Yorkshire
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Yorkshire - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Brontë Parsonage Museum
The most evocative of Haworth's Brontë sights is this somber Georgian house dating back to 1778, the sisters' family home where you can see original furniture (some bought by Charlotte after the success of Jane Eyre), portraits, and books. The Brontës moved here when the Reverend Patrick Brontë was appointed vicar of the local church, but tragedy soon struck—his wife, Maria, and their two eldest children died within five years. The museum explores the family's tragic story, bringing it to life with a strong collection of enchanting mementos of the four children. These include tiny books they made when they were still very young; Charlotte's wedding bonnet; and the sisters' spidery, youthful graffiti on the nursery wall. Branwell, the Brontës' only brother, painted several of the portraits on display. Admission is by timed slot only; it's best to book ahead.
Church St., Haworth, Bradford, BD22 8DR, England01535-642323Sight Details
Rate Includes: £11, Closed weekdays in Jan. and Mon. and Tues. in Feb.–Dec. -
2. Captain Cook Memorial Museum
This museum documenting the life of the famous mariner and those who sailed with him is located in a 17th-century house owned by the captain to whom Cook was apprenticed and where he lodged from 1746 to 1750. Exhibits devoted to Cook's epic expeditions display the legendary explorer's maps, diaries, and drawings.
Grape La., Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO22 4BA, England01947-601900Sight Details
Rate Includes: £7.50, Closed Dec.–mid-Feb. and Wed.–Thurs. and Sun. in Nov. -
3. Castle Howard
Standing in the Howardian Hills to the west of Malton, Castle Howard is an outstanding example of English baroque architecture, with a distinctive roofline punctuated by a magnificent central dome. It served as Brideshead, the home of the fictional Flyte family in Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh's tale of aristocratic woe, in both its 1981 TV and 2008 film adaptations, and more recently provided locations for Clyvedon, the residence of the Duke of Hastings in the hit Netflix show Bridgerton. The house was the first commission for playwright-turned-architect Sir John Vanbrugh, who, assisted by Nicholas Hawksmoor, designed it for the third Earl of Carlisle, a member of the Howard family. The central structure was started in 1701 and took 25 years to complete (with a Palladian wing added subsequently), but the end result was a stately home of audacious grandeur. A spectacular central hallway with soaring columns supports a hand-painted ceiling that dwarfs all visitors, and there's no shortage of splendor elsewhere: vast family portraits, intricate marble fireplaces, immense tapestries, Victorian silver on polished tables, and a great many marble busts. Outside, the neoclassical landscape of carefully arranged woods, lakes, and lawns led 18th-century bon vivant Horace Walpole to comment that a pheasant at Castle Howard lived better than a duke elsewhere. Hidden throughout the 1,000 acres of formal and woodland gardens are temples, statues, fountains, and a grand mausoleum—even a fanciful children's playground. There are also three cafés, two shops, and a garden center.
View Tours and ActivitiesMalton, North Yorkshire, YO60 7DA, England01653-648621Sight Details
Rate Includes: House and gardens from £19; gardens only £9 in winter, £15 in high season; guided after-hours house tour, April–Oct., £45, House closed Nov.–late Mar. -
4. Church of St. Mary the Virgin
Whitby's landmark church, where Captain James Cook once worshipped, overlooks the town from the top of East Cliff, with the striking ruins of Whitby Abbey looming beyond. Bram Stoker lived in Whitby briefly and later said the image of pallbearers carrying coffins up the 199 stone steps that lead to the church inspired him to write Dracula. The oldest parts of St. Mary's (the quire and nave) are Norman, dating back to 1100, while the tower and transepts were added in the 12th and 13th centuries. The nave's interior is late 18th-century Georgian while the unusual enclosed box pews and triple-decker pulpit were added in the 19th century, although you can still see Norman widows and stonework in the chancel and the Tudor altar. The churchyard, a setting in Dracula, is filled with the weather-beaten gravestones of former mariners and fishermen. Rather than walking, you can drive to the hilltop and park in the abbey's lot for a small fee. Otherwise, you can take the hourly Esk Valley Bus 97.
Abbey Plain, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO22 4JR, England01947-603421Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free; £1 suggested donation -
5. Georgian Theatre Royal
A jewel box built in 1788 and today an active community playhouse, this theater and museum is Britain's most complete Georgian playhouse still in its original form, retaining authentic features such as the wooden seating from which patrons watched 18th-century leading man David Garrick perform Shakespeare. You can see Britain's oldest painted scenery dating back to 1836 and try on theatrical costumes during the hourly tours, which run from Monday to Saturday between 10 and 4 mid-February through October. There's also an extensive theatrical archive that contains scripts, playbills, and images.
