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Top 21 things to do in Yorkshire

1 York Minster

Take a Tour around the largest gothic church in Northern Europe – if you’re feeling brave take a trip up the tower for spectacular views of York. 

2 Try some Wensleydale Cheese

Visit The Wensleydale Creamery and sample over 20 types of Wensleydale cheese – a big favourite of Wallace & Grommit.

3 Climb Malham Cove

See some of the finest limestone pavement in the North as well as wonderful views down Malhamdale – it’s also a Harry Potter movie location!

4 Bronte Parsonage Museum

Immerse yourself in the lives of the Bronte sisters at the Bronte Parsonage Museum. See where the sisters lived, wrote and view their tiny handwritten books.

5 Eat Fish and Chips in Whitby

As well as being a historic seaside town where Captain Co0ok served his apprenticeship and which inspired Bram Stoker’s horror classic Dracula – Fresh fish and chips eaten by the seaside makes a trip complete.

6. Take a drive over Buttertubs Pass

Described by Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson as England’s only “truly iconic road” -this high pass between Wensleydale and Swaledale offers stunning views which vever direction you are travelling.

7 Take afternoon tea at Betty’s Tea Room

A Yorkshire Institution – a traditional afternoon tea at Betty’s must not be missed – this Victorian themed tea room offers a range of sandwiches and exquisite cakes – you should also try a “fat rascal”!

8 Visit Fat Betty and leave and offering

There are many ancient Christian preaching crosses on the North York Moors but Fat Betty is unique. Set within wild heather moorland visitors would leave food and money for lost travellers – a traditional which still exists today.

9 See England’s tallest bronze age standing stone

The Rudston Monolith is 22ft tall and towers over anything found at Stonehenge. Found in a churchyard in East Yorkshire this really is a magnificent historic site dating back to 2500 BC!

10 Swaledale’s wild flower meadows and dry stone walls

The wildflower meadows in Swaledale are a site to behold, that and the miles of dry stone walls and stone field barns make Swaledale unique and one of the most distinctive of the Yorkshire Dales.

11 Witness heather moorland in bloom

For 6 weeks of the year from late August – Yorkshire’s heather moorland blooms turning the landscape into a sea of purple. Yorkshire has the most heather moorland in the world!

12 Visit England’s highest single drop waterfall

Hardraw Force in Wensleydale is an impressive waterfall, perhaps being remembered as a location in Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner. It’s accessed through the beer garden of a 14thcentury pub!

13 Take a walk on York’s medieval city walls

York boasts the most complete medieval city walls in England, parts of which sit on top of the original Roman City walls. You can walk around most of the perimeter and see this historic city at first hand.

14 Re-visit Brideshead

Castle Howard is a grand baroque stately home with landscaped gardens with temples and fountains. It was the location for both the film and TV series of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. Come and experience the opulence of this Yorkshire gem.

15 Immerse yourself in Herriot Country

Visit the World of James Herriot in Thirsk at the real James Herriot, Alf Wights former practice – then drive through the Yorkshire Dales and see the Yorkshire Dales he worked in for yourself

16 See the puffins at Bempton Cliffs

The RSPB reserve at Bempton Cliffs near Flamborough Head is home to thousands of nesting seabirds throughout the year. But when the puffins arrive it’s a special treat for the budding twitcher!

17 Ride on steam train from Goathland

In the centre of Heartbeat country lies Goathland, a typical North York Moors village with sheep roaming freely. Take a steam train from here to Whitby on the North York Moors railway – setting off from Goathland Station which doubed as Hogsmeadse Station for the Harry Potter fanatic.

18 Visit the most complete Cistercian Abbey in the North

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal is one of Yorkshire’s UNESCO World Heritage sites combining monastic ruins with a breath taking Georgian water garden.

19 Relax in an original  Victorian Turkish Bath

The former opulent Victorian Spa Town of Harrogate was once a mecca for hydrotherapy treatments and water cures. The Turkish Spa baths are the only surviving working part of the Royal Spa complex and well worth the experience of steam rooms and plunge pools.

20 See artworks in England’s largest open air sculpture park

Art without walls including bronze’s by Yorkshire sculptures Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth as well as many more by visiting artists – all on show at The Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield.

21 Be amazed by Halifax’s Piece Hall

See this architectural and cultural phenomenon, the recently restored Grade I Listed Piece Hall. Britain’s only remaining example of  cloth hall and one of Britain’s most outstanding Georgian Buildings.

West Yorkshire named on National Geographic Travellers's Cool List for 2019

West Yorkshire’s growing reputation as a top tourist destination has been recognised once again after a leading travel magazine has named the region as one of the coolest places to visit worldwide.

National Geographic Traveller (UK) has listed the county in its Cool List 2019, a profile of 19 “must-see destinations” including Hong Kong, Cambodia, Zimbabwe, Oslo and Antarctica. It has been included largely thanks to the Yorkshire Sculpture International, a 100-day sculpture event held from June next year by The Henry Moore Institute, Leeds Art Gallery, The Hepworth Wakefield and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Added to this, The Hepworth Wakefield will also be unveiling its Hepworth Riverside Gallery Garden, with access to the former Victorian mill buildings next door.

The Calder Valley was also outlined for its “burgeoning hub for restaurants and independent shops”. Pat Riddell, editor of National Geographic Traveller (UK), said: “West Yorkshire stood out for many reasons in 2019, but the arts scene really sparked our attention. “The Yorkshire Sculpture International triennial next summer – hosted by the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds Art Gallery, the Hepworth Wakefield and Yorkshire Sculpture Park – brings new work by international artists alongside existing world-class collections.” He also nodded to the £15m redevelopment of Leeds Playhouse being a factor.

Ruth Pitt, the new chairwoman of Leeds 2023, a five-year arts and culture project in the city, is delighted. “People in the Leeds region have always known what a fantastic destination it is and it’s wonderful that we are going to be on the global map in this particular way,” she said. It comes after Leeds was last year named a top destination by another major travel guide, Lonely Planet’s Best In Europe 2017. The list praised the city’s urban regeneration and flourishing cultural scene. 

 

Yorkshire in Lonely Planet Top 3 world destinations

Yorkshire is the third best region in the world to visit, according to travel guide company Lonely Planet.

In a recent publication, Lonely Planet says: “If the good people of Yorkshire were proud of their heritage before, the 2012 London Olympics only served to cement what they have always thought: that their county is better than – and really the best of – all the English counties.

“Recently this rough-around-the-edges gentleman of the north has kicked away the walking cane. Bradford has become the world’s first Unesco City of Film, fashion-thirsty Leeds has cut the ribbon on an ambitious retail development at a time when malls elsewhere in the UK are stalling, a new state-of-the-art gallery in Wakefield is giving London a run for its money, and Yorkshire now has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other county outside London."