Why go north
The north of England is where the country's history feels closest to the surface. York has been a Roman fortress, a Viking capital and the second city of medieval England, and its walls and cathedral still frame the town. North of it, Durham's cathedral stands on a gorge above a river, Newcastle has reinvented itself around its bridges, and Northumberland has more castles than any other county in England, a tidal island and the best-preserved stretch of Hadrian's Wall.
Between the cities lie two national parks with very different moods: the green, stone-walled valleys of the Yorkshire Dales and the purple heather plateau of the North York Moors, which runs down to the sea at Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay. People here are famously friendly and direct, prices are noticeably lower than in London, and the pints are cheaper.
The East Coast Main Line makes it easy. York is under two hours from London, and the same trains carry on to Durham, Newcastle, the Northumberland coast and Edinburgh, so this region slots neatly into a London-to-Scotland trip.
York
York is compact, almost entirely walkable and very busy on summer weekends and during school holidays. Two nights let you see the main sights without rushing and walk the walls in the early evening, when day-trippers have gone.
York Minster
One of the largest Gothic cathedrals in northern Europe, the Minster took about 250 years to build and holds more medieval stained glass than almost anywhere. Its Great East Window, about the size of a tennis court, is the largest expanse of medieval glass in Britain. Go below to the undercroft for the Roman and Norman foundations, then climb the central tower: 275 steps up a narrow spiral to a roof with views across the Vale of York.
A Minster-only ticket is £20 for adults (about $27) and £16 for students not studying in York (about $21); up to four children aged 17 and under go free with each paying adult. With the tower it is £26 (about $35), £22 for students (about $29) and £6 for children aged 8 to 17 (about $8). Children under 8 cannot climb. Your ticket is valid for a year of return visits. Sightseeing hours are Monday to Saturday 9:30am–4pm and Sunday 12:45pm–2:30pm, and the Minster can close at short notice for services and events; check the calendar at York Minster: plan your visit.
Save money
Services are free. Choral Evensong, usually in the late afternoon, lets you hear the Minster's choir under the vault without a ticket. You cannot wander during a service, but you can come back on another day with a sightseeing ticket, which lasts a year anyway.
The city walls
York has the longest surviving medieval town walls in England. The walkway on top runs about 2 miles (3.4 km), mostly on Roman and medieval foundations, with gaps where the circuit crosses the river. It is free, generally open from 8am until dusk, and closed when the stones are icy. The stretch from Bootham Bar to Monk Bar, behind the Minster, has the best views of the cathedral. Sections close for maintenance from time to time, as Bootham Bar to Monk Bar did in late October 2026, so follow the signs to the next access point. The steps are steep and the parapet is low in places, so keep small children close.
The Shambles and the old streets
The Shambles is a narrow medieval street of overhanging timber-framed buildings, once lined with butchers (look for the meat hooks and wide window sills where meat was laid out). Today it is all gift shops, and several sell wizard merchandise to fans who compare it to Diagon Alley. Go before 9am or after 6pm to see it without crowds. The surrounding streets, Stonegate, Petergate and the tiny alleys called snickelways, are just as atmospheric.
The National Railway Museum
Britain's national rail collection fills two vast halls next to York station: Mallard, the world's fastest steam locomotive, a Japanese bullet train, Queen Victoria's royal saloon and dozens more. Entry is free, but you are asked to book a free timed ticket online. It is open daily 10am–5pm. The museum is in the middle of a large redevelopment, with a temporary entrance and building work on site; its Great Hall reopens on October 28, 2026 after a closure. Wonderlab, the hands-on gallery for children, is a big hit with families.
JORVIK Viking Centre
In the 1970s archaeologists dug up a whole street of 10th-century Viking York on Coppergate, preserved in wet soil. JORVIK reconstructs it with a slow ride past houses, workshops and animatronic townspeople, complete with smells, followed by galleries of finds. It is a family favorite and touristy in the best sense. All visits must be pre-booked for a time slot online or by phone. From October 26, 2026 to March 19, 2027 the attraction group's hours are 10am–3:30pm, and it closes December 24–26. The Pastport ticket (adults £25, about $33; children 5–16 £19, about $25) adds Barley Hall, a medieval townhouse, and DIG, a hands-on archaeology center. Each February, York hosts the JORVIK Viking Festival, with battle reenactments and longship burnings.
