Moors, Whitby & The Yorkshire Steam Railway Day Trip from York

You will head off into the Vale of York, learning about life in Yorkshire as you pass through the villages of Strensall, Sheriff Hutton and Hovingham. The first stop is in the traditional National Park village of Hutton-le-Hole, where you can wander amongst the traditional stone-built houses and sheep roaming on the village common land, or just have a leisurely Yorkshire Brew in one of the cafes – the choice is yours!

We head off up over the North York Moors for some photo stops, passing the 16th century Lion Inn on Blakey Ridge (the highest point on the Moors) and Ralph’s Cross, then through the quaint and picturesque Yorkshire villages that lead down into Whitby. As you arrive in Whitby, you will hear stories about the seaside town’s history and your guide will tell you about the main places of interest that you may want to visit.

You will have two and a half hours free time in Whitby (two hours if taking steam train option), with options to visit Whitby’s newest attraction, The Endeavour Experience (one of only two full-size​ replicas of the HM Bark Endeavour in existence), the Captain Cook Museum, take the Bark Endeavour scale replica boat trip around the harbour, view Whitby Abbey (inspiration for the Dracula Books) or just explore the shops and market of the seaside town and experience Fish & Chips from the famous Magpie Café – the choice is yours!

If you prefer to spend a little less time in Whitby and take the opportunity of travelling by steam train on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway at our special discounted rate, you have the option of boarding the 2.00pm train from Whitby for the 45-minute moorland rail journey through Grosmont to Goathland (Hogsmeade Station in the Harry Potter movies), where you will re-join the Minicoach. This option is paid locally on the day with no need to book ahead.

We reach Goathland Station in time to see the other passengers arrive by steam train, then learn about “Hogsmeade”, before exploring the picture postcard fictional village of “Aidensfield” in the Heartbeat television series and maybe grab an ice cream from the village store.

We leave Goathland and have a couple more photo stops as you learn the history behind the mysterious RAF Fylingdales Pyramid on Snod Hill and the Hole of Horcum.

We head back towards York through the Howardian Hills with panoramic views of Castle Howard.