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| Reviews and photos of North Yorkshire attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for North Yorkshire sightseeing. Map |
 | North Yorkshire Things To Do | Tips 31 - 40 of 129 |  |
The remote northern end of the Yorkshire Dales provides some of the most spectacularly desolate scenery - including the famed Buttertubs Pass, connecting Swaledale with Wensleydale. Villages include Reeth, Thwaite, Muker - are splendid in their isolation. And those drystone walls..... Leave a Comment
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It's odd to think that when looking at Bolton Castle today, sitting it is in such a prominent place overlooking Wensleydale spread out before it that, in reality, when the castle was first built, it was in the middle of a forest!
The 14th century was the castle's genesis and, like Bodiam castle in East Sussex built 10 years later, it marked a move away from the fortress castles of previous years. Yes, protection was still paramount (especially so close to the Scottish border), an exterior show of wealth and power vital, but, for the first time, comfort started to creep into the design of castles in the 14th century.
Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here for 6 months and it also came under heavy fire during the English Civil War. The north east tower collapsed in 1761. More recently, the film 'Elizabeth' starring Cate Blanchett was filmed here. It's essentially an empty shell of a building - many of the walls remain standing, but little else.
The castle ramins in private hands.
Entrance fee payabe
GBP 5.00 (adults), 3.50 (concessions and kids), 12.00 (family)
Open daily, Mar - Nov, 10am - 5pm. Leave a Comment Directions: Bolton Castle is a few miles from Leyburn.
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A small fishing village on the dramatic North Yorkshire coast - now more reliant on the tourist industry than anything that is caught out of the water! It's a charming little place - best experienced by leaving the car at the top of the cliff (road level entrance) and walking through the narrow but steep streets and alleyways down to the harbour. There are dramatic views across the wide bay.
Robin Hood's Bay (no-one knows where the name came from) is between Scarborough and Whitby. Leave a Comment
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Whitby, due to royal connections, was an important Christian site from as early as the middle of the 7th century. It flourished for more than 200 years before Viking raids destroyed the Abbey, after which it remained in ruins for a further 200 years. The Norman conquests of Britain provided a new lease of life, and, by the end of the 12th century, Whitby's Abbey church was on its way to being the grand design we see today. Such was the scale, it took nearly 200 years to come anywhere near completion - and then along came Henry VIII's Dissolution in 1539 with the buildings and land being leased off to private individuals.
It was the Abbey House that was of most interest - used as private dwellings, and therefore much of the Abbey was stripped of materials and simply left to rot. The nave collapsed in 1762 and the tower followed in 1830. What was left was also damaged by German artillery fire in WWI. In 1920, the Abbey was handed over to the nation - and has been in public hands ever since.
It's foreboding presence, particularly at dusk or in dark winter days has resulted in the Abbey being associated with many a myth - particularly Count Dracula... But it would have found it hard going as a mere mortal - it's 199 steps from the town to the Abbey.
Entrance fee payable:
GBP 4.00 (adults), 3.00 (concessions), 2.00 (kids), 10.00 (family)
Opening times (closed 24/25 Dec and 1 Jan)
19 Mar - 1 Sept: 10am-6pm (Mon-Sun), 1 - 31 Oct: 10am-5pm (Mon-Sun), 1 Nov - 18 Mar: 10am - 4pm (Thurs-Mon) Leave a Comment
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Although administered by English Heritage, Jervaulx Abbey is privately owned. Although small and in an advanced ruinous state, the site is an incredibly romantic one, with the stones and fooundation lines set in parkland ina quiet dip in the Yorkshire countryside.
Founded in 1146, the Cistercian Abbey came under particularly savage destruction during Henry VIII's Dissolution, with most of the abbey church being completely destroyed. After the troops haad finished with, there was little attempt to resettle or rebuild, with the remains we see today as they were more or less left almost 500 years ago.
Entrance fee payable - GBP 2.00 (adults), 1.50 (kids) - pay at the Gift Shop or Honesty Box!
Open during daylight hours every day. Leave a Comment Directions: Jervaulx is north of Ripon, situated just off the A6108 between Masham and Leyburn. You'll need your own transport to get to it.