More of York
Clifford's Tower
The stone keep of William the Conqueror's castle on its mound, with a roof deck that gives a superb view over the city. Book ahead online to save.
Merchant Adventurers' Hall
A 14th-century guild hall with a superb timber-framed great hall, still owned by the merchant company that built it.
Bettys
A Swiss-Yorkshire tearoom founded in 1919, famous for its Fat Rascal scones and its queue. Go at opening or late afternoon, or try the smaller branch on Stonegate.
Ghost walks
York claims to be Europe's most haunted city and has competing ghost walks every night. The Original Ghost Walk of York has run since 1973; The Ghost Hunt of York, starting on the Shambles, is funnier and good with older children. Most take cash or card on the spot or book online.
Insider tip
York's Christmas market fills Parliament Street and St Sampson's Square from mid-November to late December, and hotel prices jump on market weekends. If you want December in York, go midweek and book rooms early. See festivals and events.
The Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors
The Yorkshire Dales
The Dales are a national park of green valleys (dales) divided by drystone walls and stone barns, with limestone cliffs and waterfalls. They suit walkers and drivers who like stopping in villages for tea and cheese.
- Malham: a short walk from the village to Malham Cove, a 260-foot (80 m) curved limestone cliff with a limestone pavement on top, used in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Add Janet's Foss waterfall and Gordale Scar for a loop of about 4½ miles (7 km).
- Wensleydale: Aysgarth Falls, the market town of Hawes and the Wensleydale Creamery, home of the cheese loved by Wallace and Gromit.
- Ribblehead Viaduct: 24 arches across a moor on the Settle–Carlisle railway, one of Britain's great scenic train rides. Trains from Leeds reach Settle in about an hour.
- Bolton Abbey and Grassington: priory ruins on the River Wharfe with stepping stones, and a lively village base in Wharfedale.
- Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal: on the eastern edge near Ripon, England's largest monastic ruin set in an 18th-century water garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site run by the National Trust. Allow half a day.
The North York Moors
The Moors are a high, open plateau of heather, at its best in August and early September when it turns purple. Helmsley is a handsome market town with a castle; nearby Rievaulx Abbey, an English Heritage ruin in a wooded valley, is one of the most beautiful in Britain. Hutton-le-Hole has the open-air Ryedale Folk Museum, and Sutton Bank has views that a famous Yorkshire vet once called the finest in England.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway, a heritage steam line, runs from Pickering through Goathland, whose station played Hogsmeade in the first Harry Potter film. Trains can continue to Whitby on some services. Parts of the line close at times for engineering work, and winter services are limited, so check its travel updates and timetable before you plan around it.
Watch out: weather on the tops
Both parks feel gentle from a car, but the high ground can turn wet, windy and foggy fast, even in summer. Carry a waterproof jacket, a map or offline map, and food and water on any walk over a couple of miles, and tell someone your route. For emergencies call 999 and ask for police, then mountain rescue. See walking and hiking and safety.
Whitby and the Yorkshire coast
Whitby is a fishing town in a gorge where the River Esk meets the North Sea. On the east cliff, 199 stone steps climb to St Mary's Church and the gaunt ruins of Whitby Abbey (English Heritage), which inspired part of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Captain James Cook learned his seamanship here, and his master's house is now the Captain Cook Memorial Museum. Twice a year Whitby Goth Weekend fills the town with Victorian-gothic costume; check dates and expect full hotels.
Eat fish and chips, ideally haddock, and look for kippers smoked over oak at Fortune's, a smokehouse in business since the 1870s. Whitby jet, a black fossil gemstone made fashionable by Queen Victoria's mourning, is sold all over town; buy from established jewelers.
