Walking in the Yorkshire Moors: Rob and Catherine’s Byway
Last September, Rob and Catherine, from Hampshire, went on a weekend break to the wild Yorkshire Moors. Enjoying slow travel, they stopped in London and York on the way, before spending two nights tucked away in the countryside in a cosy shepherd’s hut. Here, they’re sharing their adventure by train and bus, which took them through the ancient city of York, the charming market-town of Malton, and the enchanting Dalby Forest.
We’re Rob and Catherine, taking over Byway’s blog this week!
After lockdown we felt like we needed to get away, but were feeling uninspired and unsure where to go. The holiday Byway put together suited us very well as we usually like to combine a little bit of city with lots of time in the great outdoors on our holidays. We booked with Byway to travel somewhere new - we’ve explored lots of the UK in our time but had never made it to the Yorkshire Moors. It was very helpful having the Byway team put everything together for us, we wanted to go away quite last minute and didn’t have time to plan our trip so were very happy for them to do it for us!
The fast train to York
After a slightly delayed departure (it took us longer than we thought to get our act together and leave the house!), we got the train to London. We decided to cycle from Waterloo to King’s Cross as we wanted to avoid the tube if possible, and using the Santander bikes was a breeze. We didn’t have time for supper in London as we’d planned, so tucked in to a picnic on the train, the journey flew by.
18 hours in York
Our apartment was very near the station so we dropped our bags and went for a stroll around the old city. We really enjoyed exploring in the late evening, there was hardly anyone around. The next morning we paid a visit to the National Railway Museum and were really impressed by the different classic trains on display. Due to social distancing measures we had to book online a few days before but it was very straightforward to book and it was free (love it!). Catherine had to zoom in to a quick meeting while we were there, luckily it was quiet and no one seemed to notice the victorian carriage in her background!
From York to Thornton-le-Dale, via Malton and Pickering
After a great morning in York, we got the train to Malton which is a lovely market town. We popped into a couple of the gorgeous delis in Talbot Yard, the brownies from the Bluebird bakery were probably the best we’ve ever had - and that’s saying something! After devouring our treats we walked to the bus stop to get the award winning Coastliner bus to Pickering where we visited the 13th century castle. Our last leg of the day was a short hop to the picture-perfect village of Thornton le Dale.
Relaxing in nature in the North York Moors
The shepherd’s hut we stayed in was fab, tucked away in a beautiful valley just outside Thornton-le-Dale, it was a really fantastic spot. After arriving, we enjoyed an evening game of scrabble in front of the log fire which kept us very toasty. We spent Saturday walking in Dalby Forest, exploring the acres of thick woodland and rolling fields. We covered quite a few miles so were very grateful to put our feet up in front of the fire and rest our weary legs when we got back. The area is known for being one of the best stargazing spots in Britain so we popped our heads out into the night air to check out the sky which was incredible.
Homeward bound
After waking up to the sun streaming through the window and enjoying a hearty breakfast provided by our lovely hosts Andrew and Lesley, we walked reluctantly to the bus stop to travel south along the coast to Scarborough. We were happy to stop to get some fresh sea air before boarding the train back to London. We spent the journey home enjoying the view from the window, and noticed how relaxed we felt after taking things slowly. Now we’re enjoying planning the next one!
Check out Byway’s Instagram Story Highlight to see more of our trip.