Itinerary
48 hours on the moors
A first-timer's weekend: abbey, steam train, waterfall, moor-top pub and a night by the sea.
Ideas & inspiration
Itineraries and guides
Ready-made plans for a weekend or a week, and deeper guides to heather, dark skies, fossils and wildlife.
Plans
Itineraries
Follow them as written or use them as a skeleton.
Itinerary
A week on the moors
Seven days that cover the coast, the dales, the escarpment and the high moor without rushing any of it.
Itinerary
A car-free weekend by train and bus
Middlesbrough to Whitby on the Esk Valley line, the steam railway to Pickering and back by bus: no car needed.
Itinerary
A family long weekend
Trains, beaches, rock pools, a folk museum and a forest: three days that keep children busy.
Know before you go
Guides
Guide
Heather season: the moors in purple
For a few weeks in August the largest expanse of heather moorland in England turns purple. Where and when to see it.
Guide
Stargazing in an International Dark Sky Reserve
The North York Moors has some of the darkest skies in England. Where to go, when to go and what you will see.
Guide
Dracula's Whitby
Bram Stoker stayed in Whitby in 1890 and put the town into the most famous vampire story ever written. Follow the trail.
Guide
The coast, village by village
Thirty miles of cliffs from Saltburn to Ravenscar, with a fishing village every few miles. Which is which.
Guide
Pubs worth the walk
Moor-top inns, riverside taprooms and pubs the size of a front room. Where to drink on the moors.
Guide
Things to do in Whitby
Two days in the town that has everything: abbey, harbour, jet, Dracula, fish and chips and the best beach walk on the coast.
Guide
The moors with a dog
Dog-friendly beaches, walks, pubs and attractions, and the rules that keep dogs and ground-nesting birds safe.
Guide
Ten things to do with children
Steam trains, rock pools, a treetop course, sheep on the green and a museum with dressing up. Days that work.
Guide
Christmas and New Year on the moors
Santa trains, illuminated abbeys, Krampus in Whitby, a stately home dressed for the season and a Boxing Day walk.
Guide
Rights of way and open access: where you can walk, ride and cycle
Footpaths, bridleways, byways and open access moorland explained, with the rules for dogs and how to report a blocked path.
Guide
Fossil hunting on the Dinosaur Coast
The Jurassic cliffs between Staithes and Ravenscar are among the best fossil grounds in Britain. How to look responsibly.
Guide
The moors month by month
What to expect, and what to look out for, in every month of the year.
Guide
Wildlife of the moors and coast
Curlews, merlins, seals, adders, otters and dippers. What lives here and where to find it.
Guide
Cycling on the moors
Forest trails, moorland climbs, the Cinder Track and the toughest hill in Yorkshire: where to ride.
Guide
Riding the North Yorkshire Moors Railway
How the steam railway works, where to get off and how to get the most from a day rover.
Guide
Captain Cook country
James Cook was born, schooled and apprenticed on the edge of the moors. A trail through the places that made the navigator.
Guide
The abbeys and priories trail
Five monastic ruins in a day's drive: Rievaulx, Byland, Mount Grace, Whitby and Rosedale's ghost.
Guide
The moors on screen
Heartbeat, Harry Potter, Dracula, All Creatures Great and Small: where the moors have played themselves and others.
Guide
Walking the Cleveland Way in stages
A nine-day plan for the 109-mile National Trail, with where to stop, what to see and how to shorten it.
Guide
Beaches for every kind of day
Sand for children, rocks for fossils, cliffs for drama and a cove for solitude.
Guide
A short history of the moors
Bronze Age barrows, Saxon saints, Cistercian monks, ironstone and steam: how the landscape came to look this way.
Guide
Getting around by bus and train
The trains, buses and seasonal services that make a car-free visit practical, and how to link them.
Guide
Winter on the moors
Quiet, cold and often the most beautiful season. What is open, what is not and where to go.
Guide
Accessible days out
Level routes, step-free attractions and the National Park's Miles Without Stiles network.
Guide
Where to point the camera
Sunrise at the abbey, heather at Blakey Ridge, steam in the gorge: the classic shots and when to take them.
Guide
The moorland crosses
More than thirty stone crosses stand on the high moors, medieval waymarks with names and legends. A trail to the best.
Guide
Free things to do on the moors
The best of the National Park costs nothing: beaches, waterfalls, viewpoints, crosses and a lot of walking.
Guide
Camping and glamping
Campsites in the dales, on the coast and in the forest, plus pods, yurts and shepherd's huts. Where to pitch.
Guide
Parking and car parks
Where to park in the busy villages, what it costs, and the roads not to attempt in a motorhome.
Guide
Easter on the moors
Daffodils, lambs, the railway back in steam, egg rolling and the first warm days on the coast.
Guide
Supporting the moors: charities, volunteering and outdoor learning
Three organisations doing good work in and around the North York Moors, and how visitors can support or join them.