Out and About

THE COUNTRY around Yew Tree Cottage is studded with places to visit and things to do. Here are a few of our favourites within easy reach of the cottage:

Sailors,Pirates & Smugglers Visiting the fishing ports of Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay is like stepping back in time. Visit Captain Cook's House, the wonderful Victorian Museum full of seafaring heritage, and walk around the quaint streets shaped by generations of folk making their living from the sea. Robin Hood's Bay huddles on the cliff-top, with tiny streets that once were the runs of smugglers and fishermen. The history is apparent at every step.

Ghostly & Ghastly. York is a great place to sample the grimmer side of North Yorkshire's past - the historic centre of town is the most haunted in England. Guy Fawkes and Dick Turpin are just a few of histories characters who along with the Vikings and Romans have connections with the city. Visit Cliffords Tower, the ancient Shambles or take a Ghost Tour. And don't forget Whitby, the place where Bram Stoker wrote 'Dracula'.

Knights, Monks, Kings and Castles. Scarborough's medievel castle is a dramatic sight, and Helmsley and Pickering castles both have great histories. Close by the cottage is one of a number of ruined abbeys, each of which romantically evokes the opulant wealth that led to their downfall. And nearby Westow is the former powerhouse of the region, the ruins of the Council of the North at Sheriff Hutton.

Trains, Planes and War. If trains are your thing, then you can ride the wonderful steam trains into the North Yorkshire moors from Pickering station. At the Yorkshire Air Museum you can visit a superb collection of planes from all periods, and experience life on a world war two base. And if you have ever wondered what it would be like to be a wartime prisoner, then Edon Camp will give you the full experience.

TV and the Movies. Visit the stunning locations of 'Brideshead Revisited' at Castle Howard just a few miles from the cottage. The steam locomotive station at Goathland was Hogsmead Station in the Harry Potter films. And of course Goathland was for many years the setting for the tv show Heartbeat.