Yorkshire Wolds Route Attractions

From the seaside resort of Bridlington a beautiful coast road leads north and can be followed all the way to Whitby and beyond over the North York Moors, with occasional glimpses of the coast.

Coxwold (population 300) is a charming little village where Laurence Sterne was curate from 1760 until his death in 1768.

Shandy Hall, originally built in 1430, served as a parsonage and then a home for Sterne. The local church, St Michael's, was completed in 1420.

At Ampleforth is a well-known public school, founded in 1802 by English Benedictine monks returning from exile in France. Nearby is a fine modern church designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.

Of Byland Abey, founded in 1177, only the splendid west front of the church, the south transept and the Cistercian house remain.

From Coxwold return via Ampleforth to Gilling Castle (6mi/9.6km east), which was built in the 13th century and renovated in the 16th/18th centuries. Note the Norman tower and the Great Hall (1575-1585), the richly-decorated Elizabethan dining hall with heraldic stained glass windows by Bernard Dinckhoff (1585). The house is now occupied by a school. Visitors can also see the beautiful terraced gardens.

Returning to Helmsley, take the road which leads via Oswaldkirk, Ampleforth and Byland Abbey to Coxwold (10mi/16km). Nunnington Hall, a large manor house dating from the end of the 16th century, lies on the banks of the River Rye, 3mi/4.8km east of Oswaldkirk. Inside the house can be found fine wooden paneling, valuable tapestries and Chinese porcelain.

Nunnington Hall is managed and maintained by the National Trust. Visitors are welcome to explore the entire house, right into the attics where there is a Carlisle collection of miniature rooms that are fully furnished to reflect different periods.

In Shandy Hall Laurence Sterne wrote the last part of "Tristram Shandy" and the whole of "Sentimental Journey". His small study is now dedicated to his memory.

The A166 leads to Stamford Bridge, a tiny village whose claim to fame unfortunately rests on the last great victory of the Saxons, the battle in 1066 in which Harold defeated his brother Tostig and King Harold Hardrada of Norway, who had sailed up the Humber.

Stamford Bridge has several noted landmarks including the Corn Mill, completed in 1591 and the Viaduct, which opened in 1847.

This 85-mile / 133-kilometer national trail passes through the East Yorkshire Dales. The trail begins near Hull and follows a route through the chalk hills of the Yorkshire Wolds and ends at Filey on the east coast.