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A place of worship has been on the site of the current cathedral since 672. The first church lasted almost 300 years before being destroyed by the English king in 948 as a warning to the power of the Archbishop of York. Only the crypt of the original church survived - a crypt which remains a part of the current day cathedral. The 2nd church lasted less than 100 years before Willaim the Conqueror saw to its destruction. A third was started almost immediately, with the current Early English west front (pictured) added in 1220. But Edward VI stripped a great deal of the church and its wealth and only under James I in 1604 did the 4th and final version of the Minster appear as we see it today. The Minster became a cathedral only as recently as 1836 - the first since the Reformation.
It's quite a plain and simple cathedral - the chief attractions being the misericords (carvings underneath the choiristers stalls) and stunning painted rood screen. Leave a Comment
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Just 4 miles west of Ripon, Fountains Abbey is a fantastic mix of ruins, gardens,a medieval deer park and palace, ornamental lakes: it was declared a World Heritage site in 1987. It is the UK's largest monastic ruin.
First on the site was the Benedict monastery, founded in 1132 but which soon became a Cistercian monastery. It became one of the richest religious houses, but, whilst struggling financially by the time of the Dissolution under Henry VIII in 1539, it was still an important spiritual home. The Dissolution contributed to the Abbey's demise (building materials found their way to Ripon and York cathedrals) but to the rise of Fountains Hall, built between 1598 and 1604 (with materials from the Abbey).
Studley Royal Estate, a separate entity until 1767, and the Water Garden was developed between 1721-1742 by John Aislabie. On his death, his son inherited Studley Royal and purchased Fountains Abbey ruins in 1767, joining the two together and creating the enormous grounds we find today.
It's now a National Trust property.
Opening times:
1 Mar - 31 Oct: 10am-5pm, 1 Nov - 28 Feb: 10am-4pm (closed 24/25 Dec)
Admission prices:
GBP 6.50 (adult), 3.50 (kids), 17.50 (family)
4 miles from Ripon - bus or taxi will get you there. Leave a Comment
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Brimham Rocks, 10 miles south of Ripon, are a series of weirdly eroded (but strangely beautiful) Millstone Grit rocks, shaped as they are by erosion during the last Ice Age. Theyr ise up to 300 metres above sea level and, as they 'sit' beside the road, are easily accessible , although, administered by the National Trust, are usually open from 8am until dusk most of the year.
Not easy to get to by public transport - Harrogate to Pateley Bridge train, getting off at Summerbridge station 2 miles away. Buses pass by (again from Harrogate or Richmond) to within approximately 1 mile but they are infrequent. Leave a Comment
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Not far from Malham Cove (reached from the town of Malham) is the deeply impressive and 'powerful' Gordale Scar. Part of a 22 mile faultline, it is the opposite of Malham Cove. Here, the retreating glacier has simply cut through the rock, leaving a wide fissure in the landscape. In places, it is more than 100 metres high. You can scramble up the base of the Scar - its hard going, especially after rain where there are a number of small waterfalls. Leave a Comment
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A natural limestone formation, Malham Cove is an enormously popular spot of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It's a huge cliff of limestone at the head of a valley, the spring of which bubbles to the surface at the base of the cliff. This stream was responsible for the surrounds - or at least the melting glacier that it once was - with a deeply impressive waterfall thousands of years ago (scientists believe to the volume of Niagara Falls. It's been 200 years since any water went over the edge!). Nowadays, the stream disappears into the ground a few kms from the top edge of Malham Cove before re-appearing at its base.
Most people walk up the side of the 'cove' (steps carved into the soil at the side - it's steep!), the top of which brings you to an impressive expanse of limstone pavement (but you can climb vertically with a bit of help with ropes and crampons).
It's a spectacular spot, attracting thousands of visitors per year - some to simply amble along the banks of the stream and have a pub lunch in the nearby village of Malham, others to undertake the more active cliff climb and local pot-holing opportunities. The majority gor for somewhere between the two - the nearby Gordale Scar can be included into a trip here. Leave a Comment
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on March 22, 2007
