Picfair
MALHAM COVE
It’s easy to be glib about Yorkshire – to outsiders it’s the archetypal “up North” with all the clichés that implies, from flat caps to grim factories. For their part, many Yorkshire locals are happy to play up to these prejudices, while nursing a secret conviction that there really is no better place in the world to live. In some respects, it’s a world apart, its most distinctive characteristics – from the broad dialect to the breathtaking landscapes – deriving from a long history of settlement, invention and independence. It’s hard to argue with Yorkshire’s boasts that the beer’s better, the air’s cleaner and the people are friendlier.
The number-one destination is undoubtedly York, established by the Vikings and for centuries England’s second city; the region’s Norse heritage is still evident in Yorkshire dialect words, such as -gate (“street”, from the Norse gata), dale (“valley”), tarn (“pond”) and force (“waterfall”). York’s mixture of medieval, Georgian and Victorian architecture is repeated in towns such as Beverley, Richmond and Ripon, while the Yorkshire coast, too, retains something of its erstwhile grandeur – Bridlington and Scarborough boomed in the nineteenth century and again in the postwar period, though it’s in smaller resorts like Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay that the best of the coast is to be found today. A renewed vigour has infused the maritime city of Hull, which hopes to emulate the remarkable city-centre transformations of once-industrial Leeds and Sheffield to the south and west of the county, where Bradford also makes a fine diversion on the way to Haworth, home of the Brontë sisters.
The Yorkshire Dales, to the northwest, form a patchwork of stone-built villages, limestone hills, serene valleys and majestic heights. The county’s other National Park, the North York Moors, is divided into bleak upland moors and a tremendous rugged coastline between Robin Hood’s Bay and Staithes.
Getting around Yorkshire
By train Fast trains on the East Coast main line link York to London, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Leeds is served by trains from London, and is at the centre of the integrated Metro bus and train system that covers most of West and South Yorkshire. There are services to Scarborough (from York) and Whitby (from Middlesbrough), while the Settle to Carlisle line, to the southern and western Dales, can be accessed from Leeds, as can Hull.
Transport passes The North Country Rover ticket (
northernrailway.co.uk/tickets/rail-rover-tickets), £93 for four days in eight) covers train travel north of Leeds, Bradford and Hull and south of Newcastle and Carlisle.
YORK is the North’s most compelling city, a place whose history, said George VI, “is the history of England”. This is perhaps overstating things a little, but it reflects the significance of a metropolis that stood at the heart of the country’s religious and political life for centuries, and until the Industrial Revolution was second only to London in population and importance.
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WHITBY
Jorvik & Jorvik Dig, York Travel through time to Viking York, then seek out new discoveries at Jorvik Dig.
Fountains Abbey Enjoy views of the atmospheric ruins of Fountains Abbey set in spectacular Studley Water Garden.
Malham It’s a breathtaking hike from Malham village to the glorious natural amphitheatre of Malham Cove.
Haworth Visiting the moorland home of the talented and ultimately tragic Brontë sisters is an affecting experience, despite the crowds.
Bradford curry houses Bradford’s Indian restaurants provide wonderful opportunities for gastronomic exploration.
National Coal Mining Museum A working coal mine until the mid-1980s, now a museum; you can even head underground, if you’re brave enough.
Ferens Art Gallery Hull’s 2017 stint as European Capital of Culture marked the city’s transformation into a hub for the arts.
Whitby Follow in the footsteps of Count Dracula and Captain James Cook in this spectacularly pretty former whaling port.
HIGHLIGHTS ARE MARKED ON THE MAP
These days a more provincial air hangs over the city, except in summer when it comes to feel like a heritage site for the benefit of tourists. That said, no trip to this part of the country is complete without a visit to York, which is also well placed for any number of day-trips, the most essential being to Castle Howard, the gem among English stately homes.
The minster is the obvious place to start, and you won’t want to miss a walk around the old city walls. Standout historic buildings include the Minster’s Treasurer’s House, Georgian Fairfax House, the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, and the stark remnants of York’s Castle; the medieval city is at its most evocative around the streets known as Stonegate and the Shambles. The city’s favourite family attraction, Jorvik Viking Centre, isn’t far from here. The two major museum collections are the incomparable Castle Museum and the National Railway Museum (where the appeal goes way beyond railway memorabilia), while the Museum Gardens (yorkmuseumgardens.org.uk) between Exhibition Square and the river are home to the evocative ruins and gardens of St Mary’s Abbey and the child-friendly Yorkshire Museum. Recent redevelopment work has extended the gardens to the back of York Art Gallery.
An early Roman fortress of 71 AD in time became a city – Eboracum, capital of the empire’s northern European territories and the base for Hadrian’s northern campaigns. Later, the city became the fulcrum of Christianity in northern England: on Easter Day in 627, Bishop Paulinus, on a mission to establish the Roman Church, baptized King Edwin of Northumbria in a small timber chapel here. Six years later the church became the first minster and Paulinus the first archbishop of York.
In 867 the city fell to the Danes, who renamed it Jorvik, and later made it the capital of eastern England (Danelaw). Later Viking raids culminated in the decisive Battle of Stamford Bridge (1066) six miles east of the city, where English King Harold defeated Norse King Harald – a pyrrhic victory in the event, for Harold’s weakened army was defeated by the Normans just a few days later at the Battle of Hastings, with well-known consequences for all concerned.
The Normans devastated much of York’s hinterland in their infamous “Harrying of the North”. Stone walls were thrown up during the thirteenth century, when the city became a favoured Plantagenet retreat and commercial capital of the north, its importance reflected in the new title of Duke of York, bestowed ever since on the monarch’s second son. Although Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries took its toll on a city crammed with religious houses, York remained wedded to the Catholic cause, and the most famous of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators, Guy Fawkes, was born here. During the Civil War Charles I established his court in the city, which was strongly pro-Royalist, inviting a Parliamentarian siege. Royalist troops, however, were routed by Cromwell and Sir Thomas Fairfax at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644, another seminal battle in England’s history, which took place six miles west of York.
The city’s eighteenth-century history was marked by its emergence as a social centre for Yorkshire’s landed elite. While the Industrial Revolution largely passed it by, the arrival of the railways brought renewed prosperity, thanks to the enterprise of pioneering “Railway King” George Hudson, lord mayor during the 1830s and 1840s. The railway is gradually losing its role as a major employer, as is the traditional confectionery industry, and incomes are now generated by new service and bioscience industries – not forgetting, of course, the 6.9 million annual tourist visits.
Minster Yard, YO1 7HH • Mon–Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 12.45–5pm • £10 (including undercroft), combined ticket with tower £15; admission ticket valid for 12 months • Tours Mon–Sat 10am–3pm, on the hour; access to “Revealing York Minster” and the Orb included; 1hr • Included in entry price • 
01904 557200, yorkminster.org
York Minster ranks as one of the country’s most important sights. Seat of the Archbishop of York, it is Britain’s largest Gothic building and home to countless treasures, not least of which is an estimated half of all the medieval stained glass in England. The first significant foundations were laid around 1080 by the first Norman archbishop, Thomas of Bayeux, and it was from the germ of this Norman church that the present structure emerged.
Nothing else in the minster can match the magnificence of the stained glass in the nave and transepts. The West Window (1338) contains distinctive heart-shaped upper tracery (the “Heart of Yorkshire”), while in the nave’s north aisle, the second bay window (1155) contains slivers of the oldest stained glass in the country. The greatest of the church’s 128 windows, however, is the majestic East Window (1405), at 78ft by 31ft the world’s largest area of medieval stained glass in a single window.
The Minster’s foundations, or undercroft, have been turned into a museum, featuring a new interactive gallery “Revealing York Minster”. Among precious relics in the adjoining treasury is the eleventh-century Horn of Ulf, presented to the minster by a relative of the tide-turning King Canute. There’s also access from the undercroft to the crypt, the spot that transmits the most powerful sense of antiquity, as it contains sections of the original eleventh-century church, including pillars with fine Romanesque capitals. Access to the undercroft, treasury and crypt is from the south transept, which is also the entrance to the central tower, which you can climb for exhilarating rooftop views over the city.
The city’s superb walls date mainly from the fourteenth century, though fragments of Norman work survive, particularly in the gates (known as “bars”), and the northern sections still follow the line of the Roman ramparts. Monk Bar is as good a point of access as any, tallest of the city’s four main gates and host to the small Richard III Experience (daily: April–Oct 10am–5pm; Nov–March 10am–4pm; £5; 01904 615505, richardiiiexperience.com). For just a taste of the walls’ best section – with great views of the minster and acres of idyllic-looking gardens – take the ten-minute stroll west from Monk Bar to Exhibition Square and Bootham Bar, the only gate on the site of a Roman gateway and marking the traditional northern entrance to the city. A stroll round the walls’ entire two-and-a-half-mile length will also take you past the southwestern Micklegate Bar, long considered the most important of the gates since it marked the start of the road to London; it’s now home to the Henry VII Experience (April–Oct 10am–4pm; Nov–March 10am–3pm; £5; 01904 615505).
Exhibition Square, YO1 7EW • Daily 10am–5pm • £7.50; free access to garden • 01904 687687, yorkartgallery.org.uk
York Art Gallery houses an impressive collection of early Italian, British and northern European paintings, some of which are on display in the Burton Gallery. The gallery’s extensive recent renovations made space for its notable British studio ceramics collection, which now has a permanent home in two of the first-floor state-of-the-art exhibition spaces. The ground floor hosts a year-round series of special exhibitions and events and a café (daily 10am–4.45pm); a second entrance leads directly from the Museum Gardens.
Museum Gardens, YO1 7FR • Daily 10am–5pm • £7.50 • 01904 687687, yorkshiremuseum.org.uk
In the beautiful Museum Gardens, next to the romantic ruins of St Mary’s Abbey, sits the majestic Grade I listed building of the Yorkshire Museum. Five exciting, hands-on galleries comprise the “History of York”, a multiscreen, audiovisual display; “Extinct”, which covers dinosaurs and more recently extinct creatures; “Meet the People of the Empire” (Roman York); the “Power and the Glory” (Medieval York); and “Enquiry”, about how archeology and science can uncover the past.
One of York’s most picturesque streets, Stonegate is as ancient as the city itself. Originally the Via Praetoria of Roman York, it’s now paved with thick flags of York stone, which were once carried along here to build the minster (hence the name). The Tudor buildings that line it retain their considerable charm – Ye Olde Starre Inne at no. 40, one of York’s original inns, is on every tourist itinerary (you can’t miss the sign straddling the street).
Off Stonegate, YO1 8AR • Daily: April–Oct 10am–5pm, Nov–March 10–4pm • £6, under-17s £3; joint ticket with Jorvik £14/£9.25 • 01904 615505, barleyhall.co.uk
Step through an alley known as Coffee Yard (opposite Ye Olde Starre Inne) to find Barley Hall, a fine restoration of a late medieval townhouse with a lively museum where you can learn about fifteenth-century life by, among other things, playing period games and trying on costumes. Barley Hall is one of the Jorvik group of attractions.
York’s most famous street, and one which appears regularly on its promotional brochures, The Shambles could be taken as the epitome of the medieval city. Almost impossibly narrow and lined with perilously leaning timber-framed houses, it was the home of York’s butchers (the word “shambles” derives from the Old English for slaughterhouse) – old meat hooks still adorn the odd house.
Coppergate Shopping Centre, YO1 9WT • Daily: April–Oct 10am–5pm; Nov–March 10am–4pm • £10.25, under-17s £7.25; joint ticket with Jorvik Dig £14.45/£11; joint ticket with Barley Hall £14/£9.25 • 01904 615505, jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk
Excavations of Coppergate in 1976 uncovered York’s original Viking settlement, now largely buried beneath a shopping centre. But at adjacent Jorvik, visitors are propelled in “time capsules” on a ride through a reconstructed version of the tenth-century Viking city, immersing you in the sights, sounds and even the smells of the times. You also get to see how artefacts unearthed from the original site were used, and watch live-action domestic scenes on actual Viking-age streets, with constipated villagers, axe-fighting and other singular attractions.
St Saviourgate, YO1 8NN • Daily 10am–5pm • £6.50, under-17s £6; joint ticket with Jorvik £14.45/£11; pre-booking advised • 01904 615505, digyork.com
Where Jorvik shows what was unearthed at Coppergate, the associated attraction that is Jorvik Dig illustrates the science involved. Housed five minutes’ walk away from the museum, in the medieval church of St Saviour, on St Saviourgate, a simulated dig allows children to take part in a range of excavations in the company of archeologists, using authentic tools and methods. There’s an on-site exhibition Looking Back at Hungate (included in admission, or £2.50), which has some interesting artefacts from a five-year archeological excavation of local Roman, Viking and medieval remains.
Tower St, YO1 9SA • Daily 10am–6pm • £5; EH • 01904 646940, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/cliffords-tower-york
There’s precious little left of York Castle, one of two established by William the Conqueror. Only the perilously leaning Clifford’s Tower remains, a stark stone keep built between 1245 and 1262 to replace the original wooden keep burned down in 1190 AD when it was being used as a refuge by hundreds of Jews trying to escape anti-Semitic riots in the city. Of a rare quatrefoil (clove-leaf) design, perhaps an experiment to improve sight lines between the top of the keep and the base of the walls, it once had two floors with a supporting central column. Controversial plans are afoot to build a large visitor centre into the mound that the tower sits on.
Eye of York, YO1 9WD • Daily 9.30am–5pm • £10 • 01904 687687, yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk
Housed in what was once a couple of prisons, displays in the wonderfully inventive Castle Museum begin with a series of period rooms from the seventeenth century to the 1980s. There’s a large room devoted to Victorian attitudes to birth, marriage and death, followed by a wonderful reconstruction of the sights and sounds of York’s Kirkgate during the final years of the nineteenth century, often staffed by people dressed-in authentic costume. There are displays, too, of period kitchens, plus a superb re-creation of the fashion, music and news stories of the 1960s. Finally, the cells in the basement of the prison building contain an affecting series of real-life stories, told by video recordings of actors projected onto cell walls, gleaned from the prison’s records.
Leeman Rd, a 10min walk from the train station, YO26 4XJ • Daily 10am–6pm • Free • 0844 815 3139, nrm.org.uk • A “road train” shuttles visitors here from Duncombe Place next to York Minster (April–Oct daily every 30min; £2)
The National Railway Museum is a must if you have even the slightest interest in railways, history, engineering or Victoriana. The Great Hall alone features some fifty restored locomotives dating from 1829 onwards, among them Mallard, at 126mph the fastest steam engine ever built. After a lengthy on-site £4.2 million restoration, the Flying Scotsman is back on the tracks as a working exhibit (flyingscotsman.org.uk); it returns to the museum in winter. Engines aside, you can’t help but love the sheer Britishness of the Station Hall with its Royal carriages, railway memorabilia and real-life stories.
15 miles northeast of York off the A64, YO60 7DA • Late March to late Oct & late Nov to mid-Dec house daily 11am–4pm, grounds 10am–5pm; grounds also open Jan to late March & Nov to mid-Dec • £18.95; grounds only £11.95 • 01653 648333, castlehoward.co.uk • Tours run from York, or catch a Yorkshire Coastliner bus from York, Malton or Pickering, or summer-only Moorsbus from Helmsley
Immersed in the deep countryside of the Howardian Hills, Castle Howard is the seat of one of England’s leading aristocratic families and among the country’s grandest stately homes. The grounds especially are worth visiting, and you could easily spend the best part of a day here. The colossal main house was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1699 and was almost forty years in the making – remarkable enough, even were it not for the fact that Vanbrugh was, at the start of the commission at least, best known as a playwright and had no formal architectural training. Shrewdly, Vanbrugh recognized his limitations and called upon Nicholas Hawksmoor, who had a major part in the house’s structural design – the pair later worked successfully together on Blenheim Palace.
Vanbrugh also turned his attention to the estate’s thousand-acre grounds, where he could indulge his playful inclinations – the formal gardens, clipped parkland, towers, obelisks and blunt sandstone follies stretch in all directions, sloping gently to two artificial lakes. The whole is a charming artifice of grand, manicured views – an example of what three centuries, skilled gardeners and pots of money can produce.
Arrival and departure York and around
By train Trains arrive at York Station, just outside the city walls, a 10min walk from the historic core.
Destinations Durham (every 10min; 50min); Harrogate (hourly; 30min); Hull (hourly; 1hr); Leeds (every 10–15min; 25min); London (every 30min; 2hr); Manchester (every 15min; 1hr 25min); Newcastle (every 15min; 1hr); Scarborough (hourly; 50min); Sheffield (every 15–30min; 45min).
By bus National Express buses and most other regional bus services drop off and pick up on Rougier St, 200yd north of the train station, or on Station Road itself. Companies include East Yorkshire (for Hull, Beverley and Bridlington; eyms.co.uk) and Yorkshire Coastliner/City Zap (for Leeds, Castle Howard, Pickering, Scarborough and Whitby; yorkbus.co.uk).
Destinations Beverley (Mon–Sat hourly, Sun 7 daily; 1hr 10min); Hull (Mon–Sat hourly, Sun 7 daily; 1hr 35min); Leeds (Mon–Sat every 15min, Sun every 30min; 50min–1hr 20min); Pickering (hourly; 1hr 8min); Scarborough (hourly; 1hr 40min); Whitby (4–6 daily; 2hr 13min).
On foot The historic core is easily explored on foot; from the minster in the north, for example, to Castle Museum in the south is about a 10min walk. Indeed, one of the best ways to explore the city is to circumnavigate it atop the splendid city walls.
By taxi There are taxi ranks at Duncombe Place and the train station, or call Streamline Taxis on 01904 656565.
Tourist office 1 Museum St, on the corner with Blake Street (Mon–Sat 9am–5pm, July & Aug to 5.30pm, Sun 10am–4pm; 01904 550099, visityork.org). There is also a smaller tourist office at the train station.
Listings information The monthly What’s On York (whatsonyork.com) provides detailed entertainment, events, festival and exhibition listings for the city. Online guide YORK:PM (york-pm.co.uk) is another useful local resource.
Bus tours City tours by bus – pick up details at the tourist office – cost around £10. Stephensons of Easingwold (01347 838990, stephensonsofeasingwold.co.uk) operates services to Castle Howard for £10 return, along with several routes to the Dales.
Walking tours The York Association of Voluntary Guides (01904 550098, avgyork.co.uk) offers a free historic guided tour of the city (daily: April–Oct 10.15am & 1.15pm, Nov–March 10.15am & 2.15pm, plus June–August 6.15pm; 2hr), from outside the York Art Gallery – just turn up. The tourist office has details of other tours, which start at around £6.
River cruises The best river operator is YorkBoat (01904 628324, yorkboat.co.uk; Feb–Nov; cruises from £10, families £27; 45min–1hr), who run cruises with commentary from King’s Staith and Lendal Bridge.
York Pass The York Pass (01904 550099, yorkpass.com) gives free entry to over thirty attractions, not only in the city (eg Barley Hall, Clifford’s Tower, Jorvik Dig and Fairfax House) but also elsewhere (Castle Howard and the North York Moors Railway); it costs £38/£50/£65 for one/two/three days respectively, with reductions if you buy it online.
The main B&B concentration is in the side streets off Bootham (immediately west of Exhibition Square), with nothing much more than a 10min walk from the centre.
