The North York Moors is an upland area and national park in North Yorkshire, England. It contains the largest expanse of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated a national park in 1952, through the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The park covers an area of 1,436 km2 (554 sq mi), and had a population of 22,935 at the 2021 census. It is administered by the North York Moors National Park Authority, which is based in Helmsley.
Location and transport To the east, the area is clearly defined by the impressive cliffs of the North Sea coast. The northern and western boundaries are defined by the steep scarp slopes of the Cleveland Hills edging the Tees lowlands and the Hambleton Hills above the Vale of Mowbray. To the south lies the broken line of the Tabular Hills and the Vale of Pickering. Four roads cross the North York Moors from north to south. In the east, the A171 joins Whitby and Scarborough. Further inland, the A169 runs between Pickering and Whitby. More centrally, a minor road departs from the A170 at Keldholme and passes through Castleton before joining the A171 which connects Whitby and Guisborough. The most westerly route is the B1257 connecting Helmsley to Stokesley. The A170 from Thirsk to Scarborough marks the southern boundary of the North York Moors area. The Esk Valley Line is an east–west branch line rail link from Whitby to Middlesbrough in the north, and the North Yorkshire Moors steam railway runs from Pickering to Grosmont with a link to Whitby. Other public transport within the North York Moors includes a number of bus services. Yorkshire Coastliner route 840 runs from Whitby to Pickering (and continues to York and Leeds), Arriva North East routes X93 and X94 run from Scarborough to Middlesbrough via Whitby and Guisborough, Arriva North East route 95 runs from Whitby to Lealholm along the Esk Valley, and East Yorkshire route 128 connects Scarborough and Helmsley. On weekends during the summer, these are complemented by Moorsbus services, which run from local urban centres into more remote parts of the national park which are difficult to access without private transport. Some of the routes across the North York Moors are noted for their beauty – the 840 was declared Britain's most scenic bus route by Bus Users UK while the X93 was the tenth most scenic. The cyclists in the 2018 and 2019 Tour de Yorkshire passed through a section of the North York Moors.
Physical geography
The North York Moors consist of a moorland plateau, dissected by a number of deep dales or valleys containing cultivated land or woodland. The largest dale is Eskdale, the valley of the River Esk which flows from west to east and empties into the North Sea at Whitby. At the western end of Eskdale, the valley divides into three smaller dales, Westerdale (the upper valley of the River Esk), Baysdale and Commondale. A series of side dales drain into Eskdale from the moorland on its southern side: from west to east these are Danby Dale, Little Fryup Dale, Great Fryup Dale, Glaisdale and the Goathland valley. Kildale, west of Commondale and separated only by a low watershed, is drained by the River Leven, which flows west to join the River Tees. The Cleveland Hills rise north and west of Eskdale. They merge into the Hambleton Hills, which form the western edge of the North York Moors and form a sharp escarpment overlooking the Vale of Mowbray. On their south side, the moorland is incised by a series of dales which cut through the Tabular Hills to drain into tributaries of the River Derwent. The westernmost dale is Rye Dale, to the west of which rise the Hambleton Hills. Bilsdale is a side dale of Rye Dale. East of Bilsdale Bransdale, Farndale, Rosedale and Newton Dale cut into the moorland. In the south east, the landscape is marked by the narrow valleys of the upper reaches of the Derwent and its upper tributaries. About 22 per cent of the North York Moors is under woodland cover (mostly located to the south-west and south-east), equivalent to more than 300 square kilometres of trees. It is home to the largest concentration of ancient and veteran trees in northern England. The Derwent crosses the Vale of Pickering flowing westwards, turns southwards at Malton and flows through the eastern part of the Vale of York before emptying into the River Ouse at Barmby on the Marsh.
Climate As part of the United Kingdom, the North York Moors area generally has warm summers and relatively mild winters. Weather conditions vary from day to day as well as from season to season. The latitude of the area means that it is influenced by predominantly westerly winds with depressions and their associated fronts, bringing with them unsettled and windy weather, particularly in winter. Between depressions, there are often small mobile anticyclones that bring periods of fine weather. In winter, anticyclones bring cold dry weather. In summer, the anticyclones tend to bring dry settled conditions, which can lead to drought. For its latitude, this area is milder in winter and cooler in summer due to the influence of the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic Ocean. Air temperature varies on a daily and seasonal basis. The temperature is usually lower at night and January is the coldest time of the year. The two dominant influences on the climate of the North York Moors are the shelter against the worst of the moist westerly winds provided by the Pennines and the proximity of the North Sea. Late, chilly springs and warm summers are a feature of the area, but there are often spells of fine autumn weather. Onshore winds in spring and early summer bring mists or low stratus clouds (known locally as sea frets) to the coasts and moorland. Within the area, variations in climate are brought about by local differences in altitude, aspect and shelter. Snowfall is variable from year to year, but the area gets much more snow on average than other parts of the country. Heavy falls are associated with northeasterly winds off the North Sea. Roads over the high moorland areas are notoriously prone to drifting snow due to the exposed nature of the terrain. Average recordings are:
100 wet days 215 dry days 50 snowfall days rainfall of 1,000 to 1,520 mm (39 to 60 in) near the coast rainfall of 635 to 760 mm (25 to 30 in) inland summer temperatures of 20 to 32 °C (68 to 90 °F) winter temperatures of −1 to 10 °C (30 to 50 °F)
Geology
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