Villages & Places
Pickering
Set between its castle, church and river, Pickering is the busy little market town that anchors the southern edge of the National Park — and the starting point for the steam railway. It makes an ideal base and an easy day out.
Placeholder photograph — real imagery to follow.
The castle
Pickering Castle, an English Heritage site, is a fine medieval motte-and-bailey with Norman origins, its earthworks and stone ruins standing on a hill above the town — a favourite with children for its walls to explore and its views.
The church and its paintings
The parish church of St Peter and St Paul hides one of Yorkshire's treasures: a remarkable set of medieval wall paintings, whitewashed over for centuries and rediscovered in the 1800s, depicting saints and scenes in vivid detail. It's free to visit and genuinely unmissable.
More to do
Beck Isle Museum tells two centuries of local life through recreated shops and rooms; the market, independent shops, cafés and pubs fill an easy morning; and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway steams out from the middle of town. Eight miles up the Whitby road lies the Hole of Horcum. For a base nearby, see where to stay.