Bar Convent 17 Blossom St, YO24 1AQ 01904 464902, bar-convent.org.uk; map. Unique opportunity to stay in a working convent. The grand Georgian building houses a museum and café as well as nine single rooms, twins, doubles and a family room (en-suite a little more expensive), self-catering kitchen and guest lounge. Single £44, double £74
Bowman’s 33 Grosvenor Terrace, YO30 7AG 01904 622204, bowmansguesthouse.co.uk; map. Six spotless rooms in a friendly renovated Victorian terrace B&B off Bootham, within easy reach of the city centre. They provide a permit for free on-street parking. £80
The Fort Little Stonegate, YO1 8AX 01904 639573, thefortyork.co.uk; map. An interesting idea – a “boutique hostel” in the city centre, offering rooms and dorms decorated on themes (log cabin, deep-sea creatures) at a knock-down price. Dorms £22, doubles £85
Grand Hotel and Spa Station Rise, YO1 6GD 01904 891949, thegrandyork.co.uk; map. Splendid five-star hotel and spa a 2min walk from the train station, housed in what was the 1906 headquarters of the North Eastern Railway. Bags of character, with wonderful views of the walls and the minster, luxurious rooms, a fine-dining restaurant and relaxing bar. £180
Hedley House Hotel 3 Bootham Terrace, YO30 7DH 01904 637404, hedleyhouse.com; map. Friendly, comfortable small hotel that is at its best in summer, when the outdoor area with jacuzzi comes into its own. There is a spa and hot-room yoga available on site. Free car parking on first-come, first served basis. £115
Mount Royale The Mount, YO24 1GU 01904 628856, www.mountroyale.co.uk; map. Lots of antiques, super garden suites (and cheaper rooms), and a heated outdoor pool in summer. Plus a hot tub, sauna and steam room, and a well-regarded restaurant. £125
Rowntree Park Caravan Club Site Terry Ave, YO23 1JQ 01904 658997, caravanclub.co.uk; map. A wonderful site, the best-located in the city, a 10min walk from the centre, with a back gate that opens onto a street of delis, gastropubs and shops. Open to non-members. Mainly for caravans and motorhomes, but with a small tent enclosure – those with tents must arrive on foot. Advance booking essential, especially at weekends. Motorhome plus two adults £26
Safestay York Micklegate House, 88–90 Micklegate, YO1 6JX 01904 627720, safestayyork.co.uk; map. In a handsome 1752 building in the centre of the city, with many impressive features. Beds are in dorms (sleeping 4 to 14) and private rooms, all en suite; prices drop during the week and for multi-night stays. Dorms £21, doubles £80
Ate O Clock 13a High Ousegate, YO1 8RZ 01904 644080, ateoclockyork.co.uk; map. The name is dreadful, but the – largely Mediterranean – food is excellent, and there’s attentive service and a relaxed atmosphere. Lunch dishes such as risotto come in around £8.50, while main dishes are around £14–20. Music most Fri evenings. Tues–Thurs noon–3.30pm & 5.50–9.30pm, Fri noon–3.30pm & 5.50–10pm, Sat & Sun noon–10pm.
Betty’s 6–8 St Helen’s Square, YO1 8QP 01904 659142, bettys.co.uk; map. Famous across Yorkshire, Betty’s specializes in cakes and pastries like granny used to make (or not) – try a hot buttered pikelet (£2.95) or a Yorkshire fat rascal (£4.10) – plus hot dishes and puddings from around £6. No reservations. In the basement there’s a mirror with the signatures of the hundreds of Allied airmen who used Betty’s as an unofficial mess during World War II. Daily 9am–9pm.
Brew & Brownie 5 Museum St, YO1 7DT 01904 647420, brewandbrownie.co.uk; map. This buzzing café is usually busy with students and thirty-somethings enjoying strong coffee and stupendous homemade cakes. Brunch and light lunches not to be missed either – a stack of American pancakes for £6.25, or the Eeh Bah Gum sharing plate for £15. Yorkshire-sourced produce where possible. Mon–Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 9.30–4pm.
Café Concerto 21 High Petergate, YO1 7EN 01904 610478, cafeconcerto.biz; map. Relaxed, belle epoque-style bistro facing the minster, with sheet-music-papered walls and waiting staff in robust aprons. Food is modern European; there are papers to browse. Daily 9am–9pm.
Café No. 8 8 Gillygate, YO31 7EQ 01904 653074, cafeno8.co.uk; map. Limited menu using excellent locally sourced produce (Masham sausages, Yorkshire beef and lamb, Ryedale ice cream, beer from Masham) in unpretentious surroundings. Mains cost around £10 during the day, and £14–17 in the evening, or have two courses midweek for £12.50. Its heated garden is a popular spot, and they now have a café in the Art Gallery. Mon–Fri noon–10pm, Sat & Sun 9am–10pm.
Rustique 28 Castlegate, YO1 9RP 01904 612744, rustiqueyork.co.uk; map. French-style bistro serving excellent-value Gallic food and wine. There are a couple of set menus (two courses £14.95, three £17.95); a la carte features all the classics, including steak frites, moules marinière and confit de canard. Mon–Sat noon–10pm, Sun noon–9pm.
Blue Bell Fossgate, YO1 9TF 01904 654904; map. Built in 1798, the Blue Bell is a tiny, friendly local with two rooms, oak-panelling and good real ales. When landlord John took over in 2015, he upheld the traditional pub values: no mobile phones or swearing. Mon–Thurs 11am–11pm, Fri & Sat 11am–12.30am, Sun noon–10.30pm.
Fibbers 3 Toft Green, YO1 6JT 01904 651250, fibbers.co.uk; map. York’s primary live-music venue, Fibbers regularly puts on local and nationally known bands in a lively atmosphere. Hours changeable; check online.
House of Trembling Madness 48 Stonegate, YO1 8AS 01904 640009, tremblingmadness.co.uk; map. A wonderfully atmospheric attic pub (it’s above their shop) with exposed beams and a medieval hall feel. Bar snacks are exceptional and so is the range of craft ales, lagers and ciders. Arrive early to avoid the queue. Mon–Sat 10am–midnight, Sun 11am–midnight.
The Swan 16 Bishopgate, YO23 1JH 01904 634968; map. Proper local, a Tetley Heritage Inn that offers convivial surroundings, well-kept real ale and a really friendly atmosphere a few minutes from the city centre. Mon–Wed 4–11pm, Thurs 4–11.30pm, Fri 3pm–midnight, Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–10.30pm.
Three-Legged Mare 15 High Petergate, YO1 7EN 01904 638246, threeleggedmareyork.co.uk; map. A converted shop provides an airy outlet for York Brewery’s own quality beer. No kids, no jukebox, no video games. It’s named after a three-legged gallows – it’s there on the pub sign, with a replica in the beer garden. Mon–Sat 11am–midnight, Sun 11am–11pm.
York has its fair share of theatres and cinemas, and classical music concerts and recitals are often held in the city’s churches and York Minster. Major annual events include the Viking Festival (jorvik-viking-festival.co.uk) every Feb and the Early Music Festival (ncem.co.uk), perhaps the best of its kind in the country, held in July. The city is also famous for its Mystery Plays (ympst.co.uk), traditionally held every four years – the next are planned for 2018.
The Basement 13–17 Coney St, below City Screen cinema, YO1 9QL 01904 612940, thebasementyork.co.uk. An intimate venue with a variety of nights – from music to comedy to arts events. The first Wed of every month is “Café Scientifique” – a free evening of discussion surrounding current issues in science. Live music events are scattered through the week, along with cabaret, burlesque and club nights. Most nights 8–11pm.
City Screen 13–17 Coney St, YO1 9QL 0871 902 5726, picturehouses.co.uk. The city’s independent cinema is the art-house choice, with three screens, a riverside café-bar, and licensed restaurant.
Grand Opera House Cumberland St at Clifford St, YO1 9SW 0844 871 3024, atgtickets.com. Musicals, ballet, pop gigs and family entertainment in all its guises.
The National Centre for Early Music St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, YO1 9TL 01904 632220, ncem.co.uk. Not just early music, but also folk, world and jazz.
HARROGATE – the very picture of genteel Yorkshire respectability – owes its landscaped appearance and early prosperity to the discovery of Tewit Well in 1571. This was the first of more than eighty ferrous and sulphurous hot springs that, by the nineteenth century, were to turn the town into one of the country’s leading spas. With this in mind, tours of the town should begin with the Royal Baths, facing Crescent Road, first opened in 1897 and now restored to their late Victorian finery. You can experience the beautiful Moorish-style interior during a session at the Turkish Baths and Health Spa (from £15.50, booking recommended especially at weekends; 01423 556746, turkishbathsharrogate.co.uk).
Pump Room Crown Place, HG1 2RY • Mon–Sat 10.30am–4pm, Sun 2–4pm • £4 • 01423 556188 • Mercer Art Gallery • Tues–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 2–5pm • Free • 01423 556188
Just along from the Royal Baths stands the Royal Pump Room, built in 1842 over the sulphur well that feeds the baths. Today it houses a small local museum with eclectic exhibits from Victorian bikes to an Egyptian collection. The town’s earliest surviving spa building, the old Promenade Room of 1806, is just 100yd from the Pump Room on Swan Road – now housing the Mercer Art Gallery and its changing fine art exhibitions. The nearby 17-acre Valley Gardens are a delightful place to stretch your legs (entrance just over the zebra crossing).
Crag Lane, 1.5 miles west of the centre, HG3 1QB • Daily March–Oct 9.30am–6pm, Nov–Feb 9.30am–4pm • £11 • 01423 565418, rhs.org.uk • Bus #X6A (every 20min) or follow the path from Valley Gardens through Pinewoods
The botanical gardens at Harlow Carr are the northern showpiece of the Royal Horticultural Society. The woodland and wildflower meadow are a wonderful place to wander, but there are also formal rose gardens, an alpine house and kitchen gardens to explore. Year-round events are hosted, including Live Music Sundays in July and August (1–4pm), and Betty’s (daily 9am–5.30pm) have a branch of their popular tearooms overlooking the grounds.
Arrival and information Harrogate
By train The station is on Station Parade, on the eastern edge of the town centre. There are regular services from/to Leeds (every 30min; 37min).
By bus The bus station is next to the train station on Station Parade and is served by #36 buses from/to Leeds (every 15min–1hr; 40min) and Ripon (every 15min–1hr; 32min).
Tourist office In the Royal Baths on Crescent Road (April–Oct Mon–Sat 9am–5.30pm, Sun 10am–1pm; Nov–March Mon–Sat 9.30am–5pm; 01423 537300, visitharrogate.co.uk).
Acorn Lodge Studley Rd, HG1 5JU 01423 525630, acornlodgeharrogate.co.uk. A guesthouse with big-hotel aspirations (luxury fittings, individual decor, jacuzzi, in-room massages) but B&B friendliness (and tariffs). Well placed for the town centre (a 5min walk). £94
The Grafton 1–3 Franklin Mount, HG1 5EJ 01423 508491, graftonhotel.co.uk. Just a 10min walk from town, and close to the International Conference Centre, the hotel’s thirteen stylish rooms all have drape curtains and tasteful decor. The helpful owners will lend you a permit for parking. Price drops £20 Sun–Thurs. £135
Studley Swan Rd, HG1 2SE 01423 560425, studleyhotel.co.uk. Mid-sized independent hotel with attached Thai restaurant. The attractive rooms vary in size and cost, and service is good, though the restaurant can get very busy. You can find surprisingly good rates online. £119
Betty’s 1 Parliament St, HG1 2QU 01423 814070, bettys.co.uk. Betty’s has a uniquely old-fashioned air, with a wrought-iron canopy, large bowed windows, a light airy room and waiting staff in starched linen. While they are known for cakes (from £2.95), speciality teas and coffees, they also offer delicious breakfasts and mains – try the Swiss breakfast rösti (£11.85). No reservations (except for afternoon tea Fri–Sun), so you may have to wait. They have another outlet at RHS Gardens Harlow Carr. Daily 9am–9pm.
10 Devonshire Place HG1 4AA 01423 202356. A bit of a walk east of town, but worth it. An old coaching inn with bags of character, it can get crowded (especially for the brill pub quiz on Sunday night), but always has a fantastic atmosphere. There’s a bottle shop tucked away as you walk in. Mon–Thurs 3pm–midnight, Fri–Sun noon–midnight.
Le D2 Bower Rd, HG1 1BB 01423 502700, led2.co.uk. Quality French food and excellent service in unpretentious surroundings, and at affordable prices – one course for £9.95 at lunch and three courses for £19.95 in the evening (includes a drink). Tues–Thurs noon–2pm & 6pm–late, Fri & Sat noon–2pm & 5.30pm–late.
The Tannin Level 5 Raglan St, HG1 1LE 01423 560595, tanninlevel.co.uk. Popular brasserie, smartly understated, with a Michelin-trained cook and super locally sourced food. Express two courses £13.95, a la carte mains around £15–25. Tues–Fri noon–2pm & 5.30–9pm, Sat noon–2pm & 5.30–9.30pm.
The attractive market town of RIPON, eleven miles north of Harrogate, is centred upon its small cathedral (Mon–Sat 8.30am–6pm, Sun noon–5pm; donation requested; 01765 602072, riponcathedral.info), which can trace its ancestry back to its foundation by St Wilfrid in 672; the original crypt below the central tower can still be reached down a stone passage. The town’s other focus is its Market Place, linked by narrow Kirkgate to the cathedral (market day is Thurs, with a farmers’ market on the third Sun of the month). Meanwhile, three restored buildings – prison, courthouse and workhouse (which was expanded in 2017) – show a different side of the local heritage, under the banner of the Yorkshire Law and Order Museums (all daily: Workhouse 11am–4pm; Prison & Police and Courthouse 1–4pm; combined ticket £12; 01765 690799, riponmuseums.co.uk). Just four miles away lies Fountains Abbey, the one Yorkshire monastic ruin you must see.
4 miles southwest of Ripon off the B6265, HG4 3DY • Feb & March daily 10am–5pm; April–Oct daily 10am–6pm; Oct–Jan Sat–Thurs 10am–5pm; free guided tours of abbey April–Oct daily • £15; NT & EH • 01765 608888, fountainsabbey.org.uk • #139 bus from Ripon (Mon, Thurs & Sat 4 daily; 15min)
It’s tantalizing to imagine how the English landscape might have appeared had Henry VIII not dissolved the monasteries, and the substantial ruins at Fountains Abbey gives a good idea of what might have been. The abbey was founded in 1133 by thirteen dissident Benedictine monks and formally adopted by the Cistercian order two years later. Within a hundred years, Fountains had become the wealthiest Cistercian foundation in England, supporting a magnificent abbey church. The almost-intact Perpendicular Tower, 180ft high, looms over the whole ensemble, while equally grandiose in scale is the undercroft of the Lay Brothers’ Dormitory off the cloister, a stunningly vaulted space over 300ft long that was used to store the monastery’s annual harvest of fleeces. Its sheer size gives some idea of the abbey’s entrepreneurial scope; the estate produced some thirteen tons of wool annually, most of it sold to Venetian and Florentine merchants who toured the monasteries.
A riverside walk, marked from the visitor centre car park, takes you through Fountains Abbey to a series of ponds and ornamental gardens, harbingers of Studley Royal Water Garden (same times as the abbey), which can also be entered via the village of Studley Roger, where there’s a separate car park. This lush medley of lawns, lake, woodland and Deer Park was laid out in 1720 to form a setting for the abbey, and there are some scintillating views from the gardens, though it’s the cascades and water gardens that command most attention.
Arrival and information Ripon and around
By bus Ripon is served by #36 buses from/to Harrogate (every 10–25min; 35min) and Leeds (every 20–35min; 1hr 30min); the bus station is just off Market Place.
Tourist information Ripon Town Hall, Market Place (April–Oct Mon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 10am–1pm; Nov–March Thurs & Sat 10am–4pm; closes daily 1–1.30pm year-round; 01765 604625, visitharrogate.co.uk).
The Old Deanery Minster Rd, HG4 1QS 01765 600003, theolddeanery.co.uk. Luxurious contemporary hotel opposite the cathedral with eleven charming rooms. The innovative menu (main courses from £15.95) features dishes such as belly of pork or fried stone bass. Mon–Sat noon–2pm & 7–9pm, Sun 12.30–2.30pm. £125
The Yorkshire Dales – “dales” from the Norse word dalr (valley) – form a varied upland area of limestone hills and pastoral valleys at the heart of the Pennines. Protected as a National Park (or, in the case of Nidderdale, as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), there are more than twenty main dales covering 680 square miles, crammed with opportunities for outdoor activities. Most approaches are from the south, via the superbly engineered Settle to Carlisle Railway, or along the main A65 road from towns such as Skipton, Settle and Ingleton. Southern dales like Wharfedale are the most visited, while neighbouring Malhamdale is also immensely popular due to the fascinating scenery squeezed into its narrow confines around Malham village. Ribblesdale is more sombre, its villages popular with hikers intent on tackling the famous Three Peaks – the mountains of Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside. To the northwest lies the more remote Dentdale, one of the least known but most beautiful of the valleys, and further north still Wensleydale and Swaledale, the latter of which rivals Dentdale as the most rewarding overall target. Both flow east, with Swaledale’s lower stretches encompassing the appealing historic town of Richmond.
Getting around and information The Yorkshire Dales
On foot The Pennine Way cuts right through the heart of the Dales, and the region is crossed by the Coast-to-Coast Walk, but the principal local route is the 84-mile Dales Way (dalesway.org.uk). Shorter guided walks (5–13 miles; April–Oct Sun & bank hols; free) are organized by the National Park Authority and Dalesbus Ramblers (dalesbusramblers.org.uk).
By bike The Dales has a network of over 500 miles of bridleways, byways and other routes for mountain bikers (download routes on yorkshiredales.org.uk). The main touring cycle route is the circular 130-mile Yorkshire Dales Cycle Way (www.cyclethedales.org.uk), which starts and finishes in Skipton.
By public transport Bus timetables (dalesbus.org) are available at tourist offices across the region, as are Dales Explorer timetable booklets, or consult wymetro.com.
National Park Centres There are useful National Park Centres (yorkshiredales.org.uk) at Grassington, Aysgarth Falls, Malham, Reeth and Hawes (April–Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov–March Sat & Sun 10am–4pm; Hawes is also open weekdays Feb & March, but all sites close in Jan).
Skipton (Anglo-Saxon for “sheep town”) sits on the Dales’ southern edge, at the intersection of the two routes that cradle the National Park and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – the A65 to the western and the A59/61 to the eastern dales. A pleasant market town with a long history, it is defined by its castle and church, by its long, wide and sloping High Street, and by a water system that includes the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, its spur the Springs Canal and the Eller Beck.
Arrival and information Skipton
By train Trains run from/to Leeds (every 30min–2hr; 54min) and Bradford (every 30min; 49min), and there’s a daily service to London (every 30min; 3hr 10min with one change). The train is by far the best way of getting to Dentdale/Ribblesdale: Dent (every 2hr; 46min); Settle (every 30min–1hr 25min; 30min–1hr).
By bus Buses run from Skipton up Wharfedale towards Buckden (every 2hr; 1hr), to Malham (every 2–3hr; 35min) and Settle (every 2hr; around 40–50min). Links to the rest of the Dales are more difficult, and usually involve using trains and/or changing buses.
Tourist office Town Hall, High Street (Mon–Sat 9.30am–4pm; 01756 792809).
Useful website welcometoskipton.com.
Herriot’s Hotel Broughton Rd, BD23 1RT 01756 792781, herriotsforleisure.co.uk. A short walk along the canal towpath from the centre of Skipton, in a Victorian listed building, the boutique-style hotel and its restaurant, Rhubarb, both offer cheerful decor and lots of original features. Rooms vary in size and price, and there are frequent packages available. £125
The Woolly Sheep Inn 38 Sheep St, BD23 1HY 01756 700966, woollysheepinn.co.uk. Pleasant town-centre Timothy Taylor tavern which offers a good range of pub food (from £11) along with sandwiches, steaks and pasta dishes. The nine rooms are comfortable and well furnished, though some are small. Convivial, but pub noise can reach some of the rooms at weekends. Mon–Wed 10am–11pm, Thurs 10am–midnight, Fri & Sat 10am–1am, Sun noon–11pm; kitchen Mon–Sat 11.30am–9pm, Sun noon–8pm. £80
The small town of ILKLEY holds a special place in the iconography of Yorkshire out of all proportion to its size, largely because it’s the setting of the county’s unofficial anthem, On Ilkley Moor baht ’at. Vibrant and stylish, Ilkley has plenty to see, including an interesting church, a toy museum (ilkleytoymuseum.co.uk) and enough top-end shops, bars and restaurants to keep even the visiting urbanites happy.