Victoria Rd., North Yorkshire, DL10 4DW, England01748-825252Sight Details
Rate Includes: Tours £5, Closed Sun. -
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6. Harewood House
The family seat of the Earls of Harewood (cousins of the King), Harewood House (pronounced har-wood) is a spectacular 1759 neoclassical mansion designed by York architect John Carr and the period's leading interior designer, Robert Adam (the money, sad to say, came from sugar plantations and the slave trade). Highlights include important paintings by Gainsborough and Reynolds, fine ceramics, and a ravishingly beautiful collection of Chippendale furniture (Chippendale was born in nearby Otley), notably the magnificent State Bed. There are tours of the Private Apartments (£10) periodically in June, July, September, and October, where you can see a notable collection of watercolors by JMW Turner and works by modern artists like Egon Schiele. The Old Kitchen and Below Stairs exhibition illustrates life from the servants' point of view. Capability Brown designed the handsome grounds, and Charles Barry added a lovely Italian garden with fountains in the 1840s. Children will love the bird garden with over 40 rare and endangered species and the adventure playground. The house is seven miles north of Leeds; you can take Harrogate and District Bus 36.
Harewood, Leeds, LS17 9LG, England0113-218–1000Sight Details
Rate Includes: £17.50 (£13.50 online), Closed first two weeks in Jan. and Mon.–Thurs. in mid-Jan.–mid-Mar. -
7. National Railway Museum
A must for train lovers, Britain's biggest railway museum houses part of the national collection of rail vehicles. Don't miss such gleaming giants of the steam era as the Mallard, holder of the world speed record for a steam engine (126 mph), and a replica of the prototype steam engine, the Rocket. Passenger cars used by Queen Victoria are on display, as is the only Japanese bullet train to be seen outside Japan, along with railway-related art, posters, and memorabilia. You can climb aboard some of the trains and occasionally take a short trip on one. There's also a miniature railway, very popular with kids (£3.50). Admission is by pre-booked ticket only.
Leeman Rd., York, York, YO26 4XJ, England03330-580058Sight Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues. when school is in session -
8. Newby Hall
Built in the 1690s by Sir Christopher Wren with 18th-century additions and interiors by Robert Adam, this country house, still home to the original family, is one of Britain's finest examples of 18th-century interior decoration. Of particular note is the ornamental plasterwork, Chippendale furniture, the domed Sculpture Hall devoted to Roman statuary, and the Tapestry Hall, which boasts priceless Gobelin tapestries. The 25 acres of gardens are justifiably famous; a double herbaceous border running down to the river separates garden "rooms," each flowering during a different season. A miniature railroad, playground, dollhouse and teddy bear exhibitions, and pedal boats amuse kids. Entry to the house is restricted to one-hour guided tours, which run from April to September.
Skelton-on-Ure, North Yorkshire, HG4 5AE, England01423-322583Sight Details
Rate Includes: £26, £24 pre-booked; gardens only £22, pre-booked £19, Closed Mon. Sept.–June. -
9. Richmond Castle
One of the three oldest stone-built castles in England and considered to be one of Britain's finest examples of a Norman fortress, Richmond Castle sits in a commanding position 100 feet over the River Swale. If you climb the 130 steps to the top of the 12th-century great keep, you are rewarded with sweeping views over the Dales. Originally built around 1071 by the first Earl of Richmond to subdue the unruly inhabitants of the North, the castle retains much of its curtain wall as well as three chapels. There's also an even earlier, two-story structure known as Scolland's Hall, which was built in the 11th century and is believed to be the oldest great hall in England. During World War I, conscientious objectors were imprisoned in the castle, and you can still see the graffiti they inscribed. A path along the river leads to the ruins of golden-stone Easby Abbey. A historical note: when Henry Tudor (son of the Earl of Richmond) became Henry VII in 1485, he began calling his palace in southwest London after the site of his family seat, leading to that part of the city becoming known as Richmond.
Tower St., North Yorkshire, DL10 4QW, England01748-822493Sight Details
Rate Includes: £4.50, Closed weekdays Nov.–Mar. -
10. Rievaulx
The perfect marriage of architecture and landscape, Rievaulx (pronounced ree-voh) Abbey sits in a dramatic setting two miles northwest of Helmsley, its soaring arches built to precisely frame the forested hillside rushing down to the River Rye. Founded in 1132 by a French Cistercian sect (there's a 13th century shrine containing the remains of the first abbot, William, at the entrance to the Chapter House), Rievalux soon became one of the most powerful monasteries in Britain. By the end of the 13th century, the abbey was massively wealthy thanks to the monks involvement in the wool trade. The evocative ruins still give a good indication of how vast it once was, from the church's huge 13th-century presbytery (one of the finest examples of Early English architecture in northern England) to the imposing refectory (dining hall). You should also get a glimpse of the 12th-century cloisters with their (reconstructed) symmetrical columns. By the time of the suppression of the monasteries in 1538 under Henry VIII, the abbey had shrunk dramatically, with only 23 monks still living there. The new owner, the Earl of Rutland, subsequently dismantled what was left of the abbey, sending off the roof leads and bells to the king and allowing villagers to cart away the abbey's stones to build their houses. What remains is a beautiful ghost of the magnificent building that once stood here. From Rievaulx Abbey it's a short climb or drive up the hill to Rievaulx Terrace, an 18th-century escarpment with a magnificent view of the abbey. At either end of the woodland walk are two mid-18th-century follies in the style of small Palladian temples.
