North York Moors
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Image:North yorks moors.jpg North York Moors National Park is a National Park in northern England. Its size is 1,436 km² (554 square miles), and it is one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. It has a population of about 25,000 <ref>Living in the North York Moors National Park. National Parks. Retrieved on 2006-06-01.</ref>
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[edit] History
The North York Moors became a National Park in 1952, through the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949.
[edit] Geography and natural features
The area is very well defined; on three sides rampart-like escarpments rise up from the flat Yorkshire countryside, whilst the fourth (eastern) side is a cliff-edged coast.
80% of the park's area is in private ownership and 40% is farm land.
The higher parts of the moors are largely covered in wide areas of heather moorland. By August, the area becomes a sea of purple blooms for a few weeks. Bracken has invaded many of the lower slopes, however in some areas, much work had been done over the past two decades to control its rampant spread.
[edit] Wildlife
The North Yorkshire Moors have much wildlife in particular upland birds. The eerie call of Curlew and Snipe echo over the moors in late Spring. Recent surveys have shown the area is home to a healthy population of many wader species.
Forested areas to the South of the main Moorland provide further diverse habitat. Much of the planted area is now mature with some areas having been felled and replanted, there's a mosaic effect which is both picturesque and good for wild plants and animals.
[edit] Hills
- Urra Moor, the highest point
- Cringle Moor
- Roseberry Topping
[edit] Towns
There are few major settlements within, or around, the National Park; Helmsley, Pickering, Kirkbymoorside, Stokesley, Northallerton and Whitby, which is often regarded as the capital of the North York Moors. The moors are within a reasonable distance of Redcar and East Cleveland.
- Kilburn
- Castleton
- Goathland
- Grosmont
- Helmsley
- Hutton-le-Hole
- Kirkbymoorside
- Osmotherley
- Pickering
- Robin Hood's Bay
- Whitby
Whitby is linked to Middlesbrough via a railway along the Esk Valley. The Esk Valley Line itself links with the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, one of Britain’s most popular and picturesque preserved railways, at Grosmont.
Other popular villages on the moors include Hutton-le-Hole, Goathland, and Rosedale.
[edit] Economy
Image:North York Moors.jpg The area's economy is mainly comprised of tourism and agriculture.
[edit] Tourism
Many visitors to the moors are engaged in outdoor pursuits, particularly walking; the parks has a network of rights-of-way almost 2300 km (1400 miles) in length, and most of the areas of open moorland will be open access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. Popular named walks included the Cleveland Way, which circles the moors, and has a section along the coast; and the Lyke Wake Walk, which leads directly across the heart of the moors.
The area also offers opportunities for cycling, mountain biking, and horse-riding. The steep escarpments that define the edges of the park on three sides are used by several gliding clubs.
[edit] Attractions
- North Yorkshire Moors Railway
- Byland Abbey
- Cleveland Way National trail (long distance footpath)
- Lyke Wake Walk (long distance footpath)
- Forge Valley NNR National Nature Reserve
- Farndale LNR Local Nature Reserve
- Helmsley Castle
- Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Reserves: Ashberry Pastures, Bridestones, Ellerburn Bank, Fen Bog, Garbutt Wood, Hagg wood Marsh, Hayburn Wyke, Littlebeck.
- Rievaulx Abbey
- River Seven, River Dove, River Rye, River Seph, River Esk
[edit] Entertainment
The moors have a not changed much in the past 50 years, and are often used a backdrop to British television programmes and films. Heartbeat and the scenes of The Hogsmeade Station were filmed in Goathland.
[edit] External links
| National parks of England and Wales
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| Current: Brecon Beacons • The Broads • Dartmoor • Exmoor • Lake District • New Forest • North York Moors • Northumberland • Peak District • Pembrokeshire Coast • Snowdonia • Yorkshire Dales
Proposed: South Downs |
Categories: Articles to be expanded | National parks of England and Wales | North Yorkshire | Mountains and hills of Yorkshire | Visitor attractions in North Yorkshire | Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North Yorkshire | Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cleveland | Special Areas of Conservation in England