Church St, LS29 9DS • Office hours Mon & Thurs 9.30am–2.30pm, Tues 9am–noon • 01943 816035
Ilkley’s parish church, All Saints, was established in AD 627 by King Edwin of Northumbria and Bishop Paulinus of York, whose carved heads you can see in the entrance porch. Inside, highlights include three impressive eighth-century Saxon crosses, a family pew dating from 1633 and a Norman font made of Ilkley Moor stone with a seventeenth-century font cover complete with pulley and counterweight for raising and lowering it. Tucked in just behind the church, Ilkley Manor House (manorhouse.ilkley.org) stands on the site of a Roman fort (you can see a section of the original Roman wall at the rear of the building).
A 20min walk from the town centre
Dominating Ilkley’s southern skyline is its famous moor, somehow smaller yet more forbidding than you might expect. Far from being a remote wilderness, it is very much part of the town’s fabric: a place where people can walk, climb or ponder the immensities of time reflected in its ancient rock formations and prehistoric markings. Look out for the Swastika Stone, the Twelve Apostles, the famous Cow and Calf, and a host of cup-and-ring marked rocks. For a bite to eat or a dip in its eighteenth-century open-air plunge pool, you can also visit the White Wells Spa Cottage Café on Wells Road (pool open when the flag is flying, usually Sat & Sun 10am–5pm, plus school hols Mon–Fri 2–5pm; 01943 608035).
Arrival and information Ilkley
By train Ilkley station, in Station Plaza in the town centre, is the terminus of a line which links the town to Leeds and Bradford (every 30min; 31min).
By bus The bus station is next to the train station.
Destinations Bolton Abbey (Mon, Wed & Sat 3 daily; 17min); Harrogate (every 2hr; 55min), Leeds (every 30min; 1hr); Malham (6 daily; 1hr 10min); Skipton (hourly; 30min).
Tourist office Station Road (April–Sept Mon–Sat 9.30am–4.30pm; Oct–March Mon–Sat 10am–4pm, Tues from 10.30am; 01943 602319, visitilkley.com).
Bar t’at Ale and Wine Bar 7 Cunliffe Rd, LS29 9DZ 01943 608888, markettowntaverns.co.uk. With an irresistible name, a huge selection of wines and beers and a good atmosphere, this place also offers a decent range of light lunches, sandwiches, and main meals (£9.50–12.50), though service can be slow. Daily noon–11pm; kitchen Mon–Thurs noon–8pm, Fri & Sat noon–9pm, Sun noon–6pm.
The Box Tree 35–37 Church St, LS29 9DR 01943 608484, theboxtree.co.uk. One of Yorkshire’s handful of Michelin-starred restaurants, offering inventive modern French cuisine in mellow surroundings. There are fixed-price menus at £37.50 (lunch), £47.50 (dinner), £65 (called a la carte, though it’s not) and £80 (gourmand). Wed & Thurs 7–9.30pm, Fri & Sat noon–2pm & 7–9.30pm, Sun noon–3pm.
The Flying Duck 16 Church St, LS29 9DS 01943 609587, wharfedalebrewery.com. Occupying the town’s oldest pub building, this real ale pub sports old stone walls, beamed ceilings and stone-flagged and wooden-floored rooms. Also has its own brewery in a barn at the rear. Mon–Thurs & Sun noon–11pm, Fri & Sat noon–12.30am.
Piccolino 31–33 Brook St, LS29 8AE 01943 605827, individualrestaurants.com. Large Italian restaurant in the centre of Ilkley, one of a chain across the country. The star attraction is a roof terrace (with a retractable roof and heaters – this is England after all), which has terrific views across the town. Good food (mains around £16–23) and helpful staff. Mon–Sat 10am–11pm, Sun 10am–10.30pm.
The River Wharfe runs south from just below Wensleydale, eventually joining the Ouse south of York. The best of Wharfedale starts just east of Skipton at Bolton Abbey, and then continues north in a broad, pastoral sweep scattered with villages as picture-perfect as any in northern England. The popular walking centre of Grassington is the main village.
BOLTON ABBEY, five miles east of Skipton, is the name of a whole village rather than an abbey, a confusion compounded by the fact that the place’s main monastic ruin is known as Bolton Priory (daily 8am–dusk; free; 01756 710238, boltonpriory.org.uk). The priory is the starting point for several popular riverside walks, including a section of the Dales Way footpath that follows the river’s west bank to take in Bolton Woods and the Strid (from “stride”), an extraordinary piece of white water two miles north of the abbey, where softer rock has allowed the river to funnel into a cleft just a few feet wide. Beyond the Strid, the path emerges at Barden Bridge, four miles from the priory, where Barden Tower shelters The Priests House, a wedding venue which is sometimes open for Sunday lunch (thepriestshouse.com).
Arrival and information Bolton Abbey
By train For a fun excursion, ride the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway (late July and Aug five daily; rest of year schedule varies, check website; day rover £11; 01756 710614, embsayboltonabbeyrailway.org.uk). Trains run between Embsay, 1.5 miles east of Skipton, to Bolton Abbey station, around a mile from the abbey ruins – a journey of 15min.
Tourist information The main source of information is the estate office (Bolton Abbey, 01756 718009, boltonabbey.com).
Cavendish Pavilion One mile north of Bolton Abbey along the river, D23 6AN 01756 710245, cavendishpavilion.co.uk. Restaurant and café on the Bolton Abbey estate serving roasts, casseroles and the like at good prices. Daily: March–Oct 10am–5pm; Nov–Feb 10am–4pm.
GRASSINGTON is Wharfedale’s main village, nine miles northwest of Bolton Abbey. The cobbled Market Square is home to several inns, a few gift shops and, in a converted lead-miner’s cottage, a small Folk Museum (April–Oct daily 2–4.30pm; free; 01756 753287, grassingtonfolkmuseum.org.uk), which is filled with domestic equipment and artefacts relating to local crafts and farming.
Arrival and Information Grassington
By bus #72/72R buses to Grassington run roughly hourly (X43 on Sun and bank hols) from Skipton (33min) and then, six times a day, on up the B6160 to Kettlewell, Starbotton and Buckden in upper Wharfedale.
National Park Centre Hebden Road, across from the bus stop (April–Oct daily 10am–5pm; for winter hours, check with the centre; 01756 751690, yorkshiredales.org.uk).
Angel Inn Hetton, 4 miles southwest of Grassington, BD23 6LT 01756 730263, angelhetton.co.uk. The Dales’ gastropub par excellence has nine immaculate rooms and suites that are either in the charming cottage next door to the inn, or just over the road in a converted barn. Main courses from £17.95. Kitchen Mon–Thurs noon–2.15pm & 6–8.30pm, Fri & Sat noon–2.15pm & 6–9.30pm, Sun noon–2.30pm & 6–8.30pm. £150
Grassington Lodge 8 Wood Lane, BD23 5LU 01756 752518, grassingtonlodge.co.uk. A splash of contemporary style – coordinated fabrics, hardwood floors, Dales photographs – together with a pleasant front terrace enhances this comfortable village guesthouse. £90
KETTLEWELL (a Norse/Old English compound name for “bubbling spring”) is the main centre for Upper Wharfedale, and it has plenty of local B&B accommodation plus a youth hostel. It was also one of the major locations for Calendar Girls, the 2003 based-on-a-true-story film of doughty Yorkshire ladies who bared all for a charity calendar.
Arrival and departure Upper Wharfedale
By bus There’s a Sun and bank hol bus service (#800) from Leeds to Hawes, connecting the top end of Wharfedale with Wensleydale, via Ilkley, Grassington and Kettlewell, among other stops. It takes 3hr 10min for the whole trip, and 1hr 5min from Kettlewell to Hawes.
Blue Bell Inn Kettlewell, BD23 5DX 01756 760230, bluebellkettlewell.co.uk. Pretty seventeenth-century coaching inn that’s very much a traditional pub and serves good, no-nonsense pub grub (lasagne, steak and ale pie and the like; main courses £10–15). Daily specials are a cut above the usual fare. Daily noon–11pm; kitchen Mon–Fri noon–2.30pm & 5–8pm, Sat noon–9pm, Sun noon–8pm. £85
Racehorses Hotel Kettlewell, BD23 5QZ 01756 760233, racehorseshotel.co.uk. Comfortable, refurbished hotel in what was once the Blue Bell Inn’s stables. The food is a cut above your standard bar food (home-made paté, for example, or rare-breed belly pork); main courses start at £11. Daily noon–2pm & 6–9pm. £90
A few miles west of Wharfedale lies Malhamdale, one of the National Park’s most heavily visited regions, thanks to its three outstanding natural features of Malham Cove, Malham Tarn and Gordale Scar. All three attractions are within easy hiking distance of Malham village.
MALHAM village is home to barely a couple of hundred people who inhabit the huddled stone houses on either side of a bubbling river. Appearing in spectacular fashion a mile to the north, the white-walled limestone amphitheatre of Malham Cove rises 300ft above its surroundings. After a breath-sapping haul to the top, you are rewarded with fine views and the famous limestone pavement, an expanse of clints (slabs) and grykes (clefts) created by water seeping through weaker lines in the limestone rock. A simple walk (or summer shuttle-bus ride) over the moors abruptly brings Malham Tarn into sight, its waterfowl protected by a nature reserve on the west bank. Meanwhile, at Gordale Scar (also easily approached direct from Malham village), the cliffs are if anything more spectacular than at Malham Cove. The classic circuit takes in cove, tarn and scar in a clockwise walk from Malham (8 miles; 3hr 30min).
Arrival and information Malhamdale
By bus Malham village is served year-round by bus services from Skipton (3 daily; 35min) and the seasonal Malham Tarn shuttle (Easter–Oct Sun & bank hols 3 daily; 25min) which runs between Settle and the National Park Centre.
National Park Centre At the southern edge of the village (April–Oct daily 10am–5pm; for winter hours, check with centre; 01729 833200, yorkshiredales.org.uk).
Website A good online source of tourist information is malhamdale.com.
Buck Inn Cove Road, BD23 4DA 01729 830317, thebuckmalham.co.uk. Pleasant pub that’s popular with walkers. Given the good, locally sourced food – especially sausages, pies and steaks (main courses £10–22) – eleven comfortable rooms, and a relaxed attitude to muddy boots, this is the ideal base for a walking holiday. Daily noon–9pm. £95
Miresfield Farm Across the river from the Buck Inn and Lister Arms, BD23 4DA 01729 830414, malhamdale.com/miresfield.htm. The first house in the village, by the river, with lovely rural views. The country-pine-bedecked rooms vary in size, and there’s a small campsite with toilet and shower. Breakfast available. £64
The Settle to Carlisle Railway
The 72-mile Settle to Carlisle line – hailed by some as “England’s most scenic railway” – is a feat of Victorian railway engineering that has few equals in Britain. In particular, between Horton and Ribblehead, the line climbs 200ft in five miles, before crossing the famous 24-arched Ribblehead viaduct and disappearing into the 2629yd Blea Moor Tunnel. Meanwhile, the station at Dent Head is the highest, bleakest mainline station in England. The journey through the Yorkshire Dales and Eden Valley from Settle to Carlisle takes 1hr 40min, so it’s easy to do the full return trip in one day (£20.90). If you’re short of time, ride the most dramatic section between Settle and Garsdale (30min). There are connections to Settle from Skipton (20min) and Leeds (1hr); full timetable details are available from settle-carlisle.co.uk.
YHA Malham Centre of village, next to the Lister Arms pub, BD23 4DB 0845 371 9529, yha.org.uk/hostel/malham. A purpose-built and newly renovated hostel that’s a good bet for families and serious walkers. Open all year with midweek prices often slashed by half. Check-in 5–10.30pm. Dorms £30, doubles £69
The river Ribble runs south along the western edges of the Yorkshire Dales, starting in the bleak uplands near the Ribblehead Viaduct, flowing between two of Yorkshire’s highest mountains, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent, and through the village of Horton in Ribblesdale and on to Settle, the upper dale’s principal town.
West of Malhamdale, Ribblesdale is entered from SETTLE, starting point of the Settle to Carlisle Railway. The small town has a typical seventeenth-century market square (market day Tues), still sporting its split-level arcaded shambles, and the Museum of North Craven Life (April–Oct Tues 10.30am–4.30pm & Thurs–Sun 12.30–4.30pm; £2.50; 01524 251388), which contains odds and ends from the history of the town and of the construction of the railway. The museum is housed in the eccentric Folly, dating from the 1670s and earning its name from the strange combination of styles, and the curiously upside-down look created by the fact that there are far more windows on the ground floor than on the first and second – it seems surprising that it hasn’t fallen down.
Arrival and information Settle
By train The train station, less than a 5min walk from Market Place, down Station Road, is served by the famous Settle to Carlisle railway.
By bus #580 buses connect Settle with Skipton (Mon–Sat; every 2hr; 40min); #11 buses go north to Horton-in-Ribblesdale (Mon–Sat every 2hr; 21min); while #581 (every 2hr; 31min) runs to the western Dales. The Malham Tarn shuttle (Dalesbus #881; Easter–Oct Sun & bank hols 3 daily) makes a stop at Settle en route to Malham (25min) and Ingleton (25min).
Tourist information In the town hall, just off Market Place (Mon, Tues, Thurs–Sat 9.30am–4pm, Wed & Sun 9.30am–1pm; closed Sun in winter; 01729 825192). They can provide hiking maps and pamphlets.
The Lion Duke St, BD24 9DU 01729 822203, thelionsettle.co.uk. The ground-floor inn offers a fantastic range of locally sourced fish, meats, cheese, pies and sausages (mains £10.50–21), and guest rooms are comfortable and contemporary. Mon–Thurs & Sun 8am–9pm, Fri & Sat 8am–10.30pm. £95
Ye Olde Naked Man Café Market Place, BD24 9ED 01729 823230. For non-alcoholic drinks and traditional hot food, cakes and scones, this unfussy tearoom is your best bet. They also have a takeaway sandwich bar and shop selling local produce. Daily 9am–5pm.
The valley’s only village of any size is HORTON IN RIBBLESDALE, a noted walking centre which is the usual starting point for the famous Three Peaks Walk: namely a 25-mile, 12-hour circuit of Pen-y-ghent (2273ft), Whernside (2416ft) – Yorkshire’s highest point – and Ingleborough (2373ft).
Arrival and information Horton in Ribblesdale
By bus The #11 service from Settle runs every 2hr (20min).
Tourist and hiking information The Pen-y-ghent Café (see below; 01729 860333) doubles as a tourist office and unofficial headquarters for the Three Peaks walk. They operate a clocking-in/clocking-out system; walkers who complete the route within a 12hr period become eligible to join the Three Peaks of Yorkshire Club. Note that they do not provide automatic back-up should walkers fail to return, though can make arrangements for this if notified at least a day in advance. Opening hours are complicated, so phone to check.
Pen-y-ghent Café BD24 0HE 01729 860333. A local institution for more than forty years, not only supplying much-needed hot drinks, snacks and meals, but also information and advice to walkers. Phone in advance to confirm hours. Roughly Feb half term to mid-Oct Mon & Wed–Sun 9am–5.30pm (Sat & Sun 8am in summer); Jan & Feb hours vary.
The western Dales is a term of convenience for a couple of tiny dales running north from Ingleton, and for Dentdale, one of the loveliest valleys in the National Park. Ingleton has the most accommodation, but Dent is by far the best target for a quiet night’s retreat, with a cobbled centre barely altered in centuries.
The straggling slate-grey village of INGLETON sits upon a ridge at the confluence of two streams, the Twiss and the Doe, whose beautifully wooded valleys are easily the area’s best features. The 4.5-mile Waterfalls Trail (daily Nov–March 9am–2.30pm, April–Aug 9am–7pm, Sept & Oct 9am–4pm; £6; 01524 241930, ingletonwaterfallstrail.co.uk) is a lovely circular walk (2hr 30min) taking in both valleys, and providing viewing points over its waterfalls.
Just 1.5 miles out of Ingleton on the Ribblehead/Hawes road (B6255) is the entrance to the White Scar Cave (tours 10am–5pm: Feb–Oct daily, Nov–Jan weather permitting Sat & Sun; 1hr 20min; £9.95; 01524 241244, whitescarcave.co.uk). It’s worth every penny for the tour of dank underground chambers, contorted cave formations and glistening stalactites.
Arrival and information Ingleton and around
By bus Buses stop at the tourist office: the #80 runs from/to Lancaster (every 30min; 1hr 10min) and the #581 and #881 from/to Settle (every 30min; 25min).
Tourist office Community Centre car park, Main St (daily: Easter–Sept 10am–4.30pm; Nov–March 11am–3pm; 01524 241049).
Website visitingleton.co.uk.
The Inglesport Café Main St, LA6 3EB 01524 241146. On the first floor of a hiking supplies store, this café dishes up hearty breakfasts, soups, and potatoes with everything. Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat & Sun 9am–5.30pm.
Riverside Lodge 24 Main St, LA6 3HJ 01524 241359, riversideingleton.co.uk. Clean and tidy, with eight bedrooms decorated individually (if a little fussily) and named after flowers. There’s a small sauna and play room, and an optional evening meal at £15. £70
YHA Ingleton Sammy Lane, LA6 3EG 015242 41444, yha.org.uk/hostel/ingleton. This YHA hostel is in an attractively restored Victorian stone house, set in its own gardens, close to the village centre. Reception 7–10am & 5–11pm. Dorms £24, doubles £52
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Dentdale supported a flourishing hand-knitting industry, later ruined by mechanization. These days, the hill-farming community supplements its income through tourism and craft ventures, and in DENT village itself the main road soon gives way to grassy cobbles.
Arrival and information Dentdale
By train While the famous Settle to Carlisle railway might seem a good alternative to the bus, be warned that Dent station is over 4 miles from the village itself.
By bus Most of Dent’s bus connections are with towns outside Yorkshire – Sedbergh (April–Oct 5 daily; 15min), Kirkby Stephen and Kendal (Sat 1 daily; 50min) – though there is a service to Settle.
Tourist information Dentdale Heritage Centre, Dent (daily 11am–4pm; 01539 625800, museumsintheyorkshiredales.co.uk).
Website dentdale.com.
George & Dragon Dent, LA10 5QL 01539 625256, thegeorgeanddragondent.co.uk. Opposite the fountain in the centre of the village, the George & Dragon is bigger and more expensive than the nearby Sun, with ten comfortable rooms (though some are small and all are a little tired), good service and a convivial bar. There’s an extensive menu of traditional pub food with a twist (try, for example, the terrine of Cumberland sausage and black pudding) – mains cost between £8.50 and £16.50. Daily 11am–11pm; kitchen daily noon–2pm & 6–8.30pm. £80
The best known of the Dales, if only for its cheese, Wensleydale is also the largest. With numerous towns and villages, the biggest and busiest being Hawes, it has plenty of appeal to non-walkers, too; many of its rural attractions will be familiar to devotees of the James Herriott books and TV series.
HAWES is Wensleydale’s chief town, main hiking centre, and home to its tourism, cheese and rope-making industries. It also claims to be Yorkshire’s highest market town; it received its market charter in 1699, and the weekly Tuesday market is still going strong. In the same building as the National Park Centre, the recently revamped Dales Countryside Museum (April–Oct daily 10am–5pm; closed Jan; for winter hours phone ahead; £4.80; 01969 666210, www.dalescountrysidemuseum.org.uk) focuses on local trades and handicrafts.
You’ll find another attraction a 15min-walk south of the town centre; the Wensleydale Creamery on Gayle Lane has a café and restaurant, and of course a cheese shop – you only pay to enter the adjacent museum and cheese-making viewing gallery (daily 10am–4pm; £2.95; 01969 667664, wensleydale.co.uk). The first cheese in Wensleydale was made by medieval Cistercian monks from ewes’ milk; after the Dissolution local farmers made a version from cows’ milk which, by the 1840s, was being marketed as “Wensleydale” cheese.
The mantle of “Herriot country” lies heavy on ASKRIGG, six miles east of Hawes, as the TV series All Creatures Great and Small was filmed in and around the village. Nip into the King’s Arms on Main Street, where you can see stills from the programme.
The ribbon-village of AYSGARTH, straggling along and off the A684, sucks in Wensleydale’s largest number of visitors due to its proximity to the Aysgarth Falls, half a mile below. A marked nature trail runs through the surrounding woodlands and there’s a big car park and excellent National Park Centre on the north bank of the River Ure.
