Cheap days out: North York Moors

Carole Green
BBC York & North Yorkshire

The view from the top of Sutton Bank is spectacular, and it's free!

There's so much to see and do in North Yorkshire and it doesn't have to cost you a fortune. With a few carefully chosen ideas on where to go and what to do, we hope we can help you enjoy some great days out for next to nothing in North Yorkshire.

North York Moors

There are loads of wonderful little villages dotted about all over the North York Moors. It's easy to enjoy a grand day out touring round places like Helmsley, Kirbymoorside, Hutton-le-Hole, Rosedale Abbey, Grosmont, Goathland and Pickering - as well as all points in between.

Helmsley Castle dominates the landscape of the market town

Helmsley, Kirbymoorside and Pickering are all traditional North Yorkshire market towns and are all great places for a gentle meander round the shops in the market place. In Pickering, there are ducks to feed and steam trains to watch. If you like shiny chrome and leather, Helmsley is a good place to watch the comings and goings of the motorbikes and their riders!

One little used road which is worth a trip out is the unclassified road from Pickering through Newton on Rawcliffe and Stape, over Wheeldale Moor, to Grosmont. It runs pretty much parallel to much more popular A169. There are places to stop for a picnic and shallow moorland streams for the children to play in!

If it's spectacular scenery you're after - try the drive over the moors from Hutton-le-Hole to Castleton, or the one from Helmsley to Stokesley.

Dalby Forest

Dalby Forest, near Pickering, offers miles and miles of tree lined walks and mountain bike trails. There are picnic sites, children's play areas, viewing points and a state of the art visitor centre. The downside to a day out here is that if you arrive by car you've got to pay to use the toll road through the forest and that costs £7 but the upside is that once you're there, there's little else you need to pay for. If you arrive on foot, by bike or on a horse it's even better, because admission is completely free!

The mountain bike trails in Dalby are amongst the best in the country

The mountain bike trails are free and open to all and they're among the best in the country. The trails offer something for riders of all ability and there's also a bike park at Adderstone Field where you can put your skills to the test.

There are plenty of different places to park and have a picnic along the forest drive as well as well signed walks. Some of the walks are virtually on the flat and are classed as pushchair/wheelchair friendly, whilst others are for the more adventurous.

The forestry commission organise events throughout the year, many of which are free or carry a small charge.

Sutton Bank and Danby

The views from the top of Sutton Bank are unrivalled. On a good day you can see right across the Vale of York to the Yorkshire Dales and as far south as the power stations like Drax and Eggborough which are south of Selby.

There are displays and exhibitions at the Sutton Bank visitor centre

There's a nice gentle walk along the top of the escarpment to the White Horse of Kilburn. On the way, watch out for the gliders taking off and landing at the Yorkshire Gliding Club.

Once you get to the white horse, a steep flight of steps take you down to the car park where there's often an ice cream van! The car park at the bottom is a great place for a picnic, it's also free to park.

The visitors centre at the top of Sutton Bank is one of two run by the North York Moors National Park authority, the other is at Danby. The car parks for both of these centres are pay and display, but admission to the centres is free and there are displays and exhibitions which change on a regular basis as well as a number of activities organised by the National Park.

Walks on the North York Moors

The Bridestones - owned by the National Trust but maintained by the Forestry Commission - are similar to parts of Brimham Rocks. A variety of paths lead to and around the amazing natural sculptures of the Bridestones. Some paths are reasonably smooth but there are gradients, steep in places and some paths have lots of stone steps.

The forest drive opens up the forest to even the most unadventurous visitor. The visitor centre is just beyond the village of Low Dalby and includes an information point where you can get maps and booklets about the various walks and cycle trails. There's also a shop as well as toilets and café. Although the cost of using the toll road is £7 per car, you can buy a seven day pass for £10 or an annual pass for £35.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Enjoying the sights and sounds of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway doesn't have to hit your wallet. Whilst there can't be many better ways to spend a day than travelling on the trains between Pickering and Whitby, you can get a feel for it by visiting the stations along the line.

Goathland is Hogsmeade in the Harry Potter films

There's always a nice atmosphere at the stations as the trains arrive and depart. There's a buffet at the stations like Pickering, Goathland and Grosmont. At Grosmont you can walk through the tunnel to the engine shed, where there's a shop with a free viewing area over the workshop. If you've got a couple of hours to spare there's a fairly gentle walk from Grosmont up an earlier trackbed to Goathland.

Goathland is the village made famous by Heartbeat and is also Hogsmeade in the Harry Potter films. It's one of the most picturesque on the moors, made all the more special by the regular arrival and departure of steam trains on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. It's the kind of place you can spend a couple of hours meandering from one end of the village to the other and back. From the station at one end, it's a gentle stroll up to the shops.

If you really fancy stretching your legs, you could walk up to the roman road on Wheeldale Moor, or walk down to the waterfall at Malyan Spout. The path leading down to the waterfall is by the side of the Malyan Spout Hotel, at the opposite end of the village to the railway station.