The North York Moors National Park was established in 1952, making it one of Britain’s oldest National Parks. Thanks to its status as a protected area, large-scale heathlands and valuable moorland have been preserved. Yet one of the primary features of this area has always been about offering people a place where they can experience the beauty of nature.
The National Park spans 554 sq miles (1,430 sq km). Including gentle hills, green valleys, flowering heathland and rugged chalk cliffs, “The Moors” are a natural paradise and to keep it that way, it’s best to travel sustainably. There are many ways to do this:
The National Park features more than 1,400 miles (2,250km) of hiking trails. The most famous is the 109-mile (176km) Cleveland Way. It runs along three sides of the National Park and also for about 40 miles (65km) along the spectacular coast between Saltburn and Scarborough. In addition, there is the Coast to Coast Walk, which runs for over 190 miles (300km) from Robin Hood’s Bay on England’s north-east coast to St Bees, in Cumbria, on the west coast.
The North York Moors is also home to a number of regional hiking trails, such as the approximately 37-mile (60km) Esk Valley Walk, which can also be easily combined with a train ride: either with the Esk Valley Railway or with the historic North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
Cycling is quite varied in the North York Moors. You can ride on narrow paths, on quiet country roads, along the coast and on mountain bikes in challenging terrain in the uplands – and you will be rewarded with beautiful views everywhere.
Dalby Forest is home to England’s largest walking centre and is also a great place to enjoy relaxed cycling on flat terrain through beautifully scented forests. Discover the Moor to Sea Cycle Network, with different lengths and difficulty levels connecting coast and countryside.
The North York Moors are also perfect for people who want to combine cycling and train travel: The Esk Valley Railway connects many cycling and hiking routes, including the Cleveland Way, the Esk Valley Walk and the Whitby-Danby cycling route. Taking bikes on trains is usually allowed, but you should ideally reserve seats in advance during the summer season because space is limited.
Another excellent combination is using the Esk Valley Railway to explore different sections of the National Park: the line serves 17 stations across the moors, allowing you to cycle one-way between stations and return by train with your bike. Popular routes include cycling from Danby to Grosmont, or exploring the moorland tracks around Goathland before catching the train onward.
If you don’t have your own bike, you can rent bicycles of all kinds at many places in the National Park or take part in guided bike tours. Some providers also take the bikes to previously agreed locations or pick them up again there.
Here are some local bike rental providers:
Most bike rental companies also offer e-bikes. Depending on the riding mode, their batteries have a range of roughly 30 to 50 miles (50 to 80km). If you want to ride a longer distance, you have to charge in between: a list of official e-bike charging stations is not yet available. But cyclists can always ask in hotels, restaurants or cafes if there is a possibility to recharge.
The North York Moors also has a good network of charging stations for electric vehicles, such as in Saltburn, Whitby, Pickering or Helmsley, which can be used with an appropriate charging cable. However, you should discuss this with the lender beforehand. Those who bring their own e-bike must ensure that it meets the British requirements for electric bikes.
What better way to relax and unwind than by gazing at the stars? In 2020, the North York Moors were declared an International Dark Sky Reserve. Because of the low light pollution, the stars can be observed particularly well in the sparsely populated area – in some places and with a clear sky, you can see up to 2,000 stars at once. Dalby Forest is even a Milky Way-class Dark Sky Discovery Site, meaning it’s one of the darkest locations in the country and the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye. The Observatory at the Dalby Forest Visitor Centre hosts events related to stargazing. Also recommended for stargazing are Ravenscar on the coast or the Sutton Bank Star Hub. The Yorkshire Arboretum and the Rievaulx Terrace are also great places to go stargazing. The National Trust sometimes organises night walks and stargazing events here.
The “Dark skies friendly network” includes providers and companies that offer night walks, courses on navigation, workshops on astrophotography and much more.
Twice a year, the North York Moors also hosts festivals around the theme of stars and astronomy: the Dark Skies Fringe Festival in autumn and the Dark Skies Festival in February.
The national park is a dream for bird lovers. Birds like golden plovers, curlews and snipes inhabit the moorland. And on the coast, you can see many different seabirds from the cliffs, including gannets, puffins, kingfishers, gulls, cormorants, skuas and terns.
The North Sea just off Whitby also offers a rich variety of marine life. The swarms of herring in late summer and autumn attract whales, sharks, seals and large seabirds. Especially in recent years, minke whales and bottlenose dolphins as well as thousands of seals have been regularly sighted, and sometimes even humpback whales, porpoises, white-beaked dolphins or fin whales.
There are now several whale-watching providers, including:
With so much exercise and fresh air, it’s important to refuel! Travelling sustainably also means tasting regional specialities that use local ingredients.
The North York Moors is known for being ‘Britain’s Capital of Cake’. Baking is a tradition here and in almost every town or village you will find cafes offering homemade baked goods. Many of them use local products and ingredients. Wild blueberries thrive well on the moorland soil, growing on low bushes and are often used in muffins or scones. The lemon buns of the Botham Bakery, in Whitby, have also gained a certain fame as a regional speciality, which you should try.
Beekeepers extract aromatic honey from the flowering heathland of the National Park – a nice holiday gift. Just like homemade chutneys or jams, honey is often available in small farm shops or at weekly markets. Helmsley has its own craft brewery, which also brews ‘Helmsley Honey’ beer – honey from the North York Moors is used.
A particularly enjoyable regional souvenir is Whitby Gin. For this purpose, a number of local botanicals are used to represent the diversity of moorland and coasts, such as heather flowers, which are collected between July and September. Whitby Gin is also working with SeaGrown, an algae farm a few miles off the coast of Scarborough, to collect flavours from the sea, including sugar kelp and dulse, while Yorkshire honey is also used in gin. There are different types of gin on offer, and Whitby Distillery also offers guided tours, including tastings.
