North Yorkshire

At the beginning of May we spent the Bank Holiday weekend deep in beautiful North Yorkshire, after watching a slightly anti-climatic end of season football match between Middlesbrough and Brighton we drove across to our home for two nights, Laskill Grange. We stayed in one of the converted dog friendly cottages, the former pigsty now called Foxglove Cottage. We enjoyed a hearty full English breakfast in the main house each morning and one evening chose the option of having an evening meal delivered to us in our cottage which was a lovely experience and the food was delicious.

Laskill Grange

The North Yorkshire Moors are stunning however we weren't blessed with great weather on the Sunday morning as we set off to drive across the moors with the aim of visiting Whitby Abbey. Thanks to our Sat Nav we navigated successfully across the wet and misty moors and arrived in Whitby itself where the heavens were well and truly open and rain was plummeting down. Not deterred by the conditions we drove up to the Abbey and Susy braved the elements to take a quick photo (see below) over the carpark wall.

Whitby Abbey view from the distance

From the Abbey we drove the short distance to Robin Hood's Bay a village full of red roofed cottages gathered around the slipway at the foot of a deep ravine. Before wandering down the steepish descent into the village we enjoyed a coffee and cake in The Victoria Hotel overlooking the bay. It's well worth taking some time to enjoy the village, which is unspoilt by progress and has some nice shops and meandering streets to enjoy, we loved our time here.

Having really enjoyed ourselves despite the persistent drizzle we hopped back in the car and headed back across the moors destination Helmsley, the pretty market town just a few miles from where we were staying. En route the weather improved slightly and I hopped out to take a photo of the moors, still not great but proof at least that we were there.

After arriving back in Helmsley and enjoying a cup of Yorkshire tea, there is no better allegedly, we walked the short distance to Helmsley Castle and visited the ruins of this 900 year old castle.

The following morning before driving back to the East Midlands we visited the historic site of Rievaulx Abbey, a former Cistercian Abbey which in its day was home to over 600 monks. If you do visit the Abbey be sure and listen to the audio guide as it really makes the experience come to life. 

Rievaulx Abbey

If you do plan to visit the Abbey do try and get there early as this popular destination gets very busy. With a relatively small carpark which soon fills up meaning that parking overflows onto the narrow road which runs through the village making it hard to navigate your way out at the end of your visit.

Dogs are welcome too :-)

Despite the relatively inclement weather we had a wonderful time in North Yorkshire and will definitely return to explore more of this lovely part of the English countryside.