the high roads long after the valleys have cleared.
Signal. Mobile coverage is patchy above the 300-metre contour, so screenshot your route, take a paper map and note your recovery details before you set off.
Parking. Mostly pay and display, and the big village car parks at Thornton-le-Dale, Hutton-le-Hole and Goathland fill by mid-morning at weekends. An old car in a tight coastal village is a liability: park high and walk down, particularly at Robin Hood's Bay and Staithes.
Timing. These roads clog on warm weekends. Early mornings and weekdays are blissful; midday in August is a queue.

If the weather turns, the forest drive and trails at Dalby Forest make a sheltered alternative to the high moor.

Before you set off: the practical guides

Three things settle most touring questions, is the car legal, will it get home, and where should it go? We cover each in detail: classic car MOT and road tax exemption, the classic car breakdown kit, and classic car touring in the moors.

Where to point the car afterwards

You are in the heart of Bangers & Cash territory, so it is worth timing a tour with a Mathewsons viewing week in Thornton-le-Dale, see where to stay for the auctions. Our touring journal contains classic-car touring posts, and what's on lists the shows and rallies worth planning around.

More for classic-car enthusiasts

This guide covers routes for classic-car touring across the North York Moors. If you are an owner too, we also run a family of marque archives:

Driving routes FAQs

What is the best classic car driving route in the North York Moors?: The B1257 from Helmsley to Stokesley, the 'Yorkshire TT', is the classic choice for its flow and views, with Blakey Ridge the best for open moorland and the A169 the best moor-to-sea run.
Where can I get fuel on the North York Moors?: There is no fuel on the moor tops. Fill up in Pickering, Helmsley, Kirkbymoorside, Thornton-le-Dale, Stokesley, Castleton, Whitby or Scarborough before you head onto the high roads.
How steep are Sutton Bank and Rosedale Chimney?: Sutton Bank rises around 160 m in under a mile at roughly one in four, with a hairpin bend. Rosedale Chimney Bank averages around one in eight (13%) and reaches one in three (33%) at its steepest. Both are demanding on older cars, and caravans and larger vehicles are banned from Sutton Bank.
When is the best time to drive the moors in a classic?: Late August into early September for the heather, or midweek in May and June for empty roads. Avoid summer weekends when the coast roads and Whitby are busiest.
What should I carry for a classic car trip on the moors?: Screenshot your route before you leave, because mobile coverage is patchy above the 300-metre contour. Carry water, a basic breakdown kit and the number of a classic-friendly recovery service.
Are there classic car events in the area?: Yes, the moors have a full calendar of shows, rallies and Mathewsons viewing weeks. See our what's on page for the current year's dates.

The village and classic-car sister sites linked here are also written by the author of this guide.

A base for a two-day tour

A southern-moors village base puts the A169, Dalby and the Mathewsons saleroom within easy reach. Practical for an overnight stop on a two-day tour.

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