Here for the beer
If you’re a beer fan, the handsome Wensleydale market town of Masham (pronounced Mass’m) is an essential point of pilgrimage. At Theakston brewery (tours daily 11am–3pm; £7.75, reservations advised; 01765 680000, theakstons.co.uk), sited here since 1827, you can learn the arcane intricacies of the brewer’s art and become familiar with the legendary Old Peculier ale. The Black Sheep Brewery, set up in the early 1990s by one of the Theakston family brewing team, also offers tours (four daily, evening tours Thurs & Fri, but call for availability; £9.50; 01765 680101, blacksheepbrewery.com). Both are just a few minutes’ signposted walk out of the centre.
Castle Bolton village, DL8 4ET • Feb–March daily 10am–4pm; April–Oct 10am–5pm (restricted winter opening, call for details) • £8.50, gardens only £4 • 01969 623981, boltoncastle.co.uk
The foursquare battlements of Bolton Castle are visible from miles away. Completed in 1399, its Great Chamber, a few adjacent rooms and the castle gardens have been restored, and there’s also a café that’s a welcome spot if you’ve hiked here – a superb circular walk (6 miles; 4hr) heads northeast from Aysgarth via Castle Bolton village, starting at Aysgarth Falls and climbing up through Thoresby.
Arrival and getting around Wensleydale
By bus The #156 route runs along Wensleydale from Leyburn to Hawes (every 2hr; 50 min), calling at Aysgarth and Bolton Castle. Less frequently, the #59 runs once a day along a similar route (1 daily; 47min). The Little White Bus runs from Hawes to Garsdale (2–4 daily; 23min). A post-bus service runs between Hawes and Northallerton (Mon–Fri 3 daily; 1hr 45min). There’s also a summer Sun and bank holiday service (#800) connecting Hawes to Leeds (3hr).
Tourist information There are National Park Centres at Hawes Dales Countryside Museum, Station Yard (daily 10am–5pm; closed Jan, for winter hours, check with centre; 01969 666210; yorkshiredales.org.uk) and at Aysgarth, by the river (April–Oct daily 10am–5pm; for winter hours check with centre; 01969 662910).
Useful website wensleydale.org.
Herriot’s Main St, Hawes, DL8 3QW 01969 667536, herriotsinhawes.co.uk. Small, friendly guesthouse in an eighteenth-century building off the market square. There are just six rooms – some of which have fell views. Good hearty breakfasts are cooked to order. £80
Herriot’s Kitchen Main St, Hawes, DL8 3QW 01969 667536, herriotsinhawes.co.uk. Light lunches, Yorkshire cream teas and cakes, plus preserves made on the premises. Mon, Tues & Fri–Sun 11am–3pm.
The Old Dairy Farm Widdale, 3 miles west of Hawes, DL8 3LX 01969 667070, olddairyfarm.co.uk. Once the home of the original Wensleydale dairy herd, this farm offers luxurious and contemporary accommodation, with fine dining available (main courses around £15). While nonresidents are welcome to dine, there are no fixed opening hours – it is essential to phone first. £140
Narrow and steep-sided in its upper reaches beyond the tiny village of Keld, Swaledale emerges rocky and rugged in its central tract around Thwaite and Muker before more typically pastoral scenery cuts in at REETH, the dale’s main village and market centre (market day is Fri). Its desirable cottages sit around a triangular green, where you’ll find a couple of pubs, a hotel, a National Park Centre and the Swaledale Museum (May–Oct daily 10am–5pm; £3; 01748 884118, swaledalemuseum.org), containing an interesting hotchpotch of material on the geology, industry, domestic life and people of the valley. Downriver, the dale opens out into broad countryside and the splendid historic town of Richmond.
RICHMOND is home to the Dales’ single most tempting destination, a magnificent castle, whose extensive walls and colossal keep cling to a precipice above the River Swale. Indeed, the entire town is an absolute gem, centred on a huge cobbled market square backed by Georgian buildings, hidden alleys and gardens. Market day is Saturday, augmented by a farmers’ market on the third Saturday of the month.
Riverside Rd, DL10 4QW • April–Sept daily 10am–6pm; Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov–March Sat & Sun 10am–4pm • £5.70; EH • 01748 822493, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/richmond-castle
Most of medieval Richmond sprouted around its castle, which, dating from around 1071, is one of the oldest Norman stone fortresses in Britain. The star turn is, without doubt, the massive keep – which was built between 1150 and 1180 – with its stone staircases, spacious main rooms and fine battlements. From the top, the views down into the town, across the turbulent Swale and out across the gentle countryside, are out of this world. For more splendid views, with the river roaring below, take a stroll along Castle Walk, around the outside of the curtain walls.
Trinity Church Square, DL10 4QN • Mon–Sat 10am–4.30pm (plus Sun July & Aug) • £4.50 • 01748 825561, greenhowards.org.uk
Fully revamped in 2014, this regimental collection of 35,000 objects (not all on display) has some fascinating items including a key to Hitler’s office and the first poppy to be laid on The Cenotaph in London. By focusing on the real-life stories, the Green Howards Museum avoids being just for those with a specialist interest; ask staff about the painting of Henry Tandey that Hitler used for propaganda, or the first footballer to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
Ryder’s Wynd, off the Victoria Rd roundabout at the top of King St, DL10 4JA • April–Oct Mon–Sat 10.30am–4.30pm • £3.50 • 01748 825611, richmondshiremuseum.org.uk
For a fascinating chunk of Richmond history, visit the charming Richmondshire Museum, off the northern side of the market square. It’s full of local treasures, covering subjects as varied as lead mining and toys through the ages, with reconstructed houses and shops re-creating village life, and even the set from the TV series All Creatures Great and Small.
Victoria Rd, DL10 4DW • Tours on the hour mid-Feb to mid-Nov Mon–Sat 10am–4pm; £5 • 01748 825252, georgiantheatreroyal.co.uk
Richmond’s tiny Georgian Theatre Royal (1788) has the diminutive feel of a toy theatre made from a shoe box. One of England’s oldest theatres, it features a sunken pit with boxes on three sides and a gallery above; it is open for both performances and tours.
1 mile southeast of town, DL10 7EU • April–Sept daily 10am–6pm; Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov–March daily 10am–4pm • Free; EH • www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/easby-abbey
A signposted walk runs along the north bank of the River Swale out to the golden stone walls of Easby Abbey. The evocative ruins are extensive, and in places – notably the thirteenth-century refectory – still remarkably intact.
Arrival and information Swaledale
By train There are regular services into Wensleydale and lower Swaledale on the heritage Wensleydale Railway from Leeming to Redmire, and to Darlington, 10 miles to the northeast, on the main east-coast train line.
By bus The main transport hub is Richmond, where buses stop in the market square. Bus #159 runs between Masham, Leyburn and Richmond, while bus #30 runs up the valley along the B6270 as far as Keld, 8 miles north of Hawes and at the crossroads of the Pennine Way and the Coast-to-Coast path.
Destinations from Richmond Keld (Mon–Sat 4 daily; 1hr); Leyburn (hourly; 25 min); Masham (Mon–Sat hourly; 55min); Ripon (Mon–Sat hourly; 1hr 15min).
Tourist office Richmond Library, Queens Rd (Mon & Thurs 10am–6pm, Tues & Fri 10am–5pm, Wed 10am–noon, Sat 10am–1pm; 01609 532980, richmond.org).
National Park Centre Hudson House, Reeth (April–Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov, Dec, Feb & March Sat & Sun 10am–4pm; 01748 884059, hudsonhouse.org).
Frenchgate Hotel 59–61 Frenchgate, Richmond, DL10 7AE 01748 822087, thefrenchgate.co.uk. Georgian townhouse hotel with eight rooms and walled gardens. Its food (set menu £39) has an excellent reputation – spiced loin of Yorkshire rabbit, for example, or Reg’s duck breast. Mon–Fri 7.30–9.30am, noon–2pm & 6–9.30pm, Sat & Sun 8–10am, noon–2pm & 6–9.30pm. £118
Frenchgate House 66 Frenchgate, Richmond, DL10 7AG 01748 823421, 66frenchgate.co.uk. Eight immaculately presented rooms, plus breakfast with the best – panoramic – view in town. £95
King’s Arms High Row, Reeth, DL11 6SY 01748 884259, thekingsarms.com. Attractive eighteenth-century inn on the green, offering a range of meals and snacks using locally sourced food, and rooms – all of which are en suite. Daily 11am–11pm; kitchen daily noon–2.30pm & 6–9pm. £70
Millgate House Millgate, Richmond, DL10 4JN 01748 823571, millgatehouse.com. Shut the big green door of this Georgian house and enter a world of books, antiques, embroidered sheets, handmade toiletries, scrumptious breakfasts and the finest (and least precious) hosts you could wish for. No credit cards. £125
Rustique Finkle St, Richmond, DL10 4QB 01748 821565, rustiqueyork.co.uk. The clue to Rustique’s ambience lies in its name – it concentrates on rural French food and wine in a bistro setting. The atmosphere is busy and cheerful, and the food’s lovely, and very reasonably priced (two courses £14.95, three for £17.95). Daily noon–9pm.
Whashton Springs Near Whashton, DL11 7JS, 3 miles north of Richmond on Ravensworth Rd 01748 822884, whashtonsprings.co.uk. This working Dales farm offers a peaceful night in the country in rooms (in the main house or round the courtyard) filled with family furniture. £80
Of English literary shrines, probably only Stratford sees more visitors than the quarter of a million who swarm annually into the village of HAWORTH, eight miles north of Bradford, to tramp the cobbles once trodden by the Brontë sisters. In summer the village’s steep Main Street is lost under huge crowds, herded by multilingual signs around the various stations on the Brontë trail. The most popular local walk runs to Brontë Falls and Bridge, reached via West Lane (a continuation of Main St) and a track from the village, signposted “Bronte Falls”; and to Top Withens, a mile beyond, a ruin fancifully (and erroneously) thought to be the model for the manor, Wuthering Heights (allow 3hr for the round trip). The moorland setting beautifully evokes the flavour of the book, and to enjoy it further you could walk on another two and a half miles to Ponden Hall, claimed by some to be Thrushcross Grange in Wuthering Heights.
Church St, BD22 8DR • Daily: April–Oct 10am–5.30pm; Nov–March 10am–5pm • £8.50 • 01535 642323, bronte.org.uk
Behind the parish church is the Brontë Parsonage Museum, a modest Georgian house bought by Patrick Brontë in 1820 and in which he planned to bring up his family. After the tragic early loss of his wife and two eldest daughters, the surviving four children – Anne, Emily, Charlotte and their dissipated brother, Branwell – spent most of their short lives in the place, which is furnished as it was in their day, filled with the sisters’ pictures, books, manuscripts and personal treasures. Between 2016 and 2020, Brontë200 celebrates the bicentenary of the births of these four, and special events are taking place here and across the globe (see website for details). The parish church in front of the parsonage contains the family vault; Charlotte was married here in 1854.
Arrival and information Haworth
By train The nicest way of getting to Haworth is on the steam trains of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway (Easter week, school hols, June, July & Aug daily; rest of the year Sat & Sun; day rover ticket £16; 01535 645214, kwvr.co.uk); regular trains from Leeds or from Bradford’s Forster Square station run to Keighley, from where the steam train takes 18min to Haworth.
By bus Bus #662 from Bradford Interchange runs to Keighley (every 10–30min; 50min); change there for the #663, #664 (not Sun) or #665 (every 20–30min; 16–24min).
Tourist office 2–4 West Lane (daily: April–Sept 10am–5pm; Oct–March Mon, Tues, Thurs–Sun 10am–4pm, Wed 10.30am–4pm; 01535 642329, haworth-village.org.uk).
Apothecary 86 Main St, BD22 8DP 01535 643642, theapothecaryguesthouse.co.uk. Traditional guest-house opposite the church, in a seventeenth-century building with oak beams, millstone grit walls and quaint passages. The rear rooms, breakfast room and attached café have moorland views. £60
Wilsons of Haworth 15 West Lane, BD22 8DU 01535 643209, wilsonsofhaworth.co.uk. Top-end B&B with all the bells and whistles you might expect in a quality boutique hotel; its five luxurious rooms (four doubles and a single), are in a converted row of weavers’ cottages within sight of the Brontë Parsonage Museum. £79
YHA Haworth Longlands Hall, Lees Lane, BD22 8RT, a mile from Haworth 0845 371 9520, yha.org.uk/hostel/haworth. YHA hostel – a little in need of a refurb – overlooking the village; Bradford buses stop on the main road nearby. Only open to groups Mon–Fri Nov to mid-Feb. Dorms £13, doubles £39
BRADFORD has always been a working town, booming in tandem with the Industrial Revolution, when just a few decades saw it transform from a rural seat of woollen manufacture to a polluted metropolis. In its Victorian heyday it was the world’s biggest producer of worsted cloth, its skyline etched black with mill chimneys, and its hills clogged with some of the foulest back-to-back houses of any northern city. A look at the Venetian-Gothic Wool Exchange building on Market Street, or a walk through Little Germany, northeast of the city centre (named for the German wool merchants who populated the area in the second half of the 1800s) provides ample evidence of the wealth of nineteenth-century Bradford.
Contemporary Bradford, perhaps the most multicultural centre in the UK outside London, is valiantly rinsing away its associations with urban decrepitude, and while it can hardly yet be compared with neighbouring Leeds as a visitor attraction, it has two must-see attractions in the National Science and Media Museum and the industrial heritage site of Saltaire. The major annual event is the Bradford Festival (bradfordfestival.org.uk), a three-day multicultural celebration of art, music, theatre and dance, held in late July.
Little Horton Ln, BD1 1NQ • Daily 10am–6pm • Free, screenings £9 • 0844 856 3797, scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk
The main interest in the centre of Bradford is provided by the superb National Science and Media Museum, which wraps itself around one of Britain’s largest cinema screens showing daily IMAX and 3D film screenings. Exhibitions are devoted to every nuance of film and television, including topics like digital imaging, light and optics, and computer animation, with fascinating detours into the mechanics of advertising and news-gathering.
4 miles northwest of Bradford towards Keighley, BD17 7EF • 1853 Gallery Mon–Fri 10am–5.30pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm • Free • 01274 531163, saltsmill.org.uk • Trains run from Bradford Forster Square, or take bus #678 from the Interchange
The city’s extraordinary outlying attraction of Saltaire was a model industrial village built by the industrialist Sir Titus Salt. Still inhabited today, the village was constructed between 1851 and 1876, and centred on Salt’s Mill, which, larger than London’s St Paul’s Cathedral, was the biggest factory in the world when it opened in 1853. The mill was surrounded by schools, hospitals, parks, almshouses and some 850 homes, yet for all Salt’s philanthropic vigour the scheme was highly paternalistic: of the village’s 22 streets, for example, all – bar Victoria and Albert streets – were named after members of his family, and although Salt’s workers and their families benefited from far better living conditions than their contemporaries elsewhere, they certainly were expected to toe the management line. Salt’s Mill remains the fulcrum of the village, the focus of which is the 1853 Gallery, three floors given over to the world’s largest retrospective collection of the works of Bradford-born David Hockney.
Arrival and departure Bradford and around
By train Bradford has two train stations: Bradford Forster Square, just north of the city centre, offers routes to suburbs, towns and cities to the north and west of the city, while Bradford Interchange, off Bridge St, south of the city centre, serves destinations broadly south and west of the city.
Destinations from Bradford Forster Square Ilkley (every 30min; 31min); Keighley (every 30min; 20min); Leeds (every 30min; 22min); Skipton (every 30min; 39min).
Destinations from Bradford Interchange Halifax (every 15min; 12min); Leeds (every 15min; 23min); Manchester (every 30min; 1hr); Todmorden (every 30min; 35min).
By bus Bradford Interchange is the departure point for regional buses to the rest of West Yorkshire; as well as National Express coaches for long-distance services (travel centre Mon, Wed, Thurs & Fri 8.30am–5.30pm, Tues 9am–5.30pm, Sat 9am–4.30pm; 0113 245 7676).
Destinations Leeds (every 30min; 30–45min); Liverpool (every 30min–2hr; 3–4hr); London (every 25–90min; 5–6hr); Manchester (every 10min–2hr; 1–2hr).
By bus Bradford’s handy free citybus service (Mon–Fri 7am–7pm, every 10min) links the Interchange with Forster Square, Kirkgate, Centenary Square, the National Media Museum, the University and the West End (0113 245 7676, wymetro.com).
Tourist office Britannia House, Broadway (April–Sept Mon–Sat 10am–5pm, Oct–March Mon 10.30am–4pm, Tues–Sat 10am–4pm; 01274 433678, visitbradford.com).
With nearly a quarter of its population having roots in south Asia, Bradford is renowned for its hundreds of Indian restaurants, and in 2016 was crowned “Curry Capital of Britain” for the sixth year in a row. Meanwhile, a burgeoning craft beer scene has seen an explosion of independent brew pubs opening along Westgate and North Parade.
Akbar’s 1276 Leeds Rd, BD3 8LF 01274 773311, akbars.co.uk. The original in a chain that now has branches across the north of England (and one in Birmingham). It’s famed for the quality of its south Asian cuisine, offering a wide range of chicken, lamb and prawn curries, and is hugely popular, so at weekends you may end up waiting, even when you’ve booked. Most dishes well under £10. Mon–Fri 5pm–midnight, Sat 4pm–midnight, Sun 2–11.30pm.
Bradford Brewery 22 Rawson Rd, BD1 3SQ 01274 397054, bradfordbrewery.com. In a period building with quirky decor, this is one of the craft beer places blazing a trail in Bradford. Great selection of ales and craft lagers, cheap and tasty pub grub (chilli and nachos £5), nice people, and a beer garden. Mon–Thurs & Sun noon–11pm, Fri & Sat noon–1am.
Hip Hebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge’s independent galleries, bookshops and boutiques give it more of an artsy vibe than might be expected from a small mill town set in a deep valley. Community spirit has ensured that the cooperative-run town hall got a £3.7 million development that repurposed the Grade II listed building into a hub for creative business (hebdenbridgetownhall.org.uk); the 1921 picture house is civic-owned (hebdenbridgepicturehouse.co.uk); and the 120-seat Little Theatre produces a range of independent plays (hblt.co.uk). The annual Hebden Bridge Arts Festival (hebdenbridgeartsfestival.co.uk) at the end of June sees open studios and gardens, live gigs at various venues and free street theatre.
Hebden Bridge is easily accessed by train from Manchester, Leeds or Bradford, or it’s a beautiful drive over the moors from Haworth. Nearby Heptonstall is also worth a visit for its connections to poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath – the latter is buried in the churchyard here.
Mumtaz 386–410 Great Horton Rd, BD7 3HS 01274 522533, mumtaz.co.uk. With its smart decor and delicious Kashmiri food – a range of karahi and biryani dishes, with meat, fish and vegetarian options – Mumtaz has won plaudits from everyone from Dawn French to Amir Khan. No alcohol. Around £30/person. Mon–Thurs & Sun 11am–midnight, Fri & Sat 11am–1am.
Prashad Vegetarian Cuisine 137 Whitehall Rd, Drighlington, BD11 1AT 0113 285 2037, prashad.co.uk. Located five miles southeast of Bradford, this family-run vegetarian restaurant specialises in masterfully crafted Gujarat and Punjab dishes. The seven-course tasting menu (£46/person) shows off the very best of local produce and tantalizing spices. Tues–Fri 5–11pm, Sat noon–11pm, Sun noon–10pm.
Yorkshire’s commercial capital, and one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, LEEDS has undergone a radical transformation in recent years. There’s still a true northern grit to its character, but any trace of grime has been removed from the impressive Victorian buildings and the city – along with its well-connected suburbs – is revelling in its new persona as a booming financial, commercial and cultural centre. The renowned shops, restaurants, bars and clubs provide one focus of a visit to contemporary Leeds – it’s certainly Yorkshire’s top destination for a day or two of conspicuous consumption and indulgence. Museums include the impressive Royal Armouries, which hold the national arms and armour collection, while the City Art Gallery has one of the best collections of British twentieth-century art outside London.
