Places to Visit from Whitby or Rosedale Abbey

With 10,000 years of human occupation, is it any wonder that the North York Moors and Yorkshire Heritage Coast have quite a few spots of historical, cultural, architectural and mythological interest?

Castle Howard Appears from the Early Morning Haze.

We’ve put together a selection of our favourite museums, tours, and places of special interest.  We hope you get to enjoy some of them when you stay at Rosella Cottage or Spyglass 1708.

And don’t forget to come back and check out our blog for further information on the historic sites in the area.

Beck Isle Museum

In the centre of Pickering, and housed in a Regency Mansion in its own grounds, the Beck Isle Museum of Rural Life sits in a pictorial setting. The 27-gallery museum is a time machine back to Victorian life.
The award winning Beck Isle Museum captures a way of rural life that disappeared with the Second World War. There is a fantastic gallery of Photography of local scenes. Further galleries, all set out as rooms or shops include Dairy, Cobblers, Village Pub, Chemist's, Costumes, Nursery, Village Store, Gents Outfitter, Victorian Parlour, Hardware Shop, and Blacksmith.
To the rear, a large collection of agricultural equipment, carts, threshing machines and ploughs is on display.
For further details and opening times, please telephone 01751 473 653.

Cropton Brewery

The Cropton Brewery near Rosedale Abbey has been brewing-up award-winning real ales since the ancient craft of brewing returned to the Cropton in 1984.

The brewery has gone from strenth-to-strength and they now (2013) produce over a dozen different cask conditioned and bottled beers. With names like 'Monkmans Slaughter', 'Rudolphs Revenge', 'Yorkshire Moors', and 'Tunnel Vision', you're in for a real treat when you visit the brewery!

Daily brewery tours are available all year round.  Call to book your brewery tour on 01751 417330.

Captain Cook Tour

The Captain Cook Country Tour will take you through a rich variety of landscapes. From industrial activity, to wild Moorland, and along the coast from which James Cook took inspiration.

Captain Cook's Monument and Roseberry Topping.  A Lovely Walkwith Fabulous Views.

The tour is a circular route of around 70 miles (113km) with distinctive brown and white road signs. Starting at Captain Cook Birthplace Museum in Marton, and finishing in Whitby - making Spyglass 1708 an ideal base for the tour.

The tour passes through Great Ayton where you can visit the Captain Cook Schoolroom Museum. For our Australian visitors, you’ll find Captain Cook’s family home “down-under” as the small cottage was dismantled and shipped to Australia in 1934, where it was rebuilt in Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne.  From Great Ayton, you can also take the short side-tour to the Captain Cook Memorial stone on the hills next to Roseberry Topping. You’ll then drive along the coast to Staithes where you can visit the Captain Cook and Staithes Heritage Centre.
The tour then travels onwards to Whitby, where you will find the bronze statue of Cook looking out to sea on Whitby's West Cliff – a gift from the people of Australia; and just five-minutes walk from Spyglass 1708. 
In Whitby, you’ll also find the Captain Cook Memorial Museum which houses even more artefacts connected with Cook.
The tour may be joined at any point although starting at Marton is the logical point to follow the Cook story from his birthplace. The tour can be completed by car in a whole day, but two or more days is recommended to take advantage of all that there is to see and do.

Castle Howard

Castle Howard is one of England’s finest stately homes and one of the top ten greatest mansions in the World – according to the Lonely Planet Guide!
Located in the beautiful Howardian Hills, and the setting for the famous novel “Brideshead Revisited” and the site of musical spectaculars such as the Last Night of the Proms.
No trip to this region is complete without a visit to Castle Howard. There is over 1,000 acres of grounds to explore, plus the house itself; and a farm shop, and garden centre.
For recorded visitor information, telephone 01653 648 333.

Malton Museum

Malton plays host to Ryedale's major archaeological museum with a renowned Roman collection and access to the Roman Fort at Orchard Fields.  There is also a fantastic social history collection relating to trade, local government, racing and other aspects of the town and surrounding area.  For further details and opening times, please telephone 01653 696 563.

NY Moors Railway

The North Yorkshire Moors Steam Railway at Pickering is one of North Yorkshire’s premier tourist attractions. And it is only a kick-stride away from either Rosella Cottage in Rosedale Abbey or Spyglass 1708 in Whitby.

The North York Moors Railway is Just 10 Miles from Rosella Cottage in Rosedale Abbey.

