Scenic drive around the Yorkshire Moors.

The circular routes we took today, more or less.

We didn't waste much time getting up and having breakfast.  We wanted to make the most of our time exploring part of the Yorkshire Moors.


We set off towards Helmsley and took circular drive, anticlockwise, around the moors; absorbing the scenery and beautiful views.  We also passed by the occasional ruins of a castle or monastery.  We have a book with us:  "The Most Amazing Scenic Journeys in Britain" by Reader's Digest so we used their suggested route.  Sometimes we deviated off the route a bit but we would always end up at the suggested villages. 

Towards the end of the first loop of our journey the road took us up a steep road - Sutton Bank - and soon after passing Sutton Bank National Park Centre we got stuck behind a traffic jam.  In the distance we could see a tractor towing a fully loaded trailer carrying bales of hay, the top ones perched precariously, making its way gingerly along the road.  We ended up branching off the road and found ourselves passing the caravan park where we are staying and, carrying on the route back to Helmsley, we saw the tractor again!  The alternative route we took wasn't much faster than the straighter route that the tractor and everyone else took! 

In Helmsley we stopped to have a wander around town and found a tearoom where we sat and had scones and hot chocolate. Yum.  We saw Helmsley Castle from a distance.  The gate was locked today so we couldn't go in to visit.  Pity.

There were still some hours of daylight left so we did another, different, circular drive through the Yorkshire Moors in a clockwise direction, finishing back at the campsite.  Again we were not disappointed.  The roads were very narrow, we came across sheep resting in the middle of the road; and came across farm gates that we had to open and close to gain access to the road.  It was nice though.

Unfortunately we kept on forgetting to take photographs of our drive but at least we did get 3 or 4.

Back at the campsite we found the laundry room and put on a load of washing, keeping an eye on the clock and being mindful of other people who wanted to do their laundry as well.