Down the coast, Robin Hood's Bay is a tumble of red-roofed cottages down a ravine to a rocky beach, the end point of the Coast to Coast walk. Walk there along the cliff-top Cleveland Way, about 7 miles (11 km), and check tide times before walking on the beach. North of Whitby, Staithes is a tiny fishing village under steep cliffs.
Insider tip
Whitby is awkward by train: the Esk Valley line from Middlesbrough is slow and infrequent. The Coastliner bus from York (and Leeds) to Whitby via Pickering and Goathland crosses the moors on one of the most scenic bus routes in England, and is often quicker. England's capped single bus fares make it cheap; check the cap is still in place and the current timetable.
Castle Howard and Harrogate
Castle Howard
About 15 miles (24 km) northeast of York, Castle Howard is a baroque palace by John Vanbrugh, still home to the Howard family. It played the Marchmain family home in both versions of Brideshead Revisited, and Clyvedon Castle in the first season of Bridgerton (see film locations). Allow at least half a day for the house, the formal gardens, the Temple of the Four Winds and the arboretum.
The house is open from spring to autumn, 10am–4pm with last entry at 3pm, and is decorated each winter for Christmas. This year's Christmas program runs from November 12, 2026 to January 3, 2027, with its own tickets. Prices vary by season, so check and book on the Castle Howard website. Driving takes about 30 minutes from York; buses are limited, and a taxi or tour is the easier car-free option.
Harrogate
Harrogate is an elegant Victorian spa town of stone terraces and flower-filled lawns called the Stray. Take tea at the original Bettys, soak in the restored Turkish Baths, one of the few Victorian ones still running, and walk through the Valley Gardens to the Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Harlow Carr. Nearby Knaresborough has a dramatic railway viaduct over a gorge. Harrogate is about 35 minutes by train from York, about 30 from Leeds, and has a few direct LNER trains from London.
Durham and Newcastle
Durham
Durham Cathedral and Castle stand together on a rocky peninsula almost enclosed by a loop of the River Wear, and together they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1986. The cathedral, begun in 1093, is one of the greatest Norman buildings in Europe, with massive carved pillars and some of the earliest rib vaulting anywhere. It holds the shrine of St Cuthbert and the tomb of the Venerable Bede, the first English historian.
Entry is free, and visitors are asked to donate £5 (about $7) if they can. Visitor hours are Monday to Saturday 9:30am–4:30pm and Sunday noon–4pm. The cloisters played Hogwarts corridors in the first Harry Potter films, and the cathedral museum has Anglo-Saxon treasures from Cuthbert's coffin. Tower climbs, when running, are steep and ticketed; check the Durham Cathedral website. Evensong is usually sung in the late afternoon and is free.
Durham Castle, opposite, is a Norman fortress that has been a residence for students of Durham University for almost 200 years. It can only be visited on guided tours run by the university, which are bookable online and do not run on every day, especially in term; check before you go.
Durham station sits on a viaduct with a famous view of the cathedral, a 10-minute downhill walk from the center. It is about 2 hours 45 minutes from London, under an hour from York and about 12 minutes from Newcastle. Walk the riverbanks below the cathedral, or rent a rowboat in summer. Durham is an easy half-day stop between York and Newcastle; stash bags in a locker or with your hotel.
Newcastle and Gateshead
Newcastle upon Tyne is the North East's big city, known for its football, nightlife and the Geordie accent, and for seven bridges across the Tyne gorge. The Quayside has been rebuilt around arts venues: the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (free) in an old flour mill and The Glasshouse music venue in Gateshead, linked to Newcastle by the tilting Gateshead Millennium Bridge. The landmark Tyne Bridge is in the middle of a long restoration, so expect scaffolding and lane closures.
Up the hill, Grey Street and Grainger Town are some of the finest Georgian streets in England. The Castle Keep, the Norman "new castle" that named the city, has rooftop views. Out of town, Antony Gormley's 66-foot (20 m) steel Angel of the North stands beside the A1 in Gateshead, reachable by local bus. Take the Tyne and Wear Metro to Tynemouth for its priory ruins, beach and weekend market, or to Wallsend, where Hadrian's Wall began. To see Newcastle United at St James' Park, read our football tickets guide first.
