![\"North](\"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/North-York-Moors-Railway-Map-days-out-UK-1.jpg\" "\\"North")
<\/span><\/p>\nThe North York Moors stretch from the NE coast of England inland towards York. They are a spectacular, vast area of rolling moorland and there\u2019s no better option than to explore the North York Moors via its very own heritage steam railway. <\/p>\n
This <\/strong>guide on exploring the North York Moors and Whitby by steam train will cover:<\/p>\n This post contains affiliate links, at no extra cost to you. I may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.<\/em><\/p>\n The North York Moors Railway<\/a> runs from Pickering to Whitby and connects some of the best North York Moors attractions and provides multiple different opportunities for day trips. Take in the beauty of the moors from the comfort of a vintage railway carriage; use the railway as a way to get from A to B in style accessing linear or circular walks<\/a> or visit Whitby for a seaside day out<\/a>. Alternatively, focus entirely on the railway whether you are into the steam locomotives, diesel locomotives, engineering, photography or purely the nostalgia. <\/p>\n There are so many ways to enjoy the railway, whatever your interests. There are tea rooms<\/a> at most stations, plenty going on to sit and watch and (although not well promoted) there is a free app<\/a> which you can download to explore Goathland and Grosmont stations, including an audio tour. It\u2019s the perfect destination for celebrating a special occasion<\/a> and there are plenty of things to do for enthusiasts such the engine shed tours<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d prefer a guided tour of the North York Moors by coach<\/strong> then the North Moors and Whitby Tour is a top rated tour<\/u><\/a> leaving from York.<\/p>\n To explore further afield at your own pace <\/strong>this York and North York Moors online travel guide<\/a> covers three connecting self-drive routes and comes highly rated.<\/p>\n If you want to make the most of a full day on the railway then I would recommend staying in Pickering or Whitby which lie at either end of the line.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n The ticket options allow flexibility in pricing depending on what you want to do. An all-day rover ticket allows you to get on and off wherever you like and also includes an annual pass. This was a useful option for us as we used the all day ticket to travel from Pickering on the train to Whitby for a seaside day trip which didn\u2019t leave us any time to hop on and off so we went back the following day and used our annual pass to travel to Grosmont station to explore the engine sheds. If you know that you only want to go one stop or two stops up the line, maybe to visit a particular station or as a stepping off point for a walk, then you can get cheaper tickets.<\/p>\n The NYMR railway is a brilliant destination for a special occasion. If you have a cause to celebrate or just want an extra special day out as a treat then, booked in advance, there are Pullman dining<\/a> options, gin tasting<\/a>, beer tasting, wine and cheese trains, and footplate and cab experiences<\/a> for those who want to see what it\u2019s like to be in the hot seat. You can charter a whole carriage<\/a> for a special occasion and for the kids there are Santa Specials at Christmas.<\/p>\n Even a regular day trip can be made that extra bit special \u2013 you might choose to visit on a special heritage day or for one of the regular steam galas. <\/p>\n We joined a \u2018hi-vis jacket\u2019 tour of the engine sheds<\/a> which we found out about as a result of getting chatting to one of the wonderful volunteers \u2013 an ex train driver who now leads group tours. The engine sheds are accessible from Grosmont station. It\u2019s worth checking in advance if you have accessibility needs<\/a> as the tour we went on wouldn\u2019t have been very suitable for those who are less mobile or wheelchair users. There is an extra charge for the tours.<\/p>\n The engine shed tour<\/a> was excellent and was pitched well for non-experts and experts alike. We spent a good hour or two being taken, in our hi-vis jackets, through the engine sheds, finding out about the restoration projects, watching the preservation teams in action and getting up super-close to the enormous locomotives. There were several of us on the tour that took the opportunity of being in and amongst the engines to explore photography opportunities whilst others were getting into engine cabs or asking more detailed questions.<\/p>\n The preservation of the steam railway started in 1967 when a small group of local people formed the North Yorkshire Moors Railway Preservation Society, convinced that operating the line could be viable. Today the North Yorkshire Moors Railway Trust is a not-for-profit charitable organisation with over 500 volunteers, many of whom are ex-railway staff. The charity runs the North York Moors Railway, works to improve the railway infrastructure and preserves and restores steam and diesel locomotives and carriages. <\/p>\n Full information on things to do, timetables and pricing<\/a> can be found on the North York Moors Railway website<\/a>.<\/p>\n All you need to know to enjoy a special day out on the North York Moors Railway exploring the North York Moors and Whitby by steam train.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[84,74,35,30,36,90,31,88,113],"class_list":["post-404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-days-out","tag-coast","tag-country","tag-day-out","tag-england","tag-history","tag-north-east-england","tag-town","tag-train","tag-yorkshire-and-humber","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Steam-train-on-the-North-York-Moors-Railway-day-trip.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=404"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1010,"href":"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404\/revisions\/1010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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Exploring the North York Moors by train<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Exploring further afield<\/h5>\n
Where to stay when visiting the NYMR<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Where to stay in Pickering:<\/strong><\/h6>\n
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Where to stay in Whitby:<\/strong><\/h6>\n
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Train ticket options and flexibility<\/strong><\/h5>\n
![\"Diesel](\"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Diesel-engine-North-York-Moors-Railway-day-trip.jpeg\" "\\"Diesel")
<\/span><\/p>\nCelebrating a special occasion?<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Join an engine shed tour \u2013 not just for nerds<\/strong><\/h5>\n
![\"Engine](\"https:\/\/skylarksandseagulls.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Engine-shed-tour-North-York-Moors-Railway-day-out.jpeg\" "\\"Engine")
<\/span><\/p>\nHistory of the North York Moors Railway<\/strong><\/h5>\n
5 things to know before you go<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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