The Headrow, LS1 3AA • Mon & Tues 10am–5pm, Wed noon–5pm, Thurs–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm • Free • 0113 247 8256, leeds.gov.uk
Sharing a recently restored Victorian building with the Central Library, the City Art Gallery has an important collection of largely nineteenth- and twentieth-century paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures, some on permanent display, others rotated. There’s an understandable bias towards pieces by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, both former students at the Leeds School of Art; Moore’s Reclining Woman lounges at the top of the steps at the gallery entrance – near where you’ll also find the ornate Art Nouveau café with its grand marble columns.
The Headrow, LS1 3AH • Tues–Sun 11am–5.30pm (8pm Wed) • Free • 0113 246 7467, henry-moore.org
The City Art Gallery connects with the adjacent Henry Moore Institute, which, despite its misleading name, is devoted not to Moore himself but to temporary exhibitions of sculpture from all periods and nationalities.
Armouries Drive, LS10 1LT • Daily 10am–5pm • Free • 0113 220 1999, armouries.org.uk • Bus #28, #70 from city centre or free water taxi in summer
On the south side of the riverbank beckons the spectacular glass turret and gunmetal grey bulk of the Royal Armouries, purpose-built to house the arms and armour collection from the Tower of London. One of the best museums of its type in the world, its five enormous galleries hold beautifully displayed weapons for war, tournaments and hunting, and armour and other artefacts dating from Roman times onwards. Particularly spectacular are the reconstruction of a tiger hunt; the Indian elephant armour (the heaviest armour in the world) consisting of 8500 iron plates; fabulously decorated ceremonial suits of full plate armour; a Sikh “quoit turban” which carried a blood-curdling array of throwing quoits; garrotting wires and knives; Samurai, Mongol and Indian armour and weapons; and many ornate guns, from a reconstruction of an enormously long Essex punt gun to an exquisite Tiffany-decorated Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum.
Arrival and information Leeds
By train National and local Metro trains use Leeds Station in the city centre.
Destinations Bradford (every 20min; 20min); Carlisle (every 2hr; 2hr 40min); Harrogate (every 30min; 34min); Hull (hourly; 1hr); Knaresborough (every 30min; 45min); Lancaster (4 daily; 2hr); Liverpool (hourly; 1hr 50min); London (every 30min; 2hr 20min); Manchester (every 15min; 1hr); Scarborough (every 30min–1hr; 1hr 20min); Settle (every 2hr; 1hr); Sheffield (every 10–15min; 40min–1hr 25m); Skipton (every 15–30min; 45min); Wakefield (Westgate & Kirkgate; every 10–15min; 12min); York (every 10–15min; 25min).
By bus The bus station is to the east of the centre behind Kirkgate Market, on St Peter’s Street, though many buses stop outside the train station as well. Buses run from the bus station to all parts of the city, the suburbs, the rest of West Yorkshire and, via National Express, the rest of the country.
Destinations Bradford (10–30min; 25min); Halifax (every 30min; 1hr 16min); London (hourly; 4hr 25min); Manchester (every 30min–1hr; 1hr 5min–1hr 45min); Wakefield (every 10min; 31min); York (hourly; 1hr).
Public transport information The Metro Travel Centres at the bus and train stations have up-to-date service details for local transport; information is also available from Metroline (0113 245 7676, wymetro.com).
Tourist office Visit Leeds, City Art Gallery shop 0113 378 6977, visitleeds.co.uk (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 11am–3pm).
There’s a good mix of accommodation in Leeds. Cheaper lodgings lie out to the northwest in the student area of Headingley, though these are a train, bus or taxi ride away.
42 The Calls 42 The Calls, LS2 7EW 0113 244 0099, 42thecalls.co.uk; map. Converted riverside grain mill, where rooms come with great beds and sharp bathrooms. Being next to the Centenary footbridge, it can sometimes suffer from noisy passers-by. £89
Butlers Cardigan Rd, Headingley, LS6 3AG, 1.5 miles northwest of the centre 0113 274 4755, butlershotel.co.uk; map. This hotel offers cosy and traditionally furnished rooms on a suburban street, breakfast is an extra £4. £69
Quebecs 9 Quebec St, LS1 2HA 0113 244 8989, quebecshotel.co.uk; map. The ultimate city-boutique lodgings, boasting glorious Victorian oak panelling and stained glass, offset by chic rooms. Online deals can cut costs considerably. Limited parking. £170
The Queens City Square, LS1 4DY 0113 242 1323, qhotels.co.uk; map. This luxurious 4-star option sports an imposing Art Deco facade and is located bang in the centre of town, right next to the train station. Standard rooms are a little small, but smart. Valet parking £15.95/24hr. £100
Roomzzz 12 Swine Gate, LS1 4AG 0113 233 0400, roomzzz.co.uk; map. Self-catering, one- and two-bedroom apartments in contemporary style, at several locations – Swine Gate is the most central. All come with great kitchens and widescreen TVs. Reduced rates if you book more than a week in advance. £88
Art’s Café Bar and Restaurant 42 Call Lane, LS1 6DT 0113 243 8243, artscafebar.co.uk; map. A relaxed hangout for drinks, dinner or a lazy Sunday brunch. Mediterranean flavours dominate the well-priced menu, and the wine list is excellent. Mains £10.95–16.50. Mon–Fri noon–11pm, Sat noon–late, Sun noon–9pm.
Brasserie Blanc Victoria Mill, Sovereign St, LS1 4BJ 0113 220 6060, brasserieblanc.com; map. One of the twenty restaurants established by French celebrity chef Raymond Blanc all over the country, the Leeds branch is a 5min walk from the train station. Housed in an old mill, with plain brick walls, vaulted ceilings and iron pillars, it offers good food in smart but unstuffy surroundings at unthreatening prices. Set two-course menus from £11.50 (lunch) and £14 (dinner). Mon–Fri 10am–10pm, Sat 9am–10.30pm, Sun 9am–9pm (bar open all day).
The Greedy Pig Kitchen 58 North St, LS2 7PN 07477 834227, thegreedypigkitchen.co.uk; map. This little spot just outside the city-centre ring road is where those in the know go for brunch. Full English is £7 (they do a veggie version too) and all the ingredients are locally sourced. Small plate dining on Thurs, Fri & Sat evenings only. Tues & Wed 7am–3pm, Thurs & Fri 7am–3pm & 5.30–9pm, Sat 8.30am–1.30pm & 5.30–9pm.
Salvo’s 115 Otley Rd, Headingley, LS6 3PX 0113 275 5017, salvos.co.uk; map. Mention pizza to Leeds locals and they’ll think of Salvo’s, though there’s a classy Italian menu as well – mains £15.95–19.50 – and a choice list of daily specials. It really is worth the trek out from the centre. Mon–Thurs noon–2pm & 6–10pm, Fri noon–2pm & 5.30–10.30pm, Sat noon–10.30pm, Sun noon–9pm.
The newly coined Northern Quarter, north of the Grand Theatre and Opera House, is booming. A short walk in any direction and you’ll stumble on one of Leeds’s many independent brew pubs packed out with young creatives sipping local ales.
Bar Fibre 168 Lower Briggate LS1 6LY 0870 120 0888, barfibre.com; map. One of Leeds’s finest gay-friendly bars comes with plenty of attitude. There’s food during the day at Café Mafiosa, and regular alfresco parties in the courtyard outside (summer) and roaring fires inside (winter). Mon–Wed & Sun noon–1am, Thurs & Fri noon–3am, Sat noon–4am.
Headrow House Bramleys Yd, 10 The Headrow, LS1 6PU 0113 245 9370; map. Low-key and with a friendly vibe, this venue has something for everyone (beer hall, decent restaurant, live music and a stunning roof terrace). Mon–Thurs noon–11pm/midnight, Fri noon–2am, Sat 11am–3am, Sun 11am–11pm.
Milo 10–12 Call Lane, LS1 6DN 0113 245 7101; map. Unpretentious, intimate and offbeat bar, with DJs most evenings, ringing the changes from old soul and reggae to indie and electronica. Mon–Thurs 5pm–2am, Fri 4pm–3am, Sat noon–3am, Sun noon–2am.
Mojo 18 Merrion St, LS1 6PQ 0113 244 6387, mojobar.co.uk; map. A great bar with classic tunes (“music for the people” – an eclectic mix with a swerve towards soul), American food, and a classy drinks menu with lots of cocktails. Mon–Wed 4pm–3am, Thurs, Fri & Sun 4pm–4am, Sat noon–3am.
Mr Foley’s Cask Ale House 159 The Headrow, LS1 5RG 0113 242 9674, mrfoleysleeds.co.uk; map. Super Victorian pub near the Town Hall, with several bars on different levels, draught beers listed on a blackboard with strengths and tasting notes, and bottled beers from around the world. Food is served, too, from around a fiver. Mon–Thurs noon–11pm, Fri & Sat 11am–1am, Sun noon–10pm.
North Bar 24 New Briggate, LS1 6NU 0113 242 4540, northbar.com; map. The city’s beer specialist has a massive selection of guest beers (more Belgian than bitter) plus cold meats and cheeses to nibble on. This place is part of the hugely successful North Bar group, with great pubs popping up across the city. Mon & Tues 11am–1am, Wed–Sat 11am–2am, Sun noon–midnight.
Whitelocks Turk’s Head Yard, off Briggate, LS1 6HB 0113 245 3950, whitelocksleeds.com; map. Leeds’s oldest and most atmospheric pub retains its traditional Victorian decor and a good choice of beers. Mon–Thurs 11am–midnight, Fri & Sat 11am–1am, Sun 11am–11pm.
For information about what’s on, your best bets are the fortnightly listings magazine The Leeds Guide (leedsguide.co.uk) or the daily Yorkshire Evening Post (yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk).
Hifi 2 Central Rd, LS1 6DE 0113 242 7353, thehificlub.co.uk; map. Small club playing everything from Stax and Motown to hip-hop or drum ’n’ bass. Live comedy from top comics.
The Key Club 66 Merrion St, LS2 8LW 0113 244 1573, slamdunkmusic.com/the-key-club; map. Took on the mantle of best live music spot after closure of the renowned Cockpit, although the focus is strictly on rock. Cheap bar, young crowd, and club nights Tues, Fri & Sat.
Mint Club 8 Harrison St, LS1 6HD 0113 244 3168, themintclub.com; map. Up-to-the-minute house tunes (there’s a “no-cheese” policy), and the best chill-out space in the city.
The Warehouse 19–21 Somers St, LS1 2RG 0113 234 3535, www.theleedswarehouse.com; map. A mix of house, electro and techno – plus an epic sound system – brings in clubbers from all over the country, especially for Saturday’s Technique night.
Wire 2–8 Call Lane, LS1 6DN 0113 234 0980, wireclub.co.uk; map. A good indie/alternative dance/rock/electronic club associated with Hifi (see above) with weekly club nights and individual events.
City Varieties Swan St, LS1 6LW 0113 243 0808, www.cityvarieties.co.uk. One of the country’s last surviving music halls, this place hosts a wide range of acts and was from 1953 to 1983 the venue for the TV series The Good Old Days.
Grand Theatre and Opera House 46 New Briggate, LS1 6NZ 0870 121 4901, leedsgrandtheatre.com. The regular base of Opera North (operanorth.co.uk) – who organize programming in the first-floor Howard Assembly Room – and Northern Ballet (northernballet.com), but also puts on a full range of theatrical productions.
Hyde Park Picture House Brudenell Rd, Headingley, LS6 1JD 0113 275 2045, hydeparkpicturehouse.co.uk. The place to come for classic cinema with independent and art-house shows alongside more mainstream films; get there on bus #56.
West Yorkshire Playhouse Quarry Hill, LS2 7UP 0113 213 7700, wyp.org.uk. The city’s most innovative theatre has two stages, plus a bar, restaurant and café.
Leeds concerts and festivals
Temple Newsam, four miles east of Leeds city centre, hosts numerous events, from concerts and plays to rock gigs and opera. Roundhay Park is the other large outdoor venue for concerts, while Bramham Park, ten miles east of the city, hosts the annual Leeds Festival (leedsfestival.com) at the end of August with rock/indie music on five stages. August bank holiday weekend heralds the West Indian Carnival (leedscarnival.co.uk) in the Chapeltown area of Leeds.
Leeds is one of the best cities outside the capital for shopping, with numerous independent shops, a throng of classy emporia in the beautifully restored Victoria Leeds (victorialeeds.co.uk) – the “Knightsbridge of the North” which includes brand-new landmark Victoria Gate – and other arcades that open off Briggate. Other options include the shopping complex The Light (thelightleeds.co.uk), the city-centre malls, such as the Merrion Centre (merrioncentre.co.uk) off Merrion St and the Trinity Leeds complex (trinityleeds.com) in Albion Street, not forgetting the eight hundred traders in Kirkgate.
Harvey Nichols 107–11 Briggate, LS1 6AZ 0113 204 8888, harveynichols.com/leeds; map. Harvey Nicks, who opened their first branch outside London here in the Victoria Quarter in 1996, are the lodestone for this chi-chi shopping district. Mon–Sat 10am–7pm, Sun 10.30am–5pm.
John Lewis Victoria Gate, Harewood St, LS2 7AR johnlewis.com; map. This extravagant five-storey flagship store opened at the end of 2016; most talked about for its impressive architecture and plush decor, it also stocks Yorkshire suppliers such as the Harrogate Candle Company. Mon–Fri 9.30am–7pm, Sat 9am–7pm, Sun 10.30am–5pm.
Kirkgate Market Vicar Lane, LS2 7HY leeds.gov.uk; map. The largest covered market in the north of England, housed in a superb Edwardian building. If you’re after tripe, haberdashery or big knickers, this is the place to come. Mon–Sat 8am–5.30pm.
Beyond the city, a number of major attractions are accessible by bus or train: north of town lies the stately home Harewood House, while south of Leeds, the neighbouring town of Wakefield is home to the stunning Hepworth Gallery and not far from the National Coal Mining Museum and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
Beckett St, LS9 7LN, 2 miles northeast of the centre • Daily 10am–5pm, last admission 3pm • £8 • 0113 244 4343, thackraymedicalmuseum.co.uk • Bus #16 #42 #49 #50 #50A or #61 from the city centre (all around 15min, all stop outside the museum)
Essentially a medical history museum, and a hugely entertaining one, the Thackray Museum, next to St James’s Hospital, has displays on subjects as diverse as the history of the hearing aid and the workings of the human intestine. It’s gruesome, too, with a film of a Victorian limb amputation in a gallery called “Pain, pus and blood”.
Off Canal Rd, between Armley and Kirkstall Rd, LS12 2QF, 2 miles west of the centre • Tues–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm • £3.80 • leeds.gov.uk, 0113 263 7861 • Bus #15 from Leeds railway station
For Leeds’s industrial past, visit the vast Leeds Industrial Museum. There’s been a mill on the site since at least the seventeenth century, and the present building was one of the world’s largest woollen mills until its closure in 1969. Although most of its displays naturally centre on the woollen industry, and famous offshoots like Hepworths and Burtons, the cinema and printing in the local area are also covered.
Abbey Rd, LS5 3EH, about 3 miles northwest of the city centre • Abbey Tues–Sun: April–Sept 10am–4.30pm; Oct–March 10m–4pm • Free • Museum Tues–Fri & Sun 10am–5pm, Sat noon–5pm • £4.50 • 0113 230 5492, leeds.gov.uk • Buses #33, #33A or #757 from city centre
The bucolic ruins and cloisters of Kirkstall Abbey, which was built between 1152 and 1182 by Cistercian monks from Fountains Abbey, are well worth a visit. The former gatehouse now provides the setting for the family-friendly Abbey House Museum, which takes a look at Victorian Leeds.
Diana Jarvis/Rough Guides
BEVERLEY MINSTER
Off Selby Rd, LS15 0AE, 4 miles east of Leeds • House Tues–Sun: April–Sept 10.30am–5pm; Oct–March 10.30am–4pm • £6 • Rare breeds farm Tues–Sun: April–Sept 10am–5pm; Oct–March 10am–4pm • £3.80 • 0113 264 7321, leeds.gov.uk • On Sun bus #63a runs to the house from central Leeds and during the rest of the week #19 and #19a run to Whitkirk, from where it is a 1-mile walk; during hols (Easter to Oct half term), #10 bus runs directly to the house
The Tudor-Jacobean house of Temple Newsam shows many of the paintings and much of the decorative art owned by Leeds City Art Gallery. There are paintings from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, furniture (including a number of Chippendale pieces), textiles and tapestries, silver, porcelain and pottery. The estate is over fifteen thousand acres and also contains Europe’s largest rare breeds farm, where you can see four breeds of pigs, six of sheep, eight of poultry and no fewer than nine of cattle.
Harewood, LS17 9LG, 7 miles north of Leeds • Opening hours vary widely according to day and season; check website for full details • Freedom ticket, covering all parts of house and gardens £16.50 • 0113 218 1010, harewood.org • Frequent buses run to Harewood from Leeds, including the #36 (Mon–Sat every 15min, Sun every 30min)
Harewood House – still the home of the Earl and Countess of Harewood – is one of the UK’s greatest country mansions. It was created in the mid-eighteenth century by an all-star team: designed by John Carr of York, with interiors by Robert Adam, furniture by Thomas Chippendale, and paintings by Turner, Reynolds, Titian and El Greco, all sitting in beautiful grounds landscaped by Capability Brown. Tours take in the below-stairs kitchen and servants’ quarters as well as innumerable galleries, halls, reception rooms and staircases, dripping with antiques and priceless art treasures, while added attractions include an adventure playground and gardens – including the famous bird garden. Numerous special events, special-interest tours and talks on things like beekeeping, photography and food keep things lively. Incidentally, the village is pronounced “Harewood” as it is spelt, while the house is pronounced “Harwood”.
Gallery Walk, Wakefield, WF1 5AW • Tues–Sun 10am–5pm • Free; parking £5 • 01924 247360, hepworthwakefield.org • From Leeds, take a train to Wakefield Westgate and walk, or a bus to Wakefield city centre, then a local bus to Bridge St (next to the gallery); alternatively, Wakefield’s FreeCityBus (9.30am–3pm; wymetro.com) links all major parts of town, including the Hepworth Gallery
Established in May 2011, The Hepworth was the largest new gallery to open outside London for decades. Inside a cuboid concrete riverside building designed by Sir David Chipperfield, it has ten display areas housing a wonderful collection of Dame Barbara Hepworth’s work – not only finished sculptures, but also working models in plaster and aluminium, lithographs and screen prints. You can even see her original workbench and tools. Other contemporary artists are represented, too, and a flow of new exhibits is assured by close cooperation with the Tate. There’s a café and shop, and a children’s playground within its pleasant surroundings, which are set to be developed into a vast landscaped garden.
Caphouse Colliery, Overton, WF4 4RH, about 10 miles south of Leeds, halfway between Wakefield and Huddersfield (on the A642, signposted from M1) • Tours daily 10am–5pm; last tour 3.15pm; 1hr 30min • Free • 01924 848806, ncm.org.uk • Train from Leeds to Wakefield Westgate, then from the station the #128 bus goes right past the museum, while #232 passes nearby
While the gentry enjoyed the comforts of life in grand houses like Harewood (see above), just a few miles away generations of Yorkshiremen sweated out a living underground. Mining is now little more than a memory in most parts of Yorkshire, but visitors can get all too vivid an idea of pit life through the ages at the excellent National Coal Mining Museum. Based in a former pit, Caphouse Colliery, the highlight is an underground mine tour (warm clothes required; arrive early in school hols; no under-5s) with a former miner as your guide.
West Bretton, outside Wakefield, WF4 4LG, a mile from the M1 (junction 38) • Daily 10am–6pm (galleries, restaurant and café 10am–5pm) • Free, but parking £5 for 1–2hr, £8/day • 01924 832631, ysp.co.uk • Train from Leeds to Wakefield Westgate, then bus #96 (Mon–Sat) – a fair bit of walking is necessary
The Yorkshire country estate at West Bretton now serves as the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Trails and paths run across five hundred acres of eighteenth-century parkland, past open-air “gallery spaces” for some of Britain’s most famous sculptors; there are also three indoor galleries for exhibitions. The two big local names represented here are Henry Moore (1898–1986), born in nearby Castleford, and his contemporary Barbara Hepworth (1903–75), from Wakefield. The visitor centre is the place to check on current exhibitions and pick up a map – the restaurant has great views over Moore’s monumental pieces.
