North York Moors Voyage Tips and guide

North York Moors are a scenic upland area in North Yorkshire. They form a quadrilateral roughly 70 miles / 120 km on a side, bounded to the west by the Vale of York, to the south by the Vale of Pickering and to the east by the sea. Much of the area is protected as North York Moors National Park, while around their rim are attractive small towns. They're easily accessed from the bigger cities south.

The moors are a plateau of Jurassic sandstone laid down 205 to 142 million years ago. This is poorly permeable to water, so it forms a tableland of bog and heath at 300-400 m altitude. This overlies softer limestone so it ends in cliffs and bluffs studded with fossils. Where rivers have cut through the sandstone they carve deep dales, but the limestone is covered and doesn't form the karstic scenery found in the Yorkshire Dales further west.

Along with the sandstone were deposited shale, clay, limestone, ironstone and rocks bearing alum - the iron and alum were mined in modern times. The area uplifted, re-submerged beneath a shallow sea near the end of the Jurassic, then 30 million years ago again uplifted and tilted from north to south. The top layers eroded so this created a scarp of the oldest rocks to the north, around the Cleveland Hills and above Guisborough. The middle section formed the boggy sandstone tableland, which eroded into low hills at its southern margin.

The area was glaciated during the Ice Ages. As the glaciers retreated 11,000 years ago, meltwater could only flow south, so it carved a gorge from Eskdale through Newtondale, and formed a lake in the Vale of Pickering where Malton now stands. To the east was a vast pile of glacial mud and gravel, the foundations of Scarborough, so when the water overflowed and carved a new course, it went west. This created the odd course of the River Derwent, which arises by the east coast yet flows inland.

Boggy plateau is the predominant terrain, a treeless tableland with poor acid soil. It has dark peaty pools, cotton grass and sphagnum moss, which heaps into a raised bog colonised by heather, a glorious purple carpet in early summer. Heather left to itself gets very woody and "leggy" so it has to be pared back by controlled burning and sheep grazing, which also curb the invasion of bracken. Earthworms don't care for such soil, so they and their predators are absent, and others such as the pigmy shrew occupy those niches. Birdlife includes merlin, lapwing, curlew, redshank, sandpiper, wheatear, golden plover and ring ouzel. But these, bluntly, do not pay their way: the money-earner is the red grouse, Lagopus lagopus scotica. These hide in the heather, so you hear them before you see them, with a clucking goback, goback, goback then a distinctive whirr as they fly off carving low. The grouse shooting season is 12 Aug to 10 Dec and many tracts of moorland are closed in this period.

Game-bird shooting is a divisive issue but this national park was never conceived as a wilderness: farming and recreation has always been integral to its habitat. Those picturesque lobster pots by the harbour don't aim to preserve crustacean health, and sheep pens are not designed for the longevity of lambs, and grouse shooting is little different.

The plateau is higher to the north and west, but the Esk valley on the north flank peels off a lower strip, Gisborough Moor. The high point is Round Hill on Urra Moor at 454 m / 1490 feet; the broad dirt track of the Cleveland Way leads by it. "Round Hill" in practice means "it's around here somewhere" as it's a barely perceptible rise above the expanse of soggy heather. This section is called the Cleveland Hills, with the Hambleton Hills on the west flank of the moors. The plateau to the south is dissected by rivers flowing into the Ryedale and Derwent catchment.

Slopes and woods: the abrupt edges are too steep for farming, even for sheep or commercial forestry, so they have natural deciduous woodlands of great age, with ancient oaks. On the gentler slopes to the south forestry is possible, such as Dalby Forest, which has mountain bike trails and similar recreations. The lower pastures are dotted with farms, with drystone walls around the fields and bawling sheep. The limestone is close to the surface here, and its caverns may swallow up rivers, such as the upper Dove in Farndale. In spring that valley is carpeted with daffodils.

