Stately homes may be two a penny in England, but you’ll have to try pretty hard to find one as breathtaking as Castle Howard, a work of theatrical grandeur set in the rolling Howardian Hills. This is one of the world’s most beautiful buildings, instantly recognisable from its starring role in the 1980s TV series Brideshead Revisited.
York Minster is the largest medieval cathedral in northern Europe, and one of the world’s most beautiful Gothic buildings.
The beautiful water garden and charming follys at Studley Royal were built in the 18th century to enhance the picturesque ruins of 12th-century Fountains Abbey. Together, they present a breath taking picture of pastoral elegance and tranquillity, that have made them a Unesco World Heritage site and the most visited of all the National Trust’s pay-to-enter properties.
In the secluded valley of the River Rye about 3 miles west of Helmsley, stand the magnificent ruins of Rievaulx Abbey (ree-voh). The extensive remains give a wonderful sense of the size and complexity of the community that once lived here, and their story is told in a series of fascinating exhibits in a new museum.
Newburgh Priory stands on the site of a 12th century Augustinian priory and believed to be the fina resting place of Oliver Cromwell’s body after he was exhumed from Westminster Abbey, and subjected to a posthumous execution.
This fascinating museum occupies the house of the ship owner, with whom Cook began his seafaring career. Cook lived in Whitby for nine years and later returned to have all three of his voyage ships built in Whitby’s dockyards.
Whitby Abbey dominates the skyline above the East Cliff like a great Gothic tombstone silhouetted against the sky. The 199 steps up from the town are strenuous but all part of the adventure (there is also a carpark, for the slightly less adventurous!)