Yorkshire’s second city, SHEFFIELD remains linked with its steel industry, in particular the production of high-quality cutlery. As early as the fourteenth century the carefully fashioned, hard-wearing knives of hard-working Sheffield enjoyed national repute, while technological advances later turned the city into one of the country’s foremost centres of heavy and specialist engineering. Unsurprisingly, it was bombed heavily during World War II, and by the 1980s the steel industry’s subsequent downturn had tipped parts of Sheffield into dispiriting decline. The subsequent revival has been rapid, however, with the centre utterly transformed by flagship architectural projects. Steel, of course, still underpins much of what Sheffield is about: museum collections tend to focus on the region’s industrial heritage, complemented by the startling science-and-adventure exhibits at Magna, which was built in a disused steelworks at Rotherham, the former coal and iron town a few miles northeast of the city.
Sheffield’s city centre is very compact and easily explored on foot. The hub of the city is the Winter Garden, as well as the attractive Peace Gardens (named in hope immediately after World War II) nearby, with their huge bronze water features and converging ceramic-lined rills that represent the rivers that gave Sheffield steel mills their power. Southeast of here, clubs and galleries exist alongside the arts and media businesses of the Cultural Industries Quarter. To the northeast, spruced-up warehouses and cobbled towpaths line the canal basin, Victoria Quays. The Devonshire Quarter, east of the Peace Gardens and centred on Division Street, is the trendiest shopping area.
Surrey St, S1 2HH • Mon–Sat 8am–8pm, Sun 8am–6pm • Free • 0114 273 6895, sheffield.gov.uk
A minute’s walk east of the Peace Gardens, the stunning Winter Garden is a potent symbol of the city’s regeneration. A twenty-first-century version of a Victorian conservatory on a huge scale (230ft long, and around 70ft high and wide), it’s created from unvarnished, slowly weathering wood and polished glass, and filled with more than two thousand seasonally changing plants and towering trees.
Arundel Gate, S1 2PP • Mon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 11am–4pm • Free • 0114 278 2600, museums-sheffield.org.uk
Backing onto the Winter Garden are the Millennium Galleries, consisting of the Metalwork Gallery, which is devoted to the city’s world-famous cutlery industry, including an introduction to the processes involved and a collection of fine silver and stainless steel cutlery, and the diverting Ruskin Gallery. Based on the cultural collection founded by John Ruskin in 1875 to “improve” the working people of Sheffield, this includes manuscripts, minerals, watercolours and drawings, all relating in some way to the natural world.
Church St, S1 1HA • Visitor centre open Mon 8am–5pm, Tues–Fri 8.30am–6.30pm (5pm in school hols), Sat 9.30am–4pm, Sun 7.30am–5pm • Details of recitals and tours available on 0114 279 7412, sheffieldcathedral.org
The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, to give Sheffield Cathedral its full title, was a simple parish church before 1914, and subsequent attempts to give it a more dignified bearing have frankly failed. It’s a mishmash of styles and changes of direction, and you’d need a PhD in ecclesiastical architecture to make any sense of it. That said, the magnificent Shrewsbury Chapel, at the east end of the south aisle, is worth a look. Built around 1520, it contains the tombs of the fourth and sixth Earls of Shrewsbury, whose alabaster effigies adorn their tombs.
Alma St, S3 8RY • Mon–Thurs 10am–4pm, Sun 11am–4.45pm • £6 • 0114 272 2106, simt.co.uk
Fifteen minutes’ walk north of the cathedral, the Kelham Island Museum reveals the breadth of the city’s industrial output – cutlery, of course, but also Barnes Wallis’s 22ft-long Grand Slam bomb, the Sheffield Simplex roadster, and the gigantic River Don steam engine. Many of the old machines are still working, arranged in period workshops where craftspeople show how they were used.
Weston Bank, S10 2TP • Mon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 11pm–4pm • Free • 0114 278 2600, museums-sheffield.org.uk • Bus #51 or #52 from city centre, or Sheffield University tram
You can put the city’s life and times into perspective a mile or so west of the centre at the Weston Park Museum. Here the imaginatively themed and family-friendly galleries draw together the city’s extensive archeology, natural history, art and social history collections.
Magna Way, Rotherham, S60 1FD • Mon–Fri 10am–2pm, Sat & Sun 10am–5pm • £10.95, family ticket from £28.95 • 01709 720002, visitmagna.co.uk • Bus #X1 (every 10min) from either Sheffield or Rotherham Interchanges, or a 15min taxi ride from Sheffield
Housed in a former steelworks building in ROTHERHAM, about six miles northeast of Sheffield and just off the M1, Magna is the UK’s best science adventure centre. The vast internal space comfortably holds four gadget-packed pavilions, themed on the elements of earth, air, fire and water. You’re encouraged to get your hands on a huge variety of interactive exhibits, games and machines – operating a real JCB, filling diggers and barrows, blasting a rock face or investigating a twister, for example. On the hour, everyone decamps to the main hall for the Big Melt, when the original arc furnace is used in a bone-shaking light and sound show that has visitors gripping the railings.
Arrival and departure Sheffield and around
By train Sheffield’s train station is on the eastern edge of the city centre.
Destinations Leeds (every 12min; 40min–1hr 19min); London (hourly; 2hr 30min); York (every 30min; 53min).
By bus Sheffield Interchange bus and coach station lies about 200yd north of the train station. Buses run to and from most regional and national centres – including all the main South Yorkshire towns; London (hourly; 3hr 45min); Birmingham (every 30min; 2hr 5min); Liverpool (hourly; 2hr 50min) and Manchester (every 30min; 1hr).
By bus Local buses depart from High Street or Arundel Gate.
By tram The Supertram system (supertram.com) connects the city centre with the Meadowhall shopping centre, Halfway, Herdings Park, Malin Bridge and Middlewood, with the stations in between giving comprehensive access to most of the city and connections to the Park and Ride scheme.
Transport information For fare and timetable information, visit the Mini Interchange travel centre on Arundel Gate, behind the Crucible Theatre (Mon–Fri 7am–6pm, Sat 9am–5pm; 01709 515151, sypte.co.uk).
Tourist office Unit 1, The Winter Garden (Mon–Fri 9.30am–1pm & 1.30–5pm, Sat 9.30am–1pm & 1.30–4pm; 0114 275 7754, welcometosheffield.co.uk).
Houseboat Hotels Victoria Quays, S2 5SY 07776 144693, houseboathotels.com. Something different – two moored houseboats, available by the night, with en-suite bathrooms and kitchens. You get exclusive use of your own boat, sleeping up to four people (£190) and priced accordingly. £130
Leopold Hotel 2 Leopold St, S1 2GZ 0114 252 4000, leopoldhotel.co.uk. Once a boys’ grammar school, this place is immaculately modernized but retains some original features. Centrally located, the hotel backs onto remodelled Leopold Square, which has an appealing array of places to eat. £99
Mercure St Paul’s Hotel 119 Norfolk St, S1 2JE 0114 278 2000, mercure.com. Sandwiched between the Peace Gardens and Tudor Square, this modern hotel couldn’t be more central. Comfortable rather than innovative, with understated (if a little anodyne) decor and fine views over the city the higher you go. £94
Forum Kitchen + Bar 127–129 Devonshire St, S3 7SB 0114 272 0569, forumsheffield.co.uk. A vibrant and recently refurbed mixture of bar, café, music venue and boutique mall, with a lively clientele who use it as a breakfast stop, lunch spot, after-work bar, dinner venue, comedy club and night club. Mon–Wed 8am–1am, Thurs 8am–2am, Fri 8am–3am, Sat 9am–3am, Sun 10am–1pm.
Nonna’s 535–541 Ecclesall Rd, S11 8PR 0114 268 6166, nonnas.co.uk. Italian bar/restaurant with a great reputation and a family feel. Authentic Italian cuisine (menus have English descriptions). Evening mains £9.95 and up. Mon–Sat 8.30am–11pm, Sun 9am–10.30pm.
Silversmiths 111 Arundel St, S1 2NT 0114 270 6160, silversmiths-restaurant.com. A “kitchen nightmare” turned around in 2008 by Gordon Ramsay in his TV show, city-centre Silversmiths supplies top-notch Yorkshire food from local ingredients – venison sausages and pies, spinach tart with Yorkshire Blue cheese – in a 200-year-old silversmith’s workshop. Pre-theatre three-course menu for £18.95 or three-course seasonal Sunday roast for £25. Reservations recommended. Tues–Thurs 10am–9.30pm, Fri & Sat 10am–9.45pm, Sun noon–2.30pm.
For the best insight into what makes Sheffield tick as a party destination take a night-time walk along Division St and West St where competing theme and retro bars go in and out of fashion. Locals and students also frequent the bars and pubs of Ecclesall Rd (the so-called “golden mile”), out of the centre to the southwest.
Devonshire Cat 49 Wellington St, Devonshire Green, S1 4HG 0114 279 6700, devonshirecat.co.uk. Renowned ale house with wide variety of domestic and imported beers, plus good pub food (£7.75–14.25) with drinks matched to every selection. Daily noon–2am; kitchen Mon–Sat noon–9pm, Sun noon–8pm.
Fat Cat 23 Alma St, S3 8SA 0114 249 4801, thefatcat.co.uk. Bought by real ale enthusiasts in 1981 after a brewery sell-off, the Fat Cat is now a Sheffield institution offering a wide range of bottled and draft beers, ciders and country wines, and a hearty pub-grub menu (meals around £4.50). With its open fires, polished mahogany bar and etched mirrors, and its total absence of flashing gaming machines and piped music, this is pub-going as it used to be. Mon–Thurs & Sun noon–11.30pm, Fri & Sat noon–midnight; kitchen Mon–Fri noon–3pm & 6–8pm, Sat noon–7pm, Sun noon–3pm.
Leadmill 6–7 Leadmill Rd, S1 4SE 0114 221 2828, leadmill.co.uk. In the Cultural Industries Quarter, this venue hosts live bands and DJs most nights of the week, as well as screenings and comedy nights.
Plug 14 Matilda St, S1 4QD 0114 279 5039, the-plug.com. Mid-sized music venue featuring everything from live acoustic folk to diverse club nights, including the award-winning “Jump Around”. Check online for hours.
Crucible, Lyceum and Studio 55 Norfolk St, S1 1DA 0114 249 6000, sheffieldtheatres.co.uk. Sheffield’s theatres put on a full programme of theatre, dance, comedy and concerts. The Crucible, of course, has hosted the World Snooker Championships for thirty years. It also presents the annual Music in the Round festival of chamber music (May), and the Sheffield Children’s Festival (late June or July).
Sheffield City Hall Barker’s Pool, S1 2JA 0114 278 9789, sheffieldcityhall.com. Year-round programme of classical music, opera, mainstream concerts, comedy and club nights, in a magnificent, renovated concert hall.
Showroom 7 Paternoster Row, S1 2BX 0114 275 7727, showroom.org.uk. The biggest independent cinema outside London, and also a popular workstation and meeting place, with a relaxed café-bar.
Sheffield has all the national chain stores and other shops you’d expect in the city centre, with top-end shops concentrated particularly along Fargate and High St on one side of the Peace Gardens and budget alternatives along The Moor on the other. The trendiest shopping is to be found in the Devonshire Quarter, based on Division St, while due south there’s an indoor market at 77 The Moor (Mon–Sat 8.30am–5.30pm).
Meadowhall Centre S9 1EP 0845 600 6800, meadowhall.co.uk. Since it opened in 1990 on the site of a derelict steelworks, out-of-town Meadowhall has pulled in thirty million shoppers a year. Free parking is a boon, or it’s an easy tram ride three miles east of the centre. Mon–Fri 10am–9pm, Sat 9am–8pm, Sun 11am–5pm.
Antiques Quarter A621 and surrounding roads sheffieldantiquesquarter.co.uk. To the south of the city centre, along Abbeydale and Broadfield roads and easily reached by bus, you’ll find a horde of delightful independent antique dealers and an auction house. For exact shop locations and opening hours, check online.
HULL – officially Kingston upon Hull – dates back to 1299, when it was laid out as a seaport by Edward I. It quickly became England’s leading harbour, and was still a vital garrison when the gates were closed against Charles I in 1642, the first serious act of rebellion of what was to become the English Civil War. Fishing and seafaring have always been important here, and today’s city maintains a firm grip on its heritage with a number of superb visitor attractions, including the excellent Museum Quarter in the Old Town. The city’s stint as UK City of Culture in 2017 saw a massive investment in arts and culture across the city; the revitalization is particularly noticeable in the burgeoning Fruit Market district between the Marina and river (fruitmarkethull.co.uk), where new galleries and cool cafés have opened.
Queen Victoria Square, HU1 3RA • Mon–Sat 10am–5pm (Thurs 7.30pm), Sun 11am–4.30pm • Free • 01482 300300, hcandl.co.uk/ferens
When it reopened in April 2017 after a multi-million pound refurbishment, Ferens Art Gallery attracted more than 10,000 visitors in its first weekend. The world-class gallery has a permanent collection of paintings and sculpture with works by Frans Hals, David Hockney and Antonio Canaletto. Visiting exhibitions have included SKIN – major works by Lucian Freud, Ron Mueck and Spencer Tunick – and the prestigious Turner Prize.
Queen Victoria Square, HU1 3DX • Mon–Sat 10am–5pm (Thurs 7.30pm), Sun 11am–4.30pm • Free • 01482 300300, hullcc.gov.uk
The city’s maritime legacy is covered in the Maritime Museum, housed in the Neoclassical headquarters of the former Town Docks Offices. With displays on fishing, whaling and sailing, this provides a valuable record of centuries of skill and expertise, not to mention courage and fortitude, now fading into the past. Highlights include the whaling gallery, with whale skeletons, fearsome exploding harpoons, the sort of flimsy boats in which whalers of old used to chase the leviathans of the deep, and oddities such as a whalebone seat and a blubber cauldron.
Between High St & the River Hull, HU1 1NQ • All attractions Mon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 11am–4.30pm • Free • 01482 300300, hullcc.gov.uk
Over towards the River Hull, you reach the Museums Quarter and High Street, which has been designated an “Old Town” conservation area thanks to its crop of former merchants’ houses and narrow cobbled alleys. At its northern end stands Wilberforce House, the former home of William Wilberforce, which contains fascinating exhibits on slavery and its abolition, the cause to which he dedicated much of his life. Next door is Streetlife, devoted to the history of transport in the region and centred on a 1930s street scene. The adjoining Hull and East Riding Museum is even better, with attractions including vivid displays of Celtic burials and an impressive full-size model of a woolly mammoth.
Tower St, HU1 4DP • Daily 10am–6pm, last entry 5pm • £12.50, children £10.50 (discount online) • 01482 381000, thedeep.co.uk
Protruding from a promontory overlooking the River Humber, Hull’s splendid aquarium, The Deep, is just ten minutes’ walk from the old town. Its educational displays and videos wrap around an immense 30ft-deep, 2.3-million-gallon viewing tank filled with sharks, rays and octopuses. There’s an underwater tunnel along the bottom of the tank, together with a magical glass lift in which you can ascend or descend through the water.
Arrival and departure Hull
By train Hull’s train station is situated in the Paragon Interchange off Ferensway. There are direct trains between London and Hull, while the city is also linked to the main London–York line via Doncaster as well as to the East Yorkshire coast.
Destinations Bempton (hourly; 55min); Beverley (Mon–Sat every 25min, Sun 6 daily; 13min); Bridlington (every 30min; 42min); Filey (around 10 daily; 1hr10min); (Leeds (hourly; 1hr); London (6 daily; 2hr 45min); Scarborough (every 2hr; 1hr 30min); York (hourly; 1hr 10m).
By bus The bus station is near the train station in the Paragon Interchange off Ferensway. Buses run to all parts of the region including York (2hr) and the East Coast (1hr 40min to Bridlington; 2hr 30min to Scarborough).
By ferry Daily crossing to/from Rotterdam and Zeebrugge (Bruges) from the ferry terminal, 3 miles from the city centre (poferries.com).
Visitor information There’s a volunteer-run hub in Hull railway station, where you can pick up the entertaining “Fish Trail” leaflet, a self-guided trail that kids will love. See also visithullandeastyorkshire.com.
Walking tour Paul Schofield (01482 878535, tourhull.com) is an English Heritage-accredited guide who leads historic Old Town tours (from the tourist office; Mon, Fri & Sat 10am & 2pm, Sun 11am & 2pm; £4), as well as tours of some of Hull’s best pubs.
Holiday Inn Hull Marina Castle St, HU1 2BX 0871 9422 9043, hihullmarinahotel.co.uk. Rooms at the city’s best central hotel overlook the marina, and there’s a restaurant and bar, plus an indoor pool, gym, sauna and plenty of parking. £114
Kingston Theatre Hotel 1–2 Kingston Square, HU2 8DA 01482 225828, kingstontheatrehotel.com. This straightforward, good-value hotel on the city’s prettiest square, across from Hull New Theatre, is a 5min walk from the city centre, yet in a quiet neighbourhood. Street parking only (but there’s a public car park nearby). £110
Cerutti’s 10 Nelson St, HU1 1XE 01482 328501, ceruttis.co.uk. Facing the old site of the Victoria Pier (now replaced by a wooden deck overlooking the river), this first-floor Italian restaurant is especially good for fish dishes. The atmosphere is busy and friendly, and there are frequent special events including live jazz. Main courses are around £13–23, but look out for two- and three-course deals. Mon–Fri noon–2pm & 6.45–9.30pm, Sat 6.45–9.30pm.
The George The Land of Green Ginger, HU1 2EA 01482 226373. Venerable pub on Hull’s most curiously named street – see if you can find England’s smallest window. Mon noon–6pm, Tues–Thurs noon–11.00pm, Fri & Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–10pm.
Pave Café-Bar 16–20 Princes Ave, HU5 3QA 01482 333181, pavebar.co.uk. Nice laidback atmosphere with lots going on – live jazz/blues and comedy nights, and readings by the likes of Alexei Sayle, Will Self and Simon Armitage – and a comprehensive menu of home-cooked food served till 7pm (most mains well under £10). Mon–Thurs & Sun 11am–11.00pm, Fri & Sat 11am–11.30pm.
Thieving Harry’s 73 Humber St, HU1 1UD 01482 214141, thievingharrys.co.uk. A cornerstone of the Fruit Market regeneration, quirky Thieving Harry’s “food + stuff” has mismatched chairs, a cool vibe, gorgeous views and tasty food (poached egg on toast with charred avocado and bacon £6). Mon–Thurs 10am–4pm, Fri & Sat 9am–midnight, Sun 9am–4pm.
Hull Venue cityplanhull.co.uk. A major state-of-the-art music and events complex set to open in 2018. Check the website for updates.
Hull Truck Theatre Company 50 Ferensway, HU2 8LB 01482 323638, hulltruck.co.uk. Renowned theatre, where, among other high-profile works, many of the plays of award-winning John Godber see the light of day.
With its tangle of old streets, cobbled lanes and elegant Georgian and Victorian terraces BEVERLEY, nine miles north of Hull, is the very picture of a traditional market town. More than 350 of its buildings are listed, and though you could see its first-rank offerings in a morning, it makes an appealing place to stay.
Minster Yard North, HU17 0DP • April–Oct Mon–Sat 9am–5.30pm, Sun noon–4.30pm; Nov–March Mon–Sat 9am–4pm, Sun noon–4.30pm; services Thurs & Sun (see website) • Free, but donation requested • Roof tours Thurs (by prior appointment only) & Sat 11am; 1hr • £10; advance booking only • 01482 868540, beverleyminster.org.uk
The town is dominated by the fine, Gothic twin towers of Beverley Minster. The west front, which crowned the work in 1420, is widely considered without equal, its survival due in large part to architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, who restored much of the church in the eighteenth century. The carving throughout is magnificent, particularly the 68 misericords of the oak choir (1520–24), one of the largest and most accomplished in England. Much of the decorative work here and elsewhere is on a musical theme. Beverley had a renowned guild of itinerant minstrels, which provided funds in the sixteenth century for the carvings on the transept aisle capitals, where you’ll be able to pick out players of lutes, bagpipes, horns and tambourines.