Northumberland's castles and coast
Northumberland is England's least crowded county, with big empty beaches, the darkest skies in England around Kielder, and castles that were front-line fortresses against Scotland for centuries. Its coast between Warkworth and Berwick-upon-Tweed is a protected landscape. Most castles close or cut hours from late October to spring, so check dates if you travel in winter.
Alnwick Castle
The home of the Dukes of Northumberland played the outside of Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter films: Harry's first flying lesson was shot in its courtyards, and children can take broomstick training on the same ground, and the staterooms are lavish. The 2026 season ended on October 20; the castle reopens in spring 2027. Train or bus passengers get 20% off the gate price. Book on the Alnwick Castle website.
The Alnwick Garden and Barter Books
Next to the castle, the Duchess of Northumberland's modern garden has a grand cascade, a giant treehouse restaurant and a locked Poison Garden visited by guided tour. In town, Barter Books fills a Victorian railway station with secondhand books, open fires and a model train on the shelves.
Bamburgh Castle
A huge castle on a volcanic crag above one of England's finest beaches, restored by the Victorian industrialist Lord Armstrong, whose family still owns it. Walk the beach below at low tide for the classic view. In the village, the RNLI's Grace Darling Museum tells the story of the lighthouse keeper's daughter who rowed to a shipwreck in 1838. It is open all year, currently daily 10am–4pm (last entry 3pm) except for a closure on November 9–13, 2026; check prices on the castle's website.
Dunstanburgh and Craster
Walk about 1⅓ miles (2 km) along the coast from the fishing village of Craster to the gaunt ruin of Dunstanburgh Castle on its headland. Craster is famous for oak-smoked kippers.
The Farne Islands
Rocky islands crowded with seabirds, including puffins from about April to July, and with grey seal pups in autumn. Boats leave Seahouses harbor; landing trips also pay a National Trust landing fee. Trips depend on the sea, so keep the day flexible.
Berwick-upon-Tweed
England's northernmost town, swapped between England and Scotland many times, with walkable Elizabethan ramparts and three bridges over the Tweed. It is about 45 minutes by train from Edinburgh.
Holy Island (Lindisfarne) and the tides
Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, is where St Aidan founded a monastery in 635 and where the Lindisfarne Gospels were made around 700. The Viking raid on the monastery in 793 is often taken as the start of the Viking Age in Britain. Today there are the red sandstone ruins of the medieval Lindisfarne Priory (English Heritage), the small, romantic Lindisfarne Castle on its rock (National Trust), a walled garden by Gertrude Jekyll, St Aidan's Winery for Lindisfarne mead, a nature reserve full of birds, and a village of fishermen's cottages and pubs.
The catch is the tide. A paved causeway links the island to the mainland, and the sea covers it twice a day. Northumberland County Council publishes safe crossing times for the causeway, typically two windows a day, months ahead. For example, on Tuesday October 27, 2026 it was safe to cross from 6:55am to 12:50pm and again from 7:15pm to just before 1am; between those windows it was not. The windows move later each day, often by 30 to 60 minutes.
- Look up your date on the council's Holy Island safe crossing times page before you leave, and note both windows. Times are in 24-hour format.
- Allow 30 minutes of margin on either side; strong winds can push the water higher and earlier.
- Plan to leave the island well before the unsafe period begins, or plan to stay until the next safe window (which may mean overnight).
- Park in the island's main car park (there is a charge) and walk into the village; most of the island is a short walk.
- Never drive into water on the causeway, even if it looks shallow. If you get caught, use the refuge hut on stilts and call 999 for the coastguard.
Watch out
Every year drivers ignore the times or misread them and have to be rescued, often from the roofs of their cars. Your car insurance may refuse to pay for a vehicle you drove into the sea. The barefoot Pilgrims' Way across the sands, marked by tall poles, is not covered by the causeway times at all: walk it only in daylight, finish before the midpoint of the safe period, never on a rising tide, and ideally with someone who knows it.
