The 5 best steam and heritage railway trips in North Yorkshire
Steam locomotive pulling carriages through a wooded valley in the North York Moors
Five ranked rail journeys, from a 24-mile steam run across the moors into Whitby to a 20-inch-gauge seaside train that has carried passengers since 1931.
1. North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Pickering to Whitby
Nothing else in the county competes. The line climbs 24 miles from Pickering through Levisham and the steep-sided glacial channel of Newtondale to Goathland and Grosmont, and selected services then continue over the Network Rail Esk Valley track another 18 miles into Whitby, arriving beside the harbour. End to end it is roughly an hour and fifty minutes each way behind a working steam locomotive. An all-line day ticket sits in the £40-50 bracket for an adult, with Whitby-inclusive fares costing more and seat reservations strongly advised in July and August; confirm prices and the running calendar with the railway before you travel.
If you have only two hours, do not attempt the full run. Take the short hop from Grosmont to Goathland, walk the 3.5-mile Rail Trail back along the old 1836 alignment, and look round the locomotive sheds at Grosmont. The honest catch is parking: the Pickering station car park and the Eastgate pay-and-display fill by mid-morning on summer Saturdays, and Grosmont has room for perhaps a few dozen cars. Book the Whitby-through service if you only ride one train all trip. It is the ride the whole county is judged on.
2. The Settle-Carlisle line, Settle to Garsdale and Dent
This is a scheduled Northern service rather than a preserved railway, so be clear about what you are buying: ordinary diesel units, ordinary fares, extraordinary engineering. The 73 miles north from Settle cross 22 viaducts and burrow through 14 tunnels, including the mile-and-a-half Blea Moor bore. Ribblehead viaduct carries the track 104 feet above the moss on 24 arches, and Dent, at around 1,150 feet, is the highest mainline station in England. An off-peak return within the Dales section costs a fraction of a heritage day rover; check Northern for the day's timetable and fares.
The trick most first-timers miss is that you cannot see the viaduct properly from the train crossing it. Buy a ticket to Ribblehead, get off, walk ten minutes down to the arches, photograph it from below, and catch a later service onward to Dent or Garsdale. Steam charters do run over the line several times a year, priced in the low hundreds of pounds and sold months ahead by charter operators. Skip those unless the locomotive itself is the point. For scenery per pound spent, this is the best-value rail day in North Yorkshire.
3. Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
Four miles of track between Embsay, two miles east of Skipton, and Bolton Abbey station, run largely by volunteers with a fleet of industrial tank engines. A return takes under an hour including the turnaround, and an adult return typically lands in the mid-teens of pounds, with family tickets cheaper per head. Sundays operate through most of the year, with extra days in school holidays and a heavy programme of Santa specials in December that sell out weeks ahead. Verify the running days on the railway's own timetable page rather than assuming a summer weekday service.
It earns third place because it does one thing very well