Corner of North Bar Within and Hengate, HU17 8DL • Mon–Sat 11.30am–3pm, Sun before and after services only • Free • 01482 869137, stmarysbeverley.org
Cobbled Highgate runs from the minster through town, along the pedestrianized shopping streets and past the main Market Square, to Beverley’s other great church, St Mary’s, which nestles alongside the North Bar, sole survivor of the town’s five medieval gates. Inside, the chancel’s painted panelled ceiling (1445) contains portraits of English kings from Sigebert (623–37) to Henry VI (1421–71), and among the carvings the favourite novelty is the so-called “Pilgrim’s Rabbit”, said to have been the inspiration for the White Rabbit in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
Arrival and information Beverley
By train Beverley’s train station on Station Square is just a couple of mins’ walk from the town centre and the minster.
Destinations Bridlington (every 30min; 30min); Hull (every 30min; 15min); Sheffield (hourly; 1hr 40min).
By bus The bus station is at the junction of Walkergate and Sow Hill Road, with the main street just a minute’s walk away.
Destinations Bridlington (hourly; 1hr) Driffield (hourly; 25min); Hull (every 30min–1hr; hourly; 40min); Scarborough (hourly; 1hr 16min).
Tourist office 34 Butcher Row in the main shopping area (April–Sept Mon–Fri 9.30am–5.30pm, Sat 9.30am–4.30pm, Sun 10am–3.30pm; Oct–March Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 10am–4.30pm; 01482 391672, visithullandeastyorkshire.com).
Cerutti 2 Station Square, HU17 0AS 01482 866700, ceruttis.co.uk. Occupying what was once the station waiting rooms, Cerutti 2, run by the same family as Cerutti’s in Hull, specializes in fish, though there are meat and vegetarian options too (mains around £12–23). Popular with locals, so it’s as well to book, especially at weekends. Tues–Sat noon–2pm & 6.45–9.30pm.
King’s Head Hotel 37–38 Saturday Market, HU17 9AH 01482 868103, kingsheadpubbeverley.co.uk. Tucked into a corner of busy Saturday Market, this period building has contemporary decor inside. It’s a Marston’s pub, with food from £7, and it can be noisy, especially at weekends, but the rear rooms are quieter, and earplugs are provided. Mon–Thurs 9am–11pm, Fri & Sat 9am–1am, Sun 11am–11pm; kitchen Mon–Sat 10am–9pm, Sun 10am–8pm. £100
YHA Beverley Friary Friar’s Lane, HU17 0DF 0845 371 9004, yha.org.uk/hostel/beverley-friary. Beautiful medieval monastic house in the shadow of the minster. What it lacks in luxury it makes up for in atmosphere, location and, of course, economy. Limited parking. Dorms £18, triples £69
The East Yorkshire coast curves south in a gentle arc from the mighty cliffs of Flamborough Head to Spurn Head, a hook-shaped promontory formed by relentless erosion and shifting currents. There are few parts of the British coast as dangerous – indeed, the Humber lifeboat station at Spurn Point is the only one in Britain permanently staffed by a professional crew. Between the two points lie a handful of tranquil villages and miles of windswept dunes and mud flats. The two main resorts, Bridlington and Filey, couldn’t be more different, but each has its own appeal.
The southernmost resort on the Yorkshire coast, BRIDLINGTON has maintained its harbour for almost a thousand years. The seafront promenade looks down upon the town’s best asset – its sweeping sandy beach. It’s an out-and-out family resort, which means plenty of candyfloss, fish and chips, rides, boat trips and amusement arcades. The historic core of town is a mile inland, where in the largely Georgian Bridlington Old Town the Bayle Museum (Easter–Oct Mon–Fri 11am–4pm; £2; 01262 674308) presents local history in a building that once served as the gateway to a fourteenth-century priory.
Around fourteen miles of precipitous 400ft-high cliffs gird Flamborough Head, just to the northeast of Bridlington. The best of the seascapes are visitable on the peninsula’s north side, accessible by road from Flamborough village.
From BEMPTON, two miles north of Bridlington, you can follow the clifftop path all the way round to Flamborough Head or curtail the journey by cutting up paths to Flamborough village. The RSPB sanctuary at Bempton Cliffs, reached along a quiet lane from Bempton, is the best single place to see the area’s thousands of cliff-nesting birds.
1 mile from Bempton, YO15 1JF • Visitor centre daily 9.30am–5pm (4pm in winter) • £4 • 01262 4222212, rspb.org.uk
A quarter of a million seabirds nest in these cliffs, including fifteen thousand pairs of gannets, and the second-largest puffin colony in the country, with several thousand returning to the cliffs each year. Late March and April is the best time to see the puffins, but the reserve’s visitor centre can advise on other breeds’ activities. There are six clifftop viewpoints (three of them wheelchair accessible), plus a beautiful picnic spot.
FILEY, half a dozen miles north up the coast from Bempton, is at the very edge of the Yorkshire Wolds (and technically in North Yorkshire). It has a good deal more class as a resort than Bridlington, retaining many of its Edwardian features, including some splendid panoramic gardens. It, too, claims miles of wide sandy beach, stretching most of the way south to Flamborough Head and north the mile or so to the jutting rocks of Filey Brigg, where a nature trail wends for a couple of miles through the surroundings.
Arrival and getting around The East Yorkshire Coast
By train Bridlington and Filey are linked by the regular service between Hull and Scarborough, and there are regular trains between York and Scarborough, further up the coast.
By bus There are buses from York to Bridlington (every 2hr; 2hr), plus a service from Hull to Scarborough (every 2hr; 2hr 50min) via Bridlington and Filey. There’s also an hourly service between Bridlington, Filey and Scarborough.
Virtually the whole of the North York Moors, from the Hambleton and Cleveland hills in the west to the cliff-edged coastline to the east, is protected by one of the country’s finest National Parks. The heather-covered, flat-topped hills are cut by deep, steep-sided valleys, and views here stretch for miles, interrupted only by giant cultivated forests. This is great walking country; footpaths include the superb Cleveland Way, one of England’s premier long-distance National Trails, which embraces both wild moorland and the cliff scenery of the North Yorkshire coast. Barrows and ancient forts provide memorials of early settlers, mingling on the high moorland with the battered stone crosses of the first Christian inhabitants and the ruins of great monastic houses such as Rievaulx Abbey.
Getting around The North York Moors
By train The steam trains of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway run between Pickering and Grosmont and on to Whitby. At Grosmont you can connect with the regular trains on the Esk Valley line, running either 6 miles east to Whitby and the coast, or west through more remote country settlements (and ultimately to Middlesbrough).
By bus The main bus approaches to the moors are from Scarborough and York to the main towns of Helmsley and Pickering. There are two seasonal services that connect Pickering and Helmsley to everywhere of interest in the National Park. Moorsbus (01751 477216, moorsbus.org) and the Moors Explorer from Hull (01482 592929 or eyms.co.uk) both have several departures on summer weekends, fewer at other times (at least every Sun & bank hols).
National Park Visitor Centres There are two National Park Visitor Centres for the North York Moors, one in Danby (daily: April–July & Sept–Oct 10am–5pm; Aug 9.30am–5.30pm; for winter hours check with centre; 01439 772737), and the other in Sutton Bank (same hours; 01845 597426). Both offer exhibitions, pamphlets and maps, a café and a shop. The National Park’s website is northyorkmoors.org.uk.
Cleveland Way Project Provides maps and information about the route, including an annual, downloadable accommodation guide (01439 770657, nationaltrail.co.uk/cleveland-way).
The market town of THIRSK, 23 miles north of York, made the most of its strategic crossroads position on the ancient drove road between Scotland and York and on the historic east–west route from dales to coast. Its medieval prosperity is clear from the large, cobbled Market Place (markets Mon & Sat), while well-to-do citizens later endowed the town with fine Georgian houses and halls. However, Thirsk’s main draw is its attachment to the legacy of local vet Alf Wight, better known as James Herriott. Thirsk was the “Darrowby” of the Herriott books, and the vet’s former surgery, at 23 Kirkgate, is now the hugely popular World of James Herriott (daily: March–Oct 10am–5pm; Nov–Feb 10am–4pm; £8.50; 01845 524234, worldofjamesherriot.org), and is crammed with period pieces and Herriott memorabilia.
Arrival and information Thirsk
By train The train station is a mile west of town on the A61 (Ripon road); minibuses connect the station with the town centre.
Destinations Middlesbrough (hourly; 44min); Manchester (hourly; 1hr 50min); London (every 2hr; 2hr 30min).
By bus Buses stop in the Market Place.
Destinations Northallerton (every 2hr; 25–30min); Ripon (every 2hr; 41min); York (every 1–2hr; 1hr).
Tourist office 93a Market Place (Mon–Sat 10am–4pm; 01845 522755, visit-thirsk.org.uk).
Gallery 18 Kirkgate, YO7 1PQ 01845 523767, gallerybedandbreakfast.co.uk. An award-winning B&B with three comfortable rooms and excellent breakfasts in an eighteenth-century Grade II listed building. It’s on a main street, and can get noisy when the pubs close. £70
Golden Fleece Market Place, YO7 1LL 01845 523108, goldenfleecehotel.com. There are good rooms and a pleasant busy atmosphere in this charming old coaching inn, nicely located on Thirsk’s large cobbled square. They serve locally sourced food, too. Daily noon–9pm. £95
Eleven miles north of Thirsk, the little village of OSMOTHERLEY huddles around its green. The pretty settlement gets by as a hiking centre, since it’s a key stop on the Cleveland Way as well as starting point for the brutal 42-mile Lyke Wake Walk to Ravenscar, south of Robin Hood’s Bay.
Half a mile off the A19, DL6 3JG • April–Sept daily 10am–6pm; Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov–March Sat & Sun 10am–4pm • £6.60; NT & EH 01609 883494, nationaltrust.org.uk, english-heritage.org.uk • #80/#89 from Northallerton, then a 30min walk
An easy two-mile walk from Osmotherley via Chapel Wood Farm, the fourteenth-century Mount Grace Priory is the most important of England’s nine Carthusian ruins. The Carthusians took a vow of silence and lived, ate and prayed alone in their two-storey cells, each separated from its neighbour by a privy, small garden and high walls. The foundations of the cells are still clearly visible, and one has been reconstructed to suggest its original layout.
The main A170 road enters the National Park from Thirsk as it climbs 500ft in half a mile to Sutton Bank (960ft), a phenomenal viewpoint from where the panorama extends across the Vale of York to the Pennines on the far horizon. While you’re here, call in at the National Park Visitor Centre half a mile further up the road, to pick up information on the walks and off-road bike rides you can make from here.
To the south of the A170, the White Horse Nature Trail (2–3 miles; 1hr 30min) skirts the crags of Roulston Scar en route to the Kilburn White Horse, northern England’s only turf-cut figure, 314ft long and 228ft high. You could make a real walk of it by dropping a couple of miles down to pretty KILBURN village (a minor road also runs from the A170, passing the White Horse car park), which has been synonymous with woodcarving since the days of “Mouseman” Robert Thompson (1876–1955), whose woodcarvings are marked by his distinctive mouse motif. The Mouseman Visitor Centre (Easter–Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov & Dec Wed–Sun 11am–4pm; £4.50; 01347 869102, robertthompsons.co.uk) displays examples of Thompson’s personal furniture.
Most visitors to the attractive village of COXWOLD come to pay homage to the novelist Laurence Sterne, who is buried by the south wall (close to the porch) in the churchyard of St Michael’s, where he was vicar from 1760 until his death in 1768. Shandy Hall, further up the road past the church (house May–Sept Wed & Sun 11am–4.30pm; gardens May–Sept Mon–Fri & Sun 11am–4.30pm; tours Wed & Sun 2.45pm & 3.45pm, or by appointment; house & gardens £5, gardens only £3; 01347 868465, laurencesternetrust.org.uk), was Sterne’s home, now a museum crammed with literary memorabilia. It was here that he wrote A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy and the wonderfully eccentric anti-novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman.
One of the moors’ most appealing towns, HELMSLEY makes a perfect base for visiting the western moors and Rievaulx Abbey. Local life revolves around a large cobbled market square (market Fri), which is dominated by a boastful monument to the second earl of Feversham, whose family was responsible for rebuilding most of the village in the nineteenth century. The old market cross now marks the start of the 110-mile Cleveland Way. Signposted from the square, it’s easy to find Helmsley Castle (April–Sept daily 10am–6pm; Oct–Nov daily 10am–5pm; Nov–March Sat & Sun 10am–4pm; £6.20, EH; 01439 770442, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/helmsley-castle), its unique twelfth-century D-shaped keep ringed by massive earthworks.
Just over 2 miles northwest of Helmsley, YO62 5LB • April–Sept daily 10am–6pm; Oct to early Nov daily 10am–5pm; mid-Nov to March Sat & Sun 10am–4pm • £8.50; EH • 01439 798228, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/rievaulx-abbey
From Helmsley you can easily walk across country to Rievaulx Abbey on a signposted path (1hr 30min). Founded in 1132, the abbey became the mother church of the Cistercians in England, quickly developing into a flourishing community with interests in fishing, mining, agriculture and the woollen industry. At its height, 140 monks and up to five hundred lay brothers lived and worked here, though numbers fell dramatically once the Black Death (1348–49) had done its worst. The end came with the Dissolution, when many of the walls were razed and the roof lead stripped – the beautiful ruins, however, still suggest the abbey’s former splendour.
YO62 5LJ, 2 miles northwest of Helmsley • Feb–Oct daily 10am–5pm • £5.40; NT • 01439 798340 (summer) or 01439 748283 (winter), nationaltrust.org.uk/rievaulx-terrace
Although they form some sort of ensemble with the abbey, there’s no access between the ruins and Rievaulx Terrace. This half-mile stretch of grass-covered terraces and woodland was laid out as part of Duncombe Park in the 1750s, and was engineered partly to enhance the views of the abbey. The resulting panorama over the ruins and the valley below is superb, and this makes a great spot for a picnic.
Arrival and information Helmsley and around
By bus Buses from Scarborough (every 1hr 15min; 1hr 35min) and Pickering (every 1hr 15min; 35min) stop on or near the Market Place. In addition, seasonal Moorsbus services (April–Oct; 01751 477217, moorsbus.org), connect Helmsley to most places in the National Park.
Black Swan Market Place, YO62 5BJ 01439 770466, blackswan-helmsley.co.uk. An interesting Tudor/Georgian ex-coaching inn right on the main square, with a comfortable bar, airy restaurant, award-winning tearoom, refurbished rooms and charming, attentive staff. Daily: 11am–11pm, later at weekends; tearoom 10am–5.30pm; restaurant 7.30–9.30pm. £144
Feathers Hotel Market Place, YO62 5BH 01439 770275, feathershotelhelmsley.co.uk. Pub serving restaurant food – all the staples, from £11.95 – and with a surprisingly large choice of rooms. Mon–Sat 11.30am–midnight, Sun 11.30am–11pm; kitchen Mon–Fri noon–2.30pm & 5.30–9pm, Sat noon–9pm, Sun noon–8.30pm. £79
Feversham Arms 1 High St, YO62 5AG 01439 770766, fevershamarmshotel.com. One of Yorkshire’s top hotels, multi-award-winning, luxurious yet unpretentious. It has a pool, underground car park, spa and a terrific fine-dining restaurant. Look out for special deals. Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm & 6.45–9.30pm, Sun 12.30–2.30pm & 6.45–9.30pm. £190
Star Inn Harome, YO62 5JE, 2 miles southeast of Helmsley 01439 770397, thestaratharome.co.uk. The Star is not only a spectacularly beautiful thatched inn, but a restaurant which regained its Michelin star in 2015. Food is classic British and surprisingly affordable (main courses around £19–30), and the atmosphere is blessedly unpretentious. Accommodation is available in a separate building, and there’s an associated shop/deli across the road. Mon 6–11pm, Tues–Sat 11.30am–3pm & 6–11pm, Sun noon–11pm; kitchen Mon 6.15–9.30pm, Tues–Sat 11.30am–2pm & 6.15–9.30pm, Sun noon–6pm. £180
Eight miles northeast of Helmsley, one of Yorkshire’s quaintest villages, HUTTON LE HOLE, has become so great a tourist attraction that you’ll have to come off-season to get much pleasure from its stream-crossed village green and the sight of sheep wandering freely through the lanes. Apart from the sheer photogenic quality of the place, the big draw is the family-oriented Ryedale Folk Museum (mid-Jan to March & Nov to early Dec daily 10am–4pm; April to Oct 10am–5pm; £7.50; 01751 417367, ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk), where local life is explored in a series of reconstructed buildings, notably a sixteenth-century house, a glass furnace, a crofter’s cottage and a nineteenth-century blacksmith’s shop.
Arrival and information Hutton le Hole
By bus The #174 travels from/to Pickering once on Mon (30min).
National Park Information Centre At Ryedale Folk Museum (see above).
The Barn Guest House Hutton-le-Hole, YO62 6UA 01751 417311, thebarnguesthouse.com. Comfortable en-suite rooms, plus tearooms serving home-made cakes, scones, sandwiches and hot specials. Food served March–Oct daily 10.30am–4.30pm. £79
The Crown Hutton-le-Hole, YO62 6UA 01751 417343, crownhuttonlehole.com. Spacious real ale pub where you can sit outside and enjoy the peace of the village. They serve traditional, freshly cooked food, too; you can eat well for under a tenner. Typically daily 11am–10pm (later when busy); kitchen Mon–Thurs 11.45am–2.15pm & 5.30–8.15pm, Fri & Sat 11.45am–2.30pm & 5.30–8.30pm, Sun 11.45am–6pm; winter closed Mon & Tues.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (01751 472508, nymr.co.uk) provides a double whammy of nostalgia: first there’s the rolling stock, station furniture and smell of steam conjuring up images of bygone travel (especially to those who remember rail in the mid-twentieth century); and then the countryside through which the trains pass is reminiscent of an England which in many places has disappeared. Lately, the railway has been attracting a younger generation, too, as a result of its connection with the Harry Potter films: Goathland Station was used in the first of the Harry Potter films as Hogsmeade, where Harry and co disembarked from the Hogwarts Express.
The line, completed by George Stephenson in 1835 just ten years after the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, connects Pickering with the Esk Valley (Middlesbrough–Whitby) line at Grosmont, eighteen miles to the north. Scheduled services operate year-round (limited to weekends and school hols Nov–March), and a day-return ticket costs £24. Daily services also run on the Esk Valley line from Grosmont to the nearby seaside resort of Whitby from April to early November, with a return fare from Pickering of £29.
The biggest centre for miles around, PICKERING takes for itself the title “Gateway to the Moors”, which is pushing it a bit, though it’s certainly a handy halt if you’re touring the villages and dales of the eastern moors. Its most attractive feature is its motte and bailey castle on the hill north of the Market Place (daily: April–Sept 10am–6pm; Oct–Nov 10am–5pm; £4.90, EH; 01751 474989, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/pickering-castle), reputedly used by every English monarch up to 1400 as a base for hunting in nearby Blandsby Park. The other spot worth investigating is the Beck Isle Museum of Rural Life on Bridge Street (Feb–Nov daily 10am–5pm; £6; 01751 473653, www.beckislemuseum.org.uk), which has reconstructions of a gents’ outfitters and barber’s shop, a case full of knickers, and a painting of two giant Welsh guardsmen produced by Rex Whistler for a children’s party. Market day in town is Monday, and there’s a farmers’ market on the first Thursday of the month.
Arrival and departure Pickering
By train The steam trains of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway run between Pickering and Grosmont and on to Whitby. The station is a 5min signposted walk from the main street.
By bus Buses stop outside the library and tourist office, opposite the Co-op in the centre of town.
Destinations Helmsley (hourly; 35min); Scarborough (hourly; 53min); Whitby (4–6 daily; 1hr 4min); York (hourly; 1hr 10min).