The NYMR offers steam train rides through 18 miles of beautiful North York Moors National Park from the market town of Pickering to Goathland, and then on to Grosmont in the Esk Valley. On many days throughout the year you can also continue your journey along the scenic Esk Valley to the historic seaside port of Whitby with its beautiful sandy beaches and many attractions.
Goathland is better known as “Aidensfield” in Yorkshire Television’s popular Heartbeat TV series. The railway line was also featured in the first Harry Potter film as Hogsmeade.
For full details on timetables, fares and events please telephone customer services on 01751 472508.

Helmsley Walled Garden

The Helmsley Walled Garden was originally laid out in  1759 and today the mission of the garden is to conserve and restore the fabric of this historically important walled garden and to return it to full productivity.

So the garden is now conserving old, rare and endangered garden plants, using environmentally sustainable and where possible fully organic techniques.

The Walled Garden at Helmsley is open from March through to October.  Opening times are 930am to 5pm and the price of admission is £5.50 for adults with children entering for free.  Dogs are also welcome if kept on a lead.

Reivaulx Abbey

Rievaulx Abbey (pronounced "Ree-vo") was once the largest and most important Cistercian Abbey in all of England; but for close-on 450 years it has lain in ruins in the beautiful and tranquil valley of Rye Dale. The ruins of Rievaulx Abbey are without doubt the most atmospheric in the region.
The Abbey is located in an exceptionally peaceful and beautiful site.
No visitor to Rievaulx will be disappointed with the sheer enormity, the magnificent detail, and the sense of timelessness that the Abbey exudes.
For further details and to check opening times, please telephone English Heritage at Rievaulx on 01439 798 228.

Ryedale Folk Museum

The Ryedale Folk Museum at Hutton-le-Hole is North Yorkshire's leading open air museum and show casing over 20 historic buildings which have been collected and rebuilt on site.
There is a full-scale replica of an Iron Age dwelling, and the other rescued and reconstructed historic buildings include, shops, thatched cruck cottages, Elizabethan manor house, barns and workshops.
The museum records the daily life of North Yorkshire people from the Iron Age to the 1950’s. Among the treasures in the museum is the renowned Hayes collection of photographs and the splendid 1850's Merryweather fire engine. The witch post in Stang end Cottage is one of only twenty known examples from Yorkshire.
There is also a comprehensive collection of working craft tools and domestic cookery equipment. The museum also hosts a series of special days and events throughout the year, including, craft demonstrations, rare breeds of farm livestock, engine days, working cottage life, and more besides. Winner of many awards including, Museum of the Year.
For further details and opening times, please telephone 01751 417 367.

Cleveland Iron Museum

The Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum at Skinningrove is a fascinating museum which today offers visitors an opportunity to experience the underground world of a real ironstone mine and to explore the skills, customs and life of the miners.
It will give you real insider’s view of how the 5,000 miners living in Rosedale in the 1800’s lived and worked. The museum is on the coast but only a short drive from Rosella Cottage or Spyglass 1708.
For opening times and other details, telephone 01287 642 877.

Whitby Museum

The Whitby Museum and Pannett Art Gallery is less than five minutes walk from Spyglass 1708. It is a fine museum in Whitby together with the Pannett Art Gallery.
There are excellent collections on geology of the area; fossils; social history; whaling; shipping; fishing industry; mining and much more. Our favourites are the very scary “Hand of Glory” and the very weird “Tempest Prognosticator”. You’ll have to visit to find out more!
For further details and opening times, please telephone 01947 602 908.
Whilst in Whitby, you can also visit the other excellent Museums including the Whitby Lifeboat Museum; the Museum of Victorian Whitby; and the Captain Cook Museum on Grape Lane.

Scampston Hall and Gardens

The lovely walled gardens at the regency-era Scampston Hall and the adjacent 18th century 'Capability' Brown park offer the Cascade Circuit Walk which provideds a self-guided walk of about a mile; this takes you  to various points of interest in the gardens and lakeside.

You'll see the Palladian Bridge, the old Ice House and the Cascade along the way.

The gardens are open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

The Garden Restaurant is open from 10am - 4pm.

Admission to the Hall for a guided tour and to the gardens is £11.

Scampston Hall is located about 5-miles East of Malton on the A64 between York and Scarborough.

Roseberry Topping

Roseberry Topping is North Yorkshire’s very own Mountain!  Well, almost.  The walk up Roseberry Topping is not too bad if you’re of average fitness, and the view from the top on a good day is worth the endurance.  Set out for the top from Newton-under-Roseberry.  You can also walk to Captain Cooks Monument by following the Cleveland Way walking path around the escarpment.