North York Moors: Helmsley to Whitby

About this drive

The road from Helmsley across the North York Moors to Whitby crosses one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in England — a plateau landscape that turns purple in August and tawny in autumn, occupying about 554 square kilometres between the Vale of York and the North Sea coast. The drive takes about an hour without stops, considerably more with them. Sutton Bank, on the western edge of the moors near Helmsley, gives one of the finest views in the North of England: a sudden escarpment edge above the Vale of York, with Thirsk visible far below and the Pennines on clear days to the west. Rievaulx Abbey, a short detour from Helmsley, is the finest Cistercian ruin in England — roofless but largely intact, set in a deep valley below the moor edge. Whitby at the eastern end is a working fishing port with a whale-jawbone arch on the cliff above the harbour, a ruined abbey on the headland, and some of the best fish and chips in the country. The North Sea light at Whitby is specifically good — the quality of the harbour and the views from the abbey headland explain why it has been painted continuously since the eighteenth century.

Stops along the way

• 📍 Goathland · Other

  A moorland village familiar to TV viewers as Aidensfield from Heartbeat.

• 🏛️ Whitby Abbey · Historical

  Ruined clifftop abbey overlooking the harbour town below.