The White Swan Market Place, YO18 7AA 01751 472288, white-swan.co.uk. Delightful traditional coaching inn, fully refurbished and updated, with contemporary and traditional bedrooms, and fine Modern British food (mains from £13.95). Daily 7.30am–11pm; kitchen daily noon–2pm & 6.45–9pm. £149
The North Yorkshire coast is the southernmost stretch of a cliff-edged shore that stretches almost unbroken to the Scottish border. Scarborough is the biggest resort, with a full set of attractions and a terrific beach. Cute Robin Hood’s Bay is the most popular of the coastal villages, with fishing and smuggling traditions, while bluff Staithes – a fishing harbour on the far edge of North Yorkshire – has yet to tip over into a full-blown tourist trap. Whitby, between the two, is the best stopover, with its fine sands, good facilities, abbey ruins, Georgian buildings and maritime heritage – more than any other local place Whitby celebrates Captain Cook as one of its own. Two of the best sections of the Cleveland Way start from Whitby: southeast to Robin Hood’s Bay (six miles) and northwest to Staithes (eleven miles), both along thrilling high-cliff paths.
The oldest resort in the country, SCARBOROUGH first attracted early seventeenth-century visitors to its newly discovered mineral springs. To the Victorians it was “the Queen of the Watering Places”, but Scarborough saw its biggest transformation after World War II, when it became a holiday haven for workers from the industrial heartlands. All the traditional ingredients of a beach resort are still here, from superb, clean sands and kitsch amusement arcades to the more refined pleasures of its tight-knit old-town streets and a genteel round of quiet parks and gardens. Be sure to drop into the Church of St Mary (1180), below the castle on Castle Road, whose graveyard contains the tomb of Anne Brontë, who died here in 1849.
Vernon Rd, YO11 2PS • Tues–Sun 10am–5pm • £3 • 01723 353665, scarboroughmuseumstrust.com
The second-oldest purpose-built museum in the country (the oldest is in Oxford), the Rotunda Museum was constructed to the plans of William Smith, the founder of English geology, and opened in 1829. A fascinating building in its own right, it includes in its venerable shell some high-tech displays on geology and local history. The Dinosaur Coast Gallery is particularly child-friendly.
The Crescent, YO11 2PW • Tues–Sun 10am–5pm • £3 • 01723 384503 scarboroughartgallery.co.uk
Scarborough’s Art Gallery, housed in an Italianate villa, contains the town’s permanent collection – largely the work of local artists, and including paintings, posters and photography – which gives an insight into the way the town has been depicted over the centuries.
Castle Rd, YO11 1HY • April–Sept daily 10am–6pm; Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov to mid-Feb Sat & Sun 10am–4pm • £5.90; EH • 01765 608888, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/scarborough-castle
There’s no better place to acquaint yourself with the local layout than Scarborough Castle, mounted on a jutting headland between two golden-sanded bays. Bronze and Iron Age relics have been found on the wooded castle crag, together with fragments of a fourth-century Roman signalling station, Saxon and Norman chapels and a Viking camp, reputedly built by a Viking with the nickname of Scardi (or “harelip”), from which the town’s name derives.
One fun way to explore North Bay is aboard the miniature North Bay Railway (Feb–Oct daily 10/11am–4pm; day return £3.90; 01723 368791, nbr.org.uk), which runs for just under a mile between Scarborough’s Sea Life Centre and Marine Sanctuary at Scalby Mills (daily 10am–5pm; £18, £9.50 online; 01723 373414, visitsealife.com/scarborough) and Peasholme Park. For unique entertainment, head to the park for naval warfare, when miniature man-powered naval vessels battle it out on the lake (July & Aug Mon, Thurs & Sat; £4; details from the tourist office).
To explore the bays from the water, board one of the pleasure steamers that ply the coastline on one-hour cruises or zip across to Casty Rocks on a speedboat to view seals and seabirds. All boat tours depart from the harbourside throughout the day between Easter and October (scarboroughboats.webs.com).
The South Bay is more refined, backed by the Valley Gardens and the Italianate meanderings of the South Cliff Gardens, and topped by an esplanade from which a hydraulic lift (Feb–Nov daily 9.30am–5pm; 90p) chugs down to the beach.
Arrival and departure Scarborough
By train The train station is at the top of town facing Westborough.
Destinations Hull (every 2hr; 1hr 30min); Leeds (hourly; 1hr 16min); York (hourly; 50min).
By bus Buses pull up outside the train station or in the surrounding streets. National Express services (direct from London) stop in the car park behind the station.
Destinations Bridlington (hourly; 1hr 18min); Filey (hourly; 30min); Helmsley (hourly; 1hr 30min); Hull (hourly; 1hr 30min); Leeds (hourly; 2hr 40min); Pickering (hourly; 1hr); Robin Hood’s Bay (hourly; 38min); Whitby (hourly; 1hr); York (hourly; 1hr 35min).
By bus Open-top seafront buses (Feb–Nov daily from 9.30am, every 12–20min; £2 single) run between North Bay to the Spa Complex in South Bay.
Tourist offices Scarborough has two tourist information points; one inside the Stephen Joseph Theatre (Mon–Sat 10am–6pm), and the other by the harbour in RNLI Scarborough (daily 9am–5pm).
Crescent Hotel The Crescent, YO11 2PP 01723 360929, thecrescenthotel.com. A spacious, slightly old-fashioned hotel catering for both holiday-makers and business folk, with friendly, helpful staff, comprehensive facilities and a fine restaurant, all housed in mid-nineteenth-century splendour. £107
Crown Spa Hotel The Esplanade, YO11 2AG 01723 357400, crownspahotel.com. On the south cliff, overlooking the town, this elegant and traditional hotel and spa brings a bit of luxury to Scarborough. Sea views are extra, but worth it. £150
YHA Scarborough Burniston Rd, YO13 0DA, 2 miles north of town 01723 361176, yha.org.uk/hostel/scarborough. In an early seventeenth-century watermill a 15min walk from the sea, this is a good hostel for families with kids. Dorms £13, private rooms sleeping four £60
Café Fish 19 York Place, at the intersection with Somerset Terrace, YO11 2NP 01723 500301, cafefish.co.uk. More of a top-end fish restaurant than a fish-and-chip shop, where a two-course dinner with wine could feature fish curry, steamed mussels or Thai fishcakes, and will cost from about £30. Gets very busy at weekends. Daily 5.30–10pm.
Café Italia 36 St Nicholas Cliff, YO11 2ES 01723 501973. Enchanting, tiny, authentic Italian coffee bar. They stick to what they’re good at: excellent coffee, ice cream and cakes. Daily 9am–9pm.
Golden Grid 4 Sandside, YO11 1PE 01723 360922, goldengrid.co.uk. The harbourside’s choicest fish-and-chip establishment, “catering for the promenader since 1883”. Offers grilled fish, crab and lobster, a fruits-de-mer platter and a wine list alongside the standard crispy-battered fry-up. Decent portions of fish from £7.80. Easter–Oct Mon–Thurs 10am–8.30pm, Fri 10am–9pm, Sat 10am–9.30pm, Sun 11am–6.30pm; Nov–Easter opens daily 11am, closing varies.
Scarborough Open Air Theatre Burniston Rd, YO12 6PF 01723 818111, scarboroughopenairtheatre.com. Europe’s largest open-air theatre, built in 1932, hosts a range of top-end concerts and gigs by the likes of Jessie J, Elton John and Status Quo.
Stephen Joseph Theatre Westborough, YO11 1JW 01723 370541, sjt.uk.com. Housed in a former Art Deco cinema, this premieres every new play of local play-wright Alan Ayckbourn and promotes strong seasons of theatre and film. There’s a good, moderately priced café/restaurant and a bar open Mon–Sat.
The most heavily visited spot on this stretch of coast, ROBIN HOOD’S BAY is made up of gorgeous narrow streets and pink-tiled cottages toppling down the cliff-edge site, evoking the romance of a time when this was both a hard-bitten fishing community and smugglers’ den par excellence. From the upper village, lined with Victorian villas, now mostly B&Bs, it’s a very steep walk down the hill to the harbour. The Old Coastguard Station (Jan, March, Nov & Dec Sat & Sun 10am–4pm, Feb daily 10am–4pm, April–Oct daily 10am–5pm, late Dec Mon–Wed, Sat & Sun 10am–4pm; free; NT; 01947 885900; nationaltrust.org.uk/yorkshire-coast) has been turned into a visitor centre with displays relating to the area’s geology and sealife. When the tide is out, the massive rock beds below are exposed, split by a geological fault line and studded with fossil remains. Robin’s Hood’s Bay is the traditional finishing point for Alfred Wainwright’s 190-mile Coast-to-Coast Walk from St Bees, but you might prefer to take the much shorter circular walk (2.5 miles) to Boggle Hole and its youth hostel, a mile south, returning inland via the path along the old Scarborough–Whitby railway line.
Arrival and getting around Robin Hood’s Bay
By bus Robin Hood’s Bay is connected to Whitby by Arriva #93 buses (hourly; 20min) and to Scarborough by Arriva #93 buses (hourly; 40min).
By bike A couple of miles northwest of Robin Hood’s Bay at Hawsker, on the A171, Trailways (01947 820207, trailways.info) is a bike rental outfit based in the old Hawsker train station, perfectly placed for day-trips in either direction along the disused railway line.
Tourist information Though you can pick up a lot of information at the Old Coastguard Station (see above), the nearest official tourist office is in Whitby.
Bay Hotel On the harbour, YO22 4SJ 01947 880278, bayhotel.info. At the traditional start or end of the Coast-to-Coast Walk, this inn offers rooms and bar meals, with main courses at around £9–11. Mon–Sat 11am–11pm, Sun noon–11pm; kitchen daily noon–2pm & 6.30–9pm. £70
Swell Café Old Chapel, Chapel St 01947 880180, swellcafe.co.uk. A gift shop and café in an old Wesleyan Chapel, built in 1779, where John Wesley himself once preached. They serve a good range of snacks, sandwiches, cakes, teas and coffees, and alcoholic drinks, and there are great coastal views from its terrace tables. Daily 9.30am–3.30pm, or later if busy.
YHA Boggle Hole Boggle Hole, Fylingthorpe, YO22 4UQ 0845 371 9504, yha.org.uk/hostel/boggle-hole. In a former mill in a wooded ravine about a mile south of Robin Hood’s Bay at Mill Beck, this outstanding hostel has a great location practically on the beach. Dorms £18, doubles £59
If there’s one essential stop on the North Yorkshire coast it’s WHITBY, with its historical associations, atmospheric ruins, fishing harbour, lively music scene and intrinsic charm. The seventh-century clifftop abbey here made Whitby one of the key foundations of the early Christian period, and a centre of great learning. Below, on the harbour banks of the River Esk, for a thousand years the local herring boats landed their catch until the great whaling boom of the eighteenth century transformed the fortunes of the town. Melville’s Moby Dick makes much of Whitby whalers such as William Scoresby, and James Cook took his first seafaring steps from the town in 1746, on his way to becoming a national hero. All four of Captain Cook’s ships of discovery – the Endeavour, Resolution, Adventure and Discovery – were built in this town.
Walking around Whitby is one of its great pleasures. Divided by the River Esk, the town splits into two halves joined by a swing bridge: the cobbled old town to the east, and the newer (mostly eighteenth- and nineteenth-century) town across the bridge, generally known as West Cliff. Church Street is the old town’s main thoroughfare, barely changed in aspect since the eighteenth century, though now lined with tearooms and gift shops. Parallel Sandgate has more of the same, the two streets meeting at the small marketplace where souvenirs and trinkets are sold, and which hosts a farmers’ market every Thursday.
Grape Lane, YO22 4BA • Daily: Feb–March 11am–3pm; April–Oct 9.45am–5pm • £5.70 • 01947 601900, cookmuseumwhitby.co.uk
Whitby, understandably, likes to make a fuss of Captain Cook, who served an apprenticeship here from 1746–49 under John Walker, a Quaker shipowner. The Captain Cook Memorial Museum, housed in Walker’s rickety old house, contains an impressive amount of memorabilia, including ships’ models, letters and paintings by artists seconded to Cook’s voyages.
Abbey Plain, YO22 4JT • Daily 10am–4pm
At the north end of Church Street, you climb the famous 199 steps of the Church Stairs – now paved, but originally a wide wooden staircase built for pall-bearers carrying coffins to the Church of St Mary above. This is an architectural amalgam dating back to 1110, boasting a Norman chancel arch, a profusion of eighteenth-century panelling, box pews unequalled in England and a triple-decker pulpit – note the built-in ear trumpets, added for the benefit of a nineteenth-century rector’s deaf wife.
Abbey Lane, YO22 4JT • April–Sept daily 10am–6pm; Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov–March Sat & Sun 10am–4pm • £7.60; EH • 01947 603568, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/whitby-abbey
The clifftop ruins of Whitby Abbey are some of the most evocative in England. Its monastery was founded in 657 by St Hilda of Hartlepool, daughter of King Oswy of Northumberland, and by 664 had become important enough to host the Synod of Whitby, an event of seminal importance in the development of English Christianity. It settled once and for all the question of determining the date of Easter, and adopted the rites and authority of the Roman rather than the Celtic Church. You’ll discover all this and more in the visitor centre (same hours), which is housed in the shell of the adjacent mansion, built after the Dissolution using material from the plundered abbey.
Pannett Park, YO21 1RE • Tues–Sun 9.30am–4.30pm • £5 • 01947 602908, whitbymuseum.org.uk
The gloriously eclectic Whitby Museum features more Cook memorabilia, including various objects and stuffed animals brought back as souvenirs by his crew, as well as casefuls of exhibits devoted to Whitby’s seafaring tradition, its whaling industry in particular. Some of the best and largest fossils of Jurassic period reptiles unearthed on the east coast are also preserved here.
Arrival and information Whitby
By train Whitby’s station is in the centre of town on Station Square, just south of the swing bridge, next to the bus station. Whitby is the terminus of the Esk Valley line, which runs from Middlesbrough and connects with the steam trains of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway at Grosmont, which run south to Pickering.
Destinations Danby (4–5 daily; 40min); Great Ayton (4–5 daily; 1hr 5min); Grosmont (4–5 daily; 16min); Middlesbrough (4–5 daily; 1hr 30min).
By bus The bus station is next to the train station in the centre of town.
Destinations Robin Hood’s Bay (hourly; 19min); Staithes (every 30min; 30min); York (4–6 daily; 2hr).
Tourist office On the corner of Langborne Rd and New Quay Rd, opposite the train station (May–Oct daily 9.30am–5pm; Nov–April Thurs–Sun 9.30am–4.30pm; 01723 383636, discoveryorkshirecoast.com or visitwhitby.com).
Black Horse 91 Church St, YO22 4BH 01947 602906, the-black-horse.com; map. Four simple en-suite guest rooms above this fine old pub (see below), each named after one of Captain Cook’s ships. £60
Harbour Grange Spital Bridge, Church St, YO22 4BF 01947 600817, whitbybackpackers.co.uk; map. Backpackers’ hostel right on the river (eastern side) with 24 beds from a double up to an eight-bed dorm. Self-catering kitchen and lounge; 11.30pm curfew. £18
La Rosa Hotel 5 East Terrace, YO21 3HB 01947 606981, larosa.co.uk; map. Eccentric B&B with themed rooms done out in extravagantly individual style courtesy of auctions, eBay and car boot sales. Great fun, with terrific views of the harbour and the abbey. Breakfast picnic delivered in a basket to your door. Street parking. £110
White Horse and Griffin 87 Church St, YO22 4BH 01947 604857, whitehorseandgriffin.com; map. In the centre of Whitby’s old town, with wonderful views of the harbour. Nicely renovated rooms with many original features. It’s full of character, but can be noisy. £120
Whitby Music Scene
Whitby has a strong local music scene, with an emphasis on folk and world music. During the annual Whitby Folk Week (whitbyfolk.co.uk), held the week preceding the August bank holiday, the town is filled day and night with singers, bands, traditional dancers, storytellers and music workshops. Not-for-profit Musicport (musicportfestival.com) put on gigs from big names in the world/folk scene and hold a renowned annual World Music Festival at Whitby Pavilion in October. The shop of the same name, Musicport (16 Skinner Street; 01947 603475, musicportshop.com), is a great spot to find out more about live music in the town.
YHA Whitby Abbey House, East Cliff, YO22 4JT 0845 371 9049, yha.org.uk/hostel/whitby; map. Flagship hostel in a Grade I listed building next to the Abbey Visitor Centre. Stunning views, good facilities and a Victorian conservatory, tearoom and restaurant. Rates include breakfast and entry to the abbey. Dorms £15, doubles £59
Black Horse 91 Church St, YO22 4BH 01947 602906, the-black-horse.com; map. Lovely pub (parts date from the seventeenth century) in the old town, with real ales and food served all day, including tapas, Yorkshire cheeses and local seafood. Easter–Nov Mon–Sat 11am–11pm, Sun noon–11pm; Dec – Easter daily noon–4pm & 7–11pm.
Duke of York 124 Church St, YO22 4DE 01947 600324, dukeofyork.co.uk; map. In a great position at the bottom of the 199 steps, this is a warm and inviting pub, with beams, nautical memorabilia, church pews and views across to the harbour and West Cliff. Come for good real ales, modern pub food and music. Mon–Thurs & Sun 11am–11pm, Fri 11am–11.30pm, Sat 11am–midnight; kitchen daily noon–9pm.
Humble Pie 163 Church St, YO22 4AS 07919 074954, humblepie.tccdev.com; map. Tiny sixteenth-century building serving a range of pies, cooked fresh to order – steak, stout and leek, Romany, Homity, haggis and neep, and many more – with mash and peas. The decor is 1940s, with World War II background music. All pies £5.99; soft drinks only. Mon–Sat noon–8pm, Sun noon–4pm.
Magpie Café 14 Pier Rd, YO21 3PU 01947 602058, www.magpiecafe.co.uk; map. Said by Rick Stein to be one of the best fish-and-chip shops in the country, the Magpie has served food from its 1750-built premises since the start of World War II. To call it a fish-and-chip shop is a bit disingenuous – although it provides the normal takeaway service, it also serves lesser-known fish like Woof and John Dory in its restaurant (from £10.95) and has an extensive wine list. Closed at time of writing because of a fire, but hoping to reopen for the 2018 season.
Passage to India 30–31 Windsor Terrace, YO1 1ET 01947 606500, passagetoindia.eu; map. Stylish tandoori restaurant near the station, with bright red-and-black decor, great food, and friendly, efficient service. Mains £8–12; look out for the tandoori king prawn karahi or the Lam Kam. Mon–Thurs 5pm–midnight, Fri 5.30pm–1am, Sat noon–1am, Sun noon–midnight.
At the northernmost border of the Yorkshire coast is the fishing village of STAITHES, an improbably beautiful grouping of huddled stone houses around a small harbour, backed by the severe outcrop of Cowbar Nab, a sheer cliff face that protects the northern flank of the village. James Cook worked here in a draper’s shop before moving to Whitby, and he’s remembered in the Captain Cook and Staithes Heritage Centre, on the High Street (Feb–Nov daily 10am–5pm; Dec & Jan Sat & Sun 10am–5pm; £3; 01947 841454, captaincookatstaithes.co.uk), which recreates an eighteenth-century street, among other interesting exhibits. Other than this, you’ll have to content yourself with pottering about the rocks near the harbour – there’s no beach to speak of – or clambering the nearby cliffs for spectacular views. At Boulby, a mile and a half’s trudge up the coastal path (45min), you’re walking on the highest cliff (670ft) on England’s east coast.
Arrival and departure Staithes
On foot There’s a fine coastal walk from Whitby, passing pretty Runswick Bay and the village of Sandsend (around 4hr).
By bus The X4 runs daily between Staithes and Whitby (every 30min; 30min).
Endeavour House 1 High St, TS13 5BH 01947 841029 (rooms), 07969 054556 (restaurant), endeavour-restaurant.co.uk. Three lovely doubles in this restaurant-B&B located in a two-centuries-old house by the harbour. Parking available in municipal (£6/day) and private (Glen Vale, £5/day) car parks. There’s also a restaurant, run separately from the B&B, currently operating as a pop-up. Opening times vary – phone for details. £100
