North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Top choice in North York Moors National Park


This privately owned railway runs for 18 miles through beautiful countryside from Pickering to Whitby. Lovingly restored steam locos pull period carriages with wooden booths, appealing to railway buffs and day trippers alike. For visitors without wheels, it's excellent for reaching out-of-the-way spots and devising walks between stations. Book online the day before travel for a 10% discount and to sidestep ticket office queues.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby North York Moors National Park attractions

1. Pickering Castle

0.26 MILES

Pickering Castle is a lot like the castles we drew as kids: thick stone outer walls circle the keep, and the whole lot is perched atop a high motte (mound…

2. Ryedale Folk Museum

6.75 MILES

The largely open-air Ryedale Folk Museum is a constantly expanding collection of North York Moors buildings from different eras, including a medieval…

3. Hutton-le-Hole

6.75 MILES

With a scatter of gorgeous stone cottages, a gurgling brook and a flock of sheep grazing contentedly on the village green, Hutton-le-Hole must be a…

4. Castle Howard

10.09 MILES

Stately homes may be two a penny in England, but you'll have to try pretty damn hard to find one as breathtakingly stately as Castle Howard, a work of…

5. Helmsley Castle

11.52 MILES

The impressive ruins of 12th-century Helmsley Castle are defended by a striking series of deep ditches and banks, to which later rulers added the thick…

6. Helmsley Walled Garden

11.67 MILES

Helmsley Walled Garden would be just another plant-and-produce centre were it not for its dramatic setting next to Helmsley Castle and its fabulous…

7. Duncombe Park Gardens

11.97 MILES

On the outskirts of Helmsley lies the superb ornamental landscape of Duncombe Park estate, laid out in 1718 for Thomas Duncombe (whose son would later…

8. Kirkham Priory

12.02 MILES

The picturesque ruins of Kirkham Priory rise gracefully above the banks of the River Derwent, sporting medieval floor tiles and an impressive 13th-century…