The North York Moors Eastern Moors and Coast

The North York Moors cannot just be defined as the imaginary type of lonely bleak landscape you often associate with moorlands it has very different attractions.

From the steep slopes and cliffs in the West, to the tall cliffs and beaches of the East Coast, there are truly attractions for every type of outdoor interests

The North York Moors was designated a National Park 60 years ago in 1952 and has got to offer one of the most scenic areas with its carpet of purple Heather in late summer which is a must see natural attraction.

There are some very fine North York Moors Holiday Cottages which can be used as accommodation throughout the year.

The Moors themselves can be split into four sections, Western Moors, Central Moors, Eastern Moors and Coast and Eskdale and North and in this guide we will concentrate on this section for the moment.

The River Esk winds its way through the moorlands passing through a number of villages before eventually entering the North Sea, where it divides Whitby into the East and West sections of the town.

If it’s the seas you like there aren’t some beautiful fishing villages in this area like, Whitby, Sandsend, Runswick Bay, Staithes, Port Mulgrave and Robin Hood’s Bay.

Grosmont has  in the centre of its village a train station where you can often see steam locomotives preparing for their journey between Pickering and Whitby. The name of the village originated from the 13th century Granmontine Priory, used by French monks, but the original name for the village was Tunnel which doesn’t sound very interesting and it was named this because the terraced houses and mining spoil gave the village or industrial feel at that time. During the excavation of the Whitby to Pickering line in 1835 very rich ironstone deposits were discovered. So once the rail track had been completed it was obvious that it was now very easy to transport ironstone delivery to the harbour in Whitby ready to be taken on ships. This made the village a very important supplier of ironstone during the middle of the 19th century, to iron master’s furnaces for both Riverside Tine and Tees.

George Stevenson assisted in the capacity of a consultant for the Whitby to Pickering line which was constructed in 1836. Unfortunately the line was closed in 1965, by Beecham’s in famous Axe.

But only eight years later thanks to much help of dedicated people it was reborn as the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and it is now looked after by enthusiasts were all voluntary.

Grosmont is situated at the northern end of this terminus of the railway line, providing connections for the main line services on the Esk on the line between Whitby and Middlesbrough.

Goathland village also has a very popular railway station which was used for many a location shots on the popular television series called Heartbeat and also in the Harry Potter film, fans will remember that the station was renamed Hogsmeade station for the film.

Goathland, a very scenic village that became a major tourist attraction in 1991 when it was chosen as the setting for the long-running television series called Heartbeat, with the village being used as the fictitious Aidensfield village. The hotel in the village became the Aidensfield Arms named after Saint Aiden, with the local garage opposite the hotel becoming the fictitious Scripps garage and funeral directors.

The North York Moors Railway is one of the biggest attractions in the area, which still runs steam trains for tourists. It was originally commissioned in the 1830s providing a link between Pickering and Whitby. The station at Goathland was used in the Harry Potter films, with its traditional old exterior it was perfect for the setting called Hogsmeade Station in the film. In 1965 the station was closed but three years later in 1968 the North York Moors Historic Railway Trust, helped by many volunteers from the group, began to operate the railway between Pickering and Grosmont and the first service was commissioned in 1973.