The island is busiest in the middle of a safe window on summer weekends. Arrive at the start of a window or stay the night in one of the island's inns or B&Bs, and you get it nearly to yourself once the tide closes the road.
Hadrian's Wall
From AD 122, on the orders of the emperor Hadrian, Roman soldiers built a wall across the narrowest part of Britain, 73 miles (117 km) from Wallsend on the Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria, with forts, milecastles and turrets along it. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site. The best-preserved section runs along the dramatic Whin Sill ridge between Chesters and Birdoswald, in the middle of the country.
The forts
Housesteads Roman Fort
The most complete Roman fort in Britain, on a ridge with the Wall running off in both directions, including the famous Roman latrines. It is an uphill walk of about 10 to 15 minutes from the car park and museum. Currently open daily 10am–4pm (last entry 3:30pm). Booking online in advance saves up to 15%, and AD122 bus riders get 20% off walk-up tickets.
Vindolanda
A fort and civilian town just south of the Wall, still being excavated, where the Vindolanda tablets were found: wooden letters about birthday parties, socks and supplies, the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain. Free 45-minute guided tours run through 2026. A combined ticket adds the Roman Army Museum at Walltown. The excavation season usually runs in the warmer months; check the Vindolanda website for prices and dates.
Chesters and Birdoswald
Chesters, by the North Tyne, has the best-preserved Roman military bath house in Britain. Birdoswald, in Cumbria, has the longest continuous visible stretch of Wall. Both are on the AD122 route.
The Sill
The national park's free discovery center, with exhibitions, a cafe, a youth hostel and a grass roof you can walk on. A handy start for the walk to Steel Rigg and Sycamore Gap.
Sycamore Gap, where a lone tree stood in a dip of the Wall, was one of the most photographed spots in England until the tree was illegally cut down in September 2023; two men were jailed for it in 2025. The gap, the Wall and the views are still there, and seedlings from the tree have been planted around the country.
The AD122 bus
The AD122 bus, named after the year the Wall began, links Hexham and Haltwhistle stations with the main sites, including Chesters, The Sill, Housesteads, Vindolanda, the Roman Army Museum at Walltown, Greenhead and Birdoswald. It used to run only in summer; it now runs daily all year, though check the timetable for your date, since service levels vary by season. A Northumberland Day Rover costs £6 (about $8), £3 (about $4) for anyone 21 or under, and £17.50 (about $23) for a family of two adults and three children. Timetables are on the Go North East AD122 page.
Hexham and Haltwhistle are on the Tyne Valley railway between Newcastle and Carlisle, roughly 35 and 55 minutes from Newcastle. With a train and the AD122, you can do the Wall without a car.
Walking Hadrian's Wall Path
The Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail runs 84 miles (135 km) from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway, usually walked over 6 or 7 days; many walkers go west to east to keep the prevailing wind at their backs. The middle section is hilly and exposed; the ends are flat and partly urban. The trail recommends walking from May to October, since the path turns muddy in wet weather and soggy ground damages the buried archaeology. Never walk on top of the Wall itself.
Book accommodation months ahead for summer, especially in the central section, where beds are scarce. Baggage transfer companies will move your luggage between overnight stops. For a sampler, walk the 3½ miles (5.5 km) or so between Steel Rigg and Housesteads, past Sycamore Gap, and take the AD122 back. See walking in the UK.
