Plan Your Visit
A weekend in the North York Moors
Two days is enough to get under the skin of the North York Moors, a steam railway, a classic moorland walk, a great forest and a proper Yorkshire market town, with the coast within easy reach. Here's a relaxed weekend that works in either direction, easily reshuffled around the weather.
Where to base yourself
Pickering makes an ideal weekend base, a handsome market town on the southern edge of the moors, well placed for the railway, Dalby Forest and the drive up onto the high moor, with plenty of places to eat and stay. Helmsley, Thornton-le-Dale or one of the moorland villages work just as well if you'd rather be more rural. See where to stay for a base that suits you.
Day one: market town and steam
Spend the morning in Pickering, walk up to Pickering Castle, then see the extraordinary medieval wall paintings in the parish church before a coffee in the market place. In the afternoon, take your pick: climb aboard the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and let the steam train carry you up through the wooded gorge of Newtondale to Goathland (Hogsmeade in the Harry Potter films) or on to Whitby; or, if the weather's fine and you'd rather be on foot, drive up the A169 for the classic Hole of Horcum walk around its great natural amphitheatre. Round the day off with dinner in a village pub.
Day two: forest, views and coast
Start in Dalby Forest, a gentle waymarked trail, a bike ride, or treetop adventures at Go Ape if you've children in tow (there's a toll to drive in; check the current rate on the Forestry England site). Alternatively, make for Sutton Bank for what James Herriot called "the finest view in England" and an easy walk along the escarpment. In the afternoon, either wander pretty Thornton-le-Dale with its thatched cottage and beck, or head for the coast, Whitby for its abbey, harbour and fish and chips, or the tumbling village of Robin Hood's Bay.
If you have a third day
Stretch the weekend and there's easily more to fill it: a moorland village like Goathland or Hutton-le-Hole, the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey, more walking, or, as the nights draw in, some of the darkest skies in England. For autumn colour, the deer rut and the returning dark skies, see the North York Moors in autumn.
Practical tips
Book steam-railway tickets ahead in peak season; check the Dalby Forest toll and any trail closures before you go; pack for changeable weather, as the moor tops are exposed; and start early on sunny weekends, when the popular car parks fill fast. For more on getting here and when to come, see plan your visit, and for a base see where to stay.
Travelling with a dog? See our walking with dogs guide for route-specific advice.