Rievaulx, Helmsley, North Yorkshire, YO62 5LB, England01439-798228Sight Details
Rate Includes: £11.20, Closed Mon. and Tues. in Nov.–mid-Feb. -
11. Studley Royal Water Garden & Fountains Abbey
You can easily spend a day at this UNESCO World Heritage Site, an 822-acre complex made up of an 18th-century water garden plus a deer park, an elegant Jacobean mansion, and Fountains Abbey, the largest set of monastic ruins in Britain. The landscape's neoclassical vision of an ordered universe—with spectacular terraces, classical temples, and a grotto—blends with the majestic Gothic abbey founded in 1132 and completed in the early 1500s. It housed Cistercian monks, known as "White Monks" after the color of their robes, who devoted their lives to silence, prayer, and work. Of the surviving buildings, the lay brothers' echoing refectory and dormitory are the most complete. Fountains Mill, built by the monks in the 12th century to grind grain for the monastery and one of the oldest buildings on the estate, was in operation until 1927. The mansion, Fountains Hall, is partially built with stones taken from the abbey, and there are two apartments in the Hall available for short stays. The water garden and Fountains Abbey are 9 miles northwest of Knaresborough, 4 miles southwest of Ripon.
Fountains, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 3DY, England01765-608888Sight Details
Rate Includes: £17, Closed Fri. in Nov.–Jan. -
12. The Hepworth Wakefield
These distinctive, slightly skewed concrete blocks by architect David Chipperfield form the largest purpose-built gallery in the United Kingdom outside London. Overlooking the River Calder, they house an impressive permanent collection of important works by 20th-century British artists, notably sculptors Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as L. S. Lowry and Ben Nicholson. Rolling exhibitions devoted to contemporary artists are displayed in the Calder gallery. It's in the down-to-earth West Yorkshire town of Wakefield, 12 miles south of Leeds off the M1.
Gallery Walk, Wakefield, Wakefield, WF1 5AW, England01924-247360Sight Details
Rate Includes: Temporary exhibitions £12, Closed Mon. -
13. York Minster
The city's focal point, this vast cathedral is the largest Gothic building north of the Alps and attracts almost as many visitors as London's Westminster Abbey. Inside, the effect created by its soaring pillars and lofty vaulted ceilings is almost overpowering. Binoculars may be helpful for viewing the loftiest of the 128 dazzling stained-glass windows. While mere numbers can't convey the scale of the building, the central towers are 200 feet high while the Minster itself is 519 feet long, 249 feet across its transepts, and 90 feet from floor to roof. Among the especially notable contributions to the building's uplifting splendor is the ornamentation of the 14th-century nave: the east window, one of the greatest pieces of medieval glazing in the world; the north transept's Five Sisters windows, five tall lancets of gray-tinged 13th-century glass; the enormous choir screen depicting stylized images of every king of England from William the Conqueror to Henry VI; and the masterful tracery of the Rose Window, with elements commemorating the 1486 marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, a union which ended the Wars of the Roses and started the Tudor dynasty. Don't miss the exquisite 13th-century Chapter House, with its superb medieval ribbed wooden roof and fine traceried stained-glass windows; the Treasury; the Crypt; and the museum in the undercroft, where you can see the remains of a Roman barracks, the Minster's Norman foundations, stained glass, and the 10th-century Horn of Ulf carved from an elephant tusk and donated by a Viking nobleman. After exploring the cathedral at ground level, climb the 275 winding steps to the roof of the great Central Tower, which offers both close-up glimpses of the cathedral's gothic grotesques and panoramic views over the city. Allow 45 minutes for the Tower tour, which is by timed admission only. Don't miss the restored great east window, Britain's largest expanse of medieval stained glass, with its 311 stained-glass panels dating back to the 15th century. To experience the cathedral at its most atmospheric, attend one of the evensong services with organ and choir.