It's Yorkshire, bring rainwear. The climate is typical of the county but modified by the altitude, so it's always cooler than the lowlands, the hills draw clouds and rain, and in winter there can be enough snow or ice to make roads hazardous or even blocked.

• 54.2439-0.7761 Pickering and 54.247-1.0542 Helmsley are small market towns within the moors: you could step out of your car or accommodation here and start hiking.
• York, 54.233-1.343 Thirsk and 54.139-0.7924 Malton are lowland centres within a short drive of the moors.
• 54.4858-0.62065 Whitby and 54.2825-0.46 Scarborough on the coast have transport into the moors, and alternative amusements for washed-out days.
• 54.535-1.05637 Guisborough is below bluffs fringing the moors.

54°21′0″N 0°49′12″W

Map of North York Moors

• Leeds Bradford (LBA ^IATA) is close and has flights across west Europe including London Heathrow, Dublin, Paris CDG and Amsterdam.
• Teesside (MME ^IATA) near Darlington is closer but has very few flights.
• Newcastle (NCL ^IATA) has similar flights to Leeds Bradford.
• Manchester (MAN ^IATA) is your best bet for anything beyond west Europe. Hire a car, and the drive might take two and a half hours.

• Trains from London Kings Cross, the Midlands and Manchester converge on York. Change here for trains that stop at Thirsk or Middlesbrough.
• Transpennine Express trains run from Liverpool Lime Street via Manchester Victoria, Leeds, York and Malton to Scarborough.
• Trains follow the coast from Hull via Beverley, Bridlington and Filey to Scarborough.
• Trains wind along the Esk Valley from Middlesbrough via a dozen moorland village halts to Grosmont and Whitby.
• North Yorkshire Moors Railway runs in summer, usually steam-hauled, from Pickering to Grosmont and sometimes extends to Whitby.

• York and Leeds have long-distance coach services, with at least two a day from London Victoria taking 6-7 hours.
• Coastliner 843 runs from Leeds via Tadcaster, York and Malton to Scarborough.
• Coastliner 840 runs from Malton to Pickering and Thornton-le-Dale. Two per day continue across the moors to Whitby.
• Buses run up the coast from Hull to Bridlington, change there for buses to Filey, Scarborough and Whitby.
• There are two bus routes from Middlesbrough to Whitby: along the coast via Redcar and Saltburn, or inland via Guisborough.
• Buses run from Scarborough to Pickering and Helmsley. There is no regular service west of Helmsley to Thirsk.

All roads get very congested on summer weekends. From the south take A64 east past York to Malton. Either continue towards Scarborough or branch onto A169 north, which winds across the moors from Pickering to Whitby.

A170 crosses the moors from Thirsk: caravans and heavy vehicles must not attempt Sutton Bank, where the road climbs the western scarp of the moors. A170 continues east through Helmsley, Kirkbymoorside, Pickering and Brompton to Scarborough.

From the north head towards Middlesbrough then be on either A171 or A172 for minor roads leading into the hills.

• Regular buses: see above for the buses from Malton to Pickering, Thornton-le-Dale and Whitby, from Scarborough to Pickering and Helmsley, and along the coast between Scarborough, Whitby, Guisborough and Middlesbrough.
• Moorsbus plies several routes at weekends May to Sept. Beware that the same bus number runs different routes by day of the week. Sundays and Bank Holidays it's:

M1 Saltburn-by-the-Sea-Redcar-Guisborough

M2 Darlington-Middlesbrough-Guisborough

M3 Guisborough-Danby-Pickering

M4 Guisborough-Helmsley-Sutton Bank-Thirsk and Helmsley-Rievaulx

M5 Easingwold-Thirsk-Stokesley-Helmsley

M6 Malton-Rosedale Abbey-Danby

M7 Pickering-Thornton-le-Dale-Dalby Forest

Fridays and Saturdays it's:

M4 Redcar-Guisborough-Helmsley-Danby

M5 Easingwold-Thirsk-Stokesley-Helmsley Sunday

M6 Malton- Pickering-Rosedale Abbey-Lion Inn

M3 / M6 / M8 York- Malton- Pickering-Danby

• Hiking: the most detailed map coverage is OS Outdoor Leisure series (yellow covers, 1:25,000): OL26 for the western half and OL27 for the east. For motoring and on-road cycling use the Landranger series (maroon covers, 1:50,000): Sheet 100 Pickering, 101 Scarborough and 94 Whitby.

