Helmsley is a market town in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, with a population of 1348 in 2021. The main attraction in town is Helmsley Castle, while Rievaulx Abbey is 3 miles west; the North York Moors surround the town.
Get in
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Map of Helmsley
By road the usual approach is on A170 east from Thirsk, but caravans and heavy vehicles must not attempt Sutton Bank, where the road clambers up the scarp of the moors. Another scenic route, popular with motorcyclists, is B1257 from Stokesley near Middlesbrough.
East Yorkshire Bus 128 runs from Scarborough via Seamer, Brompton, Thornton-le-Dale, Pickering and Kirkbymoorside to Helmsley. It takes just under two hours and runs hourly M-F, every two hours Saturday. Pickering also has buses from Malton and in summer has heritage steam trains from Whitby.
Reliance Bus 31X runs two or three times M-Sa from York via Easingwold, Coxwold, Byland Abbey and Ampleforth to Helmsley, occasionally continuing to Kirkbymoorside.
The Moorsbus runs in July and August. M4 runs twice on Saturday from Redcar and Guisborough via Stokesley and Rievaulx Abbey to Hemsley and Sutton Bank. M5 runs once on Saturday from Stokesley via Northallerton, Thirsk, Byland Abbey and Ampleforth to Helmsley.
Get around
[edit]The town is compact and Rievaulx is about an hour's hike. You need wheels to reach Nunnington Hall or to get around the countryside.
Helmsley Black Cabs are on +44 1439 223939.
See
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- Market Place is well-preserved and lined with buildings mainly from the early 19th century.
- All Saints' Church just north is Anglican. It dates to 12th century, much restored in the 19th. It's open daily 9AM-4PM.
- 1 Helmsley Castle, 14 Castlegate, Helmsley YO62 5AB, ☏ +44 1439 770442. Apr-Sep daily 10AM-6PM, Oct daily 10AM-5PM, Nov-Mar F-Su 10AM-4PM. Built in the 12th century: the monks of Rievaulx used to scuttle here for refuge from attack. In Tudor times it was converted into a mansion, and later held out for the Royalists, so Cromwell had it partly demolished. It passed into the hands of the Duncombe family, who built a grand residence nearby at Duncombe Park and left the ruin as a picturesque garden ornament. Adult £11, child £6, conc £9.50.
- The Walled Garden is west side of the castle. It's open Apr-Oct daily 10AM-5PM, adult £10, child free.
- 2 Duncombe Park, Helmsley YO62 5EB, ☏ +44 1439 770213. Park Feb-Dec daily 10AM-5PM, gardens Apr-Aug Su-F 10:30AM-5PM. Parkland and gardens around a country house built in 1713, which is not open. The park is often used for antiques fairs, steam rallies and the like. Park £1, gardens £5.
- National Centre for Birds of Prey is within Duncombe Park. It's open Feb-Oct daily 10AM-5PM, adult £15, child £11.50, no dogs.
- 3 Rievaulx Abbey (say "REE-voo"), Rievaulx YO62 5LB, ☏ +44 1439 760350. Apr-Sep daily 10AM-6PM, Oct to 5PM, Nov-Mar W-Su 10AM-4PM. Handsome substantial ruins of a grand Cistercian abbey in the dale of the River Rye. It grew fat (and so did the monks) on wool and other enterprise, but was laid low by a mix of sheep scab, raiding Scots then the Black Death. It was dissolved in 1538. Adult £14, conc £12, child £8.50.
- Rievaulx Terrace is the Duncombe family's 1750s prettification of the site. It's a long grassy terrace on the hillside, with a couple of mock Doric temples, from which to gaze down at the abbey ruins. It's run by the National Trust and is a separate ticket from the abbey itself. It's open Mar-Oct, adult £7.70, child £4, NT free. Enter off B1257 half a mile east of the abbey.
- Byland Abbey is 7 miles west of town, see Thirsk.
- 4 Ampleforth Abbey, East Lane, Ampleforth YO62 4ER. Daily Apr-Oct 10AM-5PM, Nov-Mar 10AM-3PM. In a landscape studded with ruined medieval abbeys, this one is a 19th century foundation. It's run by Benedictine monks and has a school and college. You can visit the abbey church and stroll the peaceful grounds.
- Stargazing is an Anthony Gormley statue a mile south of Ampleforth across the college sports fields. What this figure has mostly gazed at is the underside of incontinent birds.
- Gilling Castle a mile further south is a fine 16th century mansion, used until 2018 as a prep school for Ampleforth College. It's now being converted to retirement apartments.
- 5 Stanbrook Abbey was built from 2008, a striking modern building. It hosts a community of Benedictine nuns who relocated here from Stanbrook in Worcestershire. You can attend their church services.
- 6 Nunnington Hall, Nunnington YO62 5UY, ☏ +44 1439 748283, [email protected]. Temporarily closed. Mansion house built in the 1680s on the site of a nunnery. It passed to the National Trust in 1952 and now displays a sumptuous series of rooms in 17th-century style, plus extensive gardens. It suffered flood damage in 2025 and is closed for repairs. Adult £13.30, child £6.60, NT free.
- Castle Howard is a few miles south, see Malton.
- Ryedale Folk Museum is in Hutton-le-Hole, see Pickering.
Do
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- Helmsley Arts Centre puts on music, theatre, comedy etc.
- Helmsley Open Air Swimming Pool, Baxtons Road, Helmsley YO62 5HT, ☏ +44 1439 326008. May-Nov. Heated outdoor swimming pool, 25 m. Facilities are limited, eg no lockers. Adult £6.25, child £4.
