North Yorkshire Tourist Guide Advanced Search

HOME | Please mention this website if you call the accommodation owners - THANKS!

Yorkshire Wolds

Area: North York Moors
Region: Yorkshire Wolds
County: Yorkshire


Details: To the East of the Vale of York lie the Wolds, the northern limits of a continuous band of chalk uplands that extends across the country in a north-easterly direction. From Dorset this band first heads across the Sailsbury Plain, through Oxfordshire and Berkshire Dwosn and on to the Chilterns and gentle heights of East Anglia. To the north of the Wash, it becomes the Lincolnshire Wolds and finally reappears on the other side of the Humber as the Yorkshire Wolds. The Wolds end at Flamnborough Head, between Bridlington and Filey.

This is classic chalk country at its finest, a landscape of rolling hills and deep, dry valleys punctuated by small areas of woodland, farms and scattered villages. It is sparsely populated country, and in some of the tiny and remote villages tucked away in almost secretive valleys, the 21st century hardly seems to have intruded, which is very much part of their appeal. The large number of place-names ending in either by or Thorpe are an indication of Viking influences in this area and proof of probable large-scale Viking settlement.

York and Beverley are the obvious gateways into the area but the Wolds are also ringed by a series of small market towns – Malton, Pocklington, Market Weighton and Driffeld as well as the coastal resorts of Bridlington and Filey.

Compares with the other upland areas of Yorkshire, the Wolds are intensively farmed and overwhelmingly arable, although there is some sheep-farming. Walking is excellent and although the slopes are generally gentle, the Wolds do rise to more than 800ft (244m) and can provide reasonably challenging routes for the more energetic and adventurous walkers. The walks often follow clear and broad tracks from which there are seemingly endless views across deep valleys and rolling hills. The views from the western escarpment are particularly impressive, looking across the Vale of York.


(id: '88') This listing has been viewed 873 times
Please Mention Let's Stay North York Moors when contacting the business owner