• Castle Howard is a magnificent 18th century stately home designed by Vanbrugh, 7 miles west of Malton.
• Also near Malton are Eden Camp (a museum in a former POW camp), Malton Priory, Kirkham Priory, Nunnington Hall and Wharram Percy abandoned medieval village.
• Sutton Bank is the steep scarp edge of the North York Moors, on A170 five miles east of Thirsk, with views for miles over the Vale of York. Gliders swoosh off the edge.
• Farndale is the middle valley of three coursing south out of the moors towards Helmsley and Pickering. In early April it's carpeted with wild daffodils.
• Rievaulx near Helmsley is the best of the ruined abbeys in this area. It fell derelict at the Dissolution but was embellished in the 18th century by the "Terraces" - scenic walkways on the hill above the ruin, dotted with Doric ornaments.
• Whitby was supposedly where Dracula reached England, so it's popular with Goths. In which spirit, bones from the eroding hilltop graveyard sometimes rattle down into its streets.
• Robin Hood's Bay is an attractive little fishing village beneath the cliffs south of Whitby.

• North Yorkshire Moors Railway is often steam-hauled. It runs from Pickering for 18 miles across the moors to Grosmont, sometimes extending 6 miles further to Whitby.
• Cleveland Way is a 109 mile / 175 km hiking route around the rim of the moors, from Helmsley to Sutton Bank, Osmotherley, Kildale, Guisborough, Saltburn, Whitby, Scarborough and Filey.
• Fossil hunting: the coast has many relics of the Jurassic period.

Stock up on fuel and other essentials at supermarket prices at nearby towns before heading into the moors. Village stores are more expensive, with smaller selections and shorter opening hours.

• The best reviews are earned by Star Inn in Harome near Helmsley, White Swan in Pickering, Malton Brasserie within Talbot Hotel in Malton and Cookfella's in Guisborough.
• Scarborough and Whitby don't have outstanding food but score on quantity. You're seldom more than ten paces from fish & chips or similar cheap and cheerful fare, which the seagulls will try to snatch if you eat outdoors.

• Scarborough and Whitby have the greatest concentration of pubs.
• Helmsley has its own brewery with taphouse, tours available. Malton's brewery is Brass Castle Taphouse, they don't do tours.
• Malt whisky is distilled in nearby Filey and marketed as "Yorkshire Spirit" - mustn't call it "Scotch". Distillery tours are available.
• Ryedale Vineyards are 6 miles south of Malton.
• Campers, if you use raw water, just consider how many hind ends of various species it's likely to have passed through already.

• Wild camping is not permitted in this area.
• There are some 18 camping and caravan sites around the moors. The coast from Scarborough south towards Filey is back-to-back caravan sites but they mostly lack camping pitches.
• Scarborough and Whitby have lots of traditional seaside B&Bs and small hotels, from the spruce to the dilapidated.
• Top reviews are earned by Black Swan at Oldstead and Carpenter's Arms at Felixkirk (both a few miles from Thirsk), the Talbot in Malton, Wrea Head Hall in Scarborough, Broom House at Egton Bridge above Whitby, and Gisborough Hall Hotel (sic) at Guisborough.

There is little crime in the Moors except for petty theft from cars so keep valuables hidden.

Dress for the weather with suitable footwear.

• York is a remarkable walled city, with many visitor attractions.
• Near Ripon is Fountains Abbey.
• Leeds is the place for big city attractions.
• Durham is a charming old city, and base for exploring County Durham.