Today's Feature

Esk Valley Railway

Explore North York Moors villages, Whitby and the city of Middlesbrough all by rail and discover some of the most beautiful countryside in England
The Esk Valley railway runs some 36 miles between the historic port of Whitby on the Yorkshire Coast, to the lively, modern city of Middlesbrough with its vast range of shops, museums and galleries, p... More info

North York Moors National Park Tourist Information

The North York Moors were made a national park in 1952 (and you can read more about their 2012 diamond jubilee celebrations here) and are renowned throughout the world as a wild, romantic heather moorland, divided by a series of narrow valleys of lush green pastureland. The Moors extend from almost to Whitby in the east, to the Vale of Mowbray in the west. Their southern boundary is the Vale of Pickering, and to the north, the moors end with the steep slopes of the Cleveland Hills.

B&B in North York Moors North York Moors Hotels

There are some very attractive villages dotted across the Moors, and these are subject to stringent planning laws to help preserve the beauty and heritage of this wonderful area.

The Park covers an area of 544 square miles and even though popular with walkers, it's very easy to find a space of your own with no one else around for miles. The Moors are crossed by Wainwright's Coast-to-Coast route, the Cleveland Way, and the Lyke Wake Walk.

They are also crossed by the North York Moors Railway, a steam railway which runs from Pickering to Grosmont (and less frequently, to Whitby) via Levisham (with a 1912-style station), Newton Dale Halt, Goathland (the setting for ITV's Heartbeat, and which also featured in the first Harry Potter film has been restored to 1922-style), Grosmont (in the style of a 1955 British Rail station) to Whitby. The Moorsbus also provides transport around the villages for walkers and tourists.

North York Moors Cottages

The Moors are popular with grouse shooters and you can see butts - the hollows the hunters hide behind - amongst the heather.

The underlying terrain of the Moors is composed mainly of rocks laid down in Jurassic times 205 to 142 million years ago when the area basked in a warm tropical climate - and for part of this time the Moors formed the sea floor. Over the last two million years the moors have been subject to periods of intense glaciation and the glaciers helped shape the land rounding and softening the tops of the hills, whilst the meltwater carved out steep-sided channels, such as Kirkham Gorge.

For the latest North York Moors events, check the Hello Yorkshire blog.