Yorkshire has been called ‘God’s Own County’, and is the largest – and greenest – county in England. It covers over 6,000 square miles and has a population of over five million. Some (mostly Yorkshiremen!) think it should be a country in its own right.
Places to Visit
York, Whitby and the North York Moors should be explored by all visitors to Yorkshire, and a good plan is to hire a car and begin in Great Ayton.
York
The Jorvic Viking Centre transports visitor back a thousand years, with authentic smells thrown in for good measure – but York is not short of earlier (and later) historic attractions. The Minster dates from 12 century, and is the largest Gothic church in England. It was built over a Norman fort, which replaced a Roman one! Medieval York is best represented by “The Shambles”, which is one of the best preserved medieval streets in Europe.
Whitby
Captain James Cook, Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, and Bram Stoker (Dracula) all have connections with Whitby, and it is a good place to ‘soak up’ the past. There is one of the best ‘Fish & Chips’ restaurants in the country (The Magpie), and it is an excellent place for a day’s sea-fishing. Whitby Jet is world famous, and there are several specialist jewellers dotted along the road leading to the 199 steps up to Saint Hilda’s Abbey.
North York Moors
Wild moorland stretches from the North Sea at Whitby to Osmotherley in the West, and down from Guisborough to Pickering. The North York Moors (over 500 square miles of heather moorland) is a great place for walkers, and there are many interesting places to visit by car. There is also 18 miles of steam railway, laid by George Stephenson in 1835 (from Pickering to Grosmont) where you can see the moors in 1950’s style and get a glimpse of past times. This was one of the earliest lines in England, and therefore in the world!.
Great Ayton
Captain Cook spent his childhood in Great Ayton (North Yorkshire), before he sailed round the world. He went to school here, and it is still possible to visit his old school (The Captain Cook Schoolroom Museum). There are many tourist-orientated websites about Great Ayton, and it is a good place to begin any visit to Yorkshire. Afterwards you could drive further North to experience some of the hidden treasures of Northumberland and the Scottish Borders, staying in little-known 'bed and breakfasts', taking tea in quaint tea-shops, wending your way up the East Coast to Scotland.
Other articles by John Blatchford
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