- Walk: The Cleveland Way starts at Helmsley castle. It heads west to Rievaulx Abbey; to loop around the abbey and return to Helmsley is seven miles. The trail continues to Sutton Bank, then turns north along the edge of the moors through Osmotherley, Guisborough, Saltburn, Whitby, Scarborough and Filey. The whole trail is 110 miles.
- Ryedale Show, Welburn Park, Kirkbymoorside YO62 4BL (five miles east of Helmsley), ☏ +44 1653 697820, [email protected]. Large agricultural show with livestock, show jumping, sheep-dog trials, trade stalls, craft stalls, food outlets and more. It's held on the last Tuesday of July. Adult £18, child £9.
Buy
[edit]- The market is in the main square every Friday, plus often a craft fair upstairs in Town Hall.
- Coop Food in the main square is open daily 7AM-10PM.
- Browns of Helmsley, 22 Market Place YO62 5BJ, ☏ +44 1439 770247. M-Sa 9:30AM-5:30PM, Su 11AM-4:30PM. Small department store, a branch of Browns of York.
Eat
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- La Trattoria at 17 Market Place is open daily 9AM-3PM, 5-11:30PM.
- Spice4u is an Indian restaurant at 1 Bridge St, open daily 5-11PM.
- Deep Blue is a fish & chips shop at 6 Bridge St, sit in or takeaway, open daily 11:30-7PM.
- Coopers is trad cuisine at 8 Bridge St, open Tu-Sa noon-2:30PM, 5-8:30PM, Su noon-4:30PM.
- Mannion & Co is a deli cafe at 5 Castlegate, open daily 9:30AM-4PM.
- Ryeburn of Helmsley, Church Farm, Cleveland Way, Helmsley YO62 5AE (by castle car park), ☏ +44 1439 770331. Tu-Su 10AM-4PM. Ice cream, home-made cake, toasties, teacakes and sandwiches, and tea and coffee. Friendly service.
- Vinehouse Cafe is within the walled garden, open W-Su 10AM-3PM.
- 1 Fusion Spice, Main Road, Beadlam YO62 7SU, ☏ +44 1439 772400. Su M W Th 5:30-10PM, F Sa 5:30-11PM. Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant and take-away. Decent food, service can be very slow.
- Star Inn, Main St, Harome YO62 5J (100 yards north of Pheasant Inn), ☏ +44 1439 770397. M 3-9PM, Tu-Sa noon-2PM, 6-9PM, Su noon-6PM. Serving excellent meals, and has rooms.
Drink
[edit]- Royal Oak, 15 Market Place, Helmsley YO62 5BL, ☏ +44 1439 770450. M-Sa 11AM-1AM, Su noon-midnight. Pleasant hotel pub on the market square. Food served daily noon-2:30PM, M-Sa 5-8PM. With 5 rooms en suite. B&B double £90.
- The Black Swan on Market Place also has rooms.
- Helmsley Brewing Company on Bridge St is a micro-brewery with a range of five ales. Taproom open M-Sa noon-9PM, Su noon-7PM. Tours available.
Sleep
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- 1 YHA Helmsley, Carlton Lane, Helmsley YO62 5HB, ☏ +44 345 371 9638. Clean well run hostel open all year with 4, 5 and 6-bedded rooms, plus private rooms, sleeps 40. Also has campsite for tents, they can't accommodate caravans or trailers. Assistance dogs only.
- 2 Feversham Arms Hotel, 1 High Street, Helmsley YO62 5AG, ☏ +44 1439 770766. Elegant relaxing spa hotel in town centre. Great dining, dog-friendly. B&B double £200.
- The Feathers, Market Place, Helmsley YO62 5BH, ☏ +44 1439 770275. Cosy hotel with restaurant, two bars and coffee shop. Some rooms poky. B&B double £110.
- Royal Oak in town centre has five rooms but is mostly for eating and drinking, see above.
- Garden Cottage is a pleasant self-catering place at 1 Bondgate, but their distinctive lodging is in the railway carriage. This third-class coach trundled between York and Scarborough from 1887 to 1905 then fetched up here.
- 3 Yorkshire Spa Retreat, Gale Lane, Beadlam YO62 7SD, ☏ +44 1439 413102. Plush place hidden in the countryside, some lodges pet-friendly. Double (room only) £150.
- Wrens of Ryedale 100 yards north of the Spa Retreat only has long-stay pitches for static units or all-summer tourers.
- Nawton Grange is a camping and caravan site down Gale Lane a half mile south of the Spa Retreat.
- Foxholme Springs is a camping and caravan site a further quarter mile south, open April-Dec.
- 4 The Pheasant, Mill St, Harome YO62 5JG, ☏ +44 1439 771241. Lovely little upscale hotel in Harome village centre. B&B double £250.
- Golden Square is a camping and caravan site four miles south of town towards Ampleforth. It's open Mar-Oct.
- 5 Shallowdale House, West End, Ampleforth YO62 4DY, ☏ +44 1439 788325. Delightful B&B with just 3 rooms in a lane near Byland Abbey. No children under 12 or dogs. B&B double £170.
Connect
[edit]As of Nov 2025, Helmsley and its approach roads have 4G from O2, Three and Vodafone, and 5G from EE.
Go next
[edit]- Thirsk is best known as the home of vet "James Herriot", and for its racetrack.
- Pickering is the terminus of the steam-hauled North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
- Scarborough is a Victorian seaside resort. Cliffs stretch north through picturesque Robin Hood's Bay to Whitby; south are Filey, Bridlington and Flamborough Head.
- York retains its medieval walls and has a great collection of sights and attractions.