From Scarborough the A170 turns inland to the Vale of Pickering. The town of Pickering (17mi/27.2km west, population 5,000) has a ruined Norman castle as well as the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, founded during the Norman period. Medieval wall-paintings depicting biblical scenes (mid-15th century) were found above the arcades of the nave in 1852. They were subsequently painted over but uncovered again after 1880.
Pickering Castle, completed in the 12th century, once served as a royal hunting lodge.
Kirkbymoorside is located near Pickering. At one time several castles stood in Kirkbymoorside, with some ruins still visible today. Some of the stones from one of the castles were used to build the Toll House in the centre of the market place.
It was in Kirkdale cave where William Buckland identified the bones of a wide variety of exotic species, including such animals as elephants, hyenas and lions. Buckland used these discoveries as evidence for the Biblical narrative of the Great Deluge.
Pickering Castle is well-preserved with much of the original walls, towers and keep remaining.
Hours:
April 1 to September 30: 10am-6pm
October 1 to October 31: 10am-5pm
November 1 to March 31: 10am-1pm, 2pm-4pm; Closed: Mon, Tue
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Christmas Eve - Christian (December 24), Christmas - Christian (December 25), Day after Christmas, St Stephen's Day, Boxing Day (December 26)
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Kirkbymoorside, England
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