View Tours and ActivitiesDeansgate, York, York, YO1 7HH, England01904-557200Sight Details
Rate Includes: Minster £12.50, Minster and Tower £18.50 -
14. Yorkshire Sculpture Park
This outdoor gallery near Wakefield is part of a former 18th-century estate encompassing more than 500 acres of fields, lakes, exotic trees, and rolling hills. The park, garden, and Underground Gallery—three galleries cut into a hillside—are filled with a carefully curated collection that includes works by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as modern sculptors like Antony Gormley, Anthony Caro, and David Nash. A visitor center offers a café, a self-service restaurant, a table service restaurant, a gallery for temporary exhibitions, and information about the ecology and history of the estate. You can get here easily from Leeds by train or car.
West Bretton, Wakefield, Wakefield, WF4 4LG, England01924-832631Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
15. Bark Endeavour
This scaled-down replica of Captain Cook's ship was built by local craftspeople using original drawings and specifications, and it includes hardwood decks, detailed rigging, and carved timber moldings. The ship runs 20-minute tours of Whitby harbor and excursions along North Yorkshire's Jurassic coast as far as Sandsend, accompanied by commentary on Cook's life and Whitby sights. Note that sometimes tours don't run in bad weather.
Pier Rd., Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO21 3PU, England07305-722908Sight Details
Rate Includes: £5 harbor tour; £10 coast tour -
16. Bolton Abbey
Some of the loveliest Wharfedale scenery comes into view near Bolton Priory, the ruins of a 12th-century Augustinian priory that sit on a grassy embankment over a great curve of the River Wharfe. The view inspired J. M. W. Turner to create a number of watercolors of the priory ruins and nearby sites. Close to Bolton Priory and surrounded by romantic woodland scenery, the River Wharfe plunges between a narrow chasm in the rocks (called the Strid) before reaching Barden Tower, a ruined medieval hunting lodge that can be visited just as easily as Bolton Priory. Both are part of the 30,000-acre Bolton Abbey estate owned by the dukes of Devonshire. The priory is just a short walk or drive from the village of Bolton Abbey. You can also visit the priory church. Guides are available weekdays from March to October.
Bolton Abbey, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 6EX, England01756-718000Sight Details
Rate Includes: Parking £10 -
17. Brontë Waterfall
If you have the time, pack a lunch and walk for 2¾ miles or so from Haworth along the "Bronte trail" across the moors to the lovely, isolated waterfall that has, inevitably, been renamed in honor of the sisters. It was one of their favorite haunts, which they wrote about in poems and letters, with Charlotte calling it "a perfect torrent racing over the rocks, white and beautiful!” in an 1854 diary entry.
Haworth, Bradford, BD22 9RH, England -
18. Castle Museum
In an 18th-century building whose elegance belies its former role as a debtors' prison, this quirky museum includes a replica York street that re-creates the Victorian shopping experience, notable domestic interiors, more than 100 historic patchwork quilts, a toy gallery, and Christmas cards sent during World War I. You can also visit the cell where Dick Turpin, the 18th-century highwayman and folk hero, spent the night before his execution and an exhibition that looks back on 400 years of fashion.
Tower St., York, York, YO1 9RY, England01904-687687Sight Details
Rate Includes: £14 -
19. City of York Walls
Almost 3 miles of original medieval town walls remain around York, more than any other city in England. In the 9th century, invading Vikings buried the original Roman defensive walls, built some 1,900 years ago, under earthen ramparts topped with wooden stakes. These in turn were replaced by the current stone walls in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the mid-19th century, the walls, which had fallen into disrepair, were restored and maintained for public access, and you can now walk along a narrow paved path at the top and enjoy outstanding views (the whole circuit takes about two hours). In spring, the remains of the Viking embankment at the base are alive with daffodils. The walls are crossed periodically by York's distinctive "bars," or fortified gates: the portcullis on Monk's Bar on Goodramgate is still in working order, and Walmgate Bar in the east is the only gate in England with an intact barbican, although one scarred by the cannonballs fired during the Civil War. Bootham Bar in Exhibition Square was the defensive bastion for the north road, and Micklegate Bar, in the city's southwest corner, was traditionally the monarch's entrance. To access the path and lookout towers, find a staircase at one of the many breaks in the walls.
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20. Clifford's Tower
This rather battered-looking keep at the top of a steep grassy mound is the largest remaining part of York Castle, once one of the greatest fortresses of medieval England and the administrative center of northern England. The squat stone tower, used as a treasury and then a prison, dates from the mid-13th century. The timber Norman tower that preceded it, built in 1068 by William the Conqueror, was destroyed in 1190 when more than 150 Jews locked themselves inside to protect themselves from a violent mob. Trapped with no food or water, they committed mass suicide by setting their own prison aflame. From the top of the tower, you have good views of the city. Following a major conservation project, walkways now open up rooms hidden since a fire in 1684 and there's a viewing platform that offers wonderful vistas.
View Tours and ActivitiesTower St., York, York, YO1 9SA, England01904-646940Sight Details
Rate Includes: £9
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