Trains, buses and driving
The East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line runs from London King's Cross to York, Durham, Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh. LNER runs most trains, with first and standard class. Grand Central runs from King's Cross via York to Sunderland, and Lumo, a low-cost, standard-class-only operator, runs between King's Cross, Newcastle, Morpeth and Edinburgh. TransPennine Express and CrossCountry link York, Durham and Newcastle with Manchester, Birmingham and the rest of the country.
| From London King's Cross to | Fastest time | Change for |
|---|---|---|
| York | About 1 hr 50 min | Scarborough, Harrogate, buses to Whitby and Castle Howard |
| Durham | About 2 hr 45 min | The cathedral is a 10-minute walk |
| Newcastle | About 2 hr 50 min–3 hr | Tyne Valley line to Hexham and Haltwhistle for Hadrian's Wall |
| Alnmouth | About 3 hr 20 min | Bus or taxi to Alnwick, about 10 minutes |
| Berwick-upon-Tweed | About 3 hr 40 min | Buses to Holy Island (limited, tide-timed) and Bamburgh |
| Edinburgh | About 4 hr 20 min | See Edinburgh |
Walk-up fares on this line are expensive, especially at peak times. Advance tickets for a specific train go on sale weeks ahead and can cost a fraction of the on-the-day price, and a Two Together, Senior or 16–25 Railcard cuts a third off most fares. Compare LNER, Lumo and Grand Central prices for the same day; you can buy them all through National Rail or the operator apps. See train tickets for how ticket types work.
Different from home
Reserve a seat on long-distance trains, especially on Friday and Sunday afternoons, when trains out of King's Cross can be standing-room only. Your reservation shows on a small screen or card above the seat. A seat without a reservation marked is free to take.
Driving or not
You do not need a car for York, Durham or Newcastle, and you will not want one: York's center is ringed by walls and one-way streets, and parking is expensive, so use the city's Park & Ride buses. For the Dales, the Moors and the Northumberland coast, a car makes a huge difference. Buses exist (Arriva's coastal services link Newcastle, Alnwick and the coast, and DalesBus runs selected routes in the Dales), but they are infrequent, especially on Sundays and in winter.
| Area | Without a car | With a car |
|---|---|---|
| York, Durham, Newcastle | Easy by train and on foot | A burden; park outside |
| Whitby and the Moors | Coastliner bus or the steam railway | Much easier for villages and Rievaulx |
| Yorkshire Dales | Settle–Carlisle railway and limited buses | The best way to see the valleys |
| Hadrian's Wall | Very doable by train plus AD122 | Flexible; car parks charge |
| Northumberland coast | Possible by bus with planning | Much easier, especially for Holy Island |
A good compromise: take the train to York, pick up a rental car outside the center for a few days in the parks and Northumberland, and drop it in Newcastle before the train to Edinburgh (check one-way fees). Roads use miles and mph, as at home, and fuel is sold by the liter. Moor roads are narrow, with sheep, steep grades and cattle grids. Read our driving guide on renting an automatic and handling roundabouts.
Where to stay
York fills up on summer weekends, race days at York Racecourse and Christmas market weekends; book early and expect higher prices on Fridays and Saturdays. Elsewhere, pubs with rooms and B&Bs are the best value and the most fun. See where to stay in the UK.
The Grand, York
The Edwardian former headquarters of the North Eastern Railway, now York's top hotel, with a spa and a cooking school. Five minutes from the station.
Grays Court
A historic house inside the walls with its own garden and access to the wall walk. Small and quiet.
The Bar Convent
England's oldest surviving convent, still home to a community of sisters, with simple guest rooms, a cafe and a museum. Just outside Micklegate Bar.
Budget in York
YHA York and the Premier Inn and Travelodge branches near the center are the cheapest reliable beds, though prices climb on peak weekends.
Feversham Arms
A spa hotel in a stone coaching inn on the edge of the moors, close to Rievaulx Abbey and an easy drive to Castle Howard.
La Rosa
A quirky, vintage-filled guesthouse on the West Cliff where Lewis Carroll once stayed, with views of the abbey.
Lumley Castle
A 14th-century castle turned hotel, about 7 miles north of Durham, overlooking a cricket ground. Fun for one night of castle living.
Malmaison Newcastle
A converted riverside warehouse by the Millennium Bridge, close to the Quayside's bars and the Baltic.
Hadrian's Wall bases
YHA The Sill, the Twice Brewed Inn next door, and B&Bs in Hexham and Haltwhistle are on the AD122 route. Battlesteads, a hotel at Wark, has its own observatory for the dark skies.
Northumberland coast
Inns in Bamburgh and Seahouses and a few rooms on Holy Island itself; in summer, many visitors rent a cottage by the week.
Tiers are for a room for two per night: $ under £110, $$ £110–220, $$$ £220–400, $$$$ over £400. Rates change a lot by season and weekday, so use them as a guide.
Itineraries
Two days in York
- Day 1
Minster and medieval York
The Minster at opening, then the tower before it gets busy. Walk the walls from Bootham Bar to Monk Bar, have lunch, then the Shambles and Merchant Adventurers' Hall. Evensong at the Minster, dinner, and a ghost walk.
- Day 2
Vikings and railways
JORVIK at your booked slot, Clifford's Tower, then afternoon tea at Bettys. Spend the afternoon at the National Railway Museum, and finish with an evening walk on the walls by the river.
Five days: York, the Moors, Whitby and Durham
- Day 1
York
Arrive from London. Minster, walls and the Shambles.
- Day 2
York
JORVIK, the Railway Museum, Bettys. Pick up a rental car in the evening or the next morning.
- Day 3
Castle Howard and the Moors
Castle Howard in the morning, then Helmsley and Rievaulx Abbey. Cross the moors to Whitby for the night.
- Day 4
Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay
The 199 steps and the abbey early, fish and chips, then the cliff path or a drive to Robin Hood's Bay.
- Day 5
Durham
Drive to Durham (about 1 hr 30 min) and drop the car. The cathedral, a castle tour if available, and the riverbank walk; then a train to Newcastle, Edinburgh or back to London.
Nine days: York to Edinburgh the long way
- Days 1–2
York
As above. Pick up a car on the morning of day 3.
- Day 3
Yorkshire Dales
Fountains Abbey, then Wensleydale: Aysgarth Falls and Hawes. Overnight in a Dales pub.
- Day 4
Malham and Ribblehead
Malham Cove loop in the morning, Ribblehead Viaduct in the afternoon, then drive to Durham.
- Day 5
Durham and Newcastle
Durham Cathedral in the morning, the Angel of the North on the way north, and the Newcastle Quayside in the evening.
- Day 6
Hadrian's Wall
Vindolanda, then the Steel Rigg to Housesteads walk past Sycamore Gap. Overnight near Once Brewed or Hexham.
- Day 7
Alnwick and the coast
Alnwick Castle and Garden (spring to autumn), Barter Books, then Craster and the walk to Dunstanburgh. Overnight in Bamburgh or Seahouses.
- Day 8
Farnes, Bamburgh and Holy Island
A morning boat to the Farne Islands, Bamburgh Castle, then Holy Island in the afternoon safe window, timed with the council's crossing table.
- Day 9
Berwick to Edinburgh
Walk Berwick's ramparts, drop the car (check one-way fees), and take the 45-minute train to Edinburgh.
When to go and what trips people up
Summers are mild, with highs usually in the mid-60s to around 70°F (18–21°C), cooler on the coast and the moors. Winter days are short this far north: Newcastle gets under 8 hours of daylight in late December. That suits York and Durham, which are lovely in December, but many castles and country houses close, and walks run out of light by 4pm. See when to go.
- Book York Minster, JORVIK and National Railway Museum slots online, especially for weekends and school holidays.
- Check the Holy Island crossing times for your exact date before you set off, and keep a 30-minute margin.
- Check the season: Alnwick Castle is closed from late October to spring, and Castle Howard switches to its Christmas program in winter.
- Check the AD122 timetable and the Tyne Valley line on your travel day; rural services are thinner on Sundays and in winter.
- Pack layers and a waterproof jacket for any day on the moors, the Wall or the coast, even in July.
- Book advance train tickets on the East Coast Main Line as early as you can, and reserve seats.
From here, continue to Edinburgh, cross the Pennines to the Lake District or Manchester and Liverpool, or go south to Cambridge and the East. For castle and abbey memberships, see heritage passes; for help shaping a trip, see our trip planning service.
Add it to a route in the trip builder, or ask us to plan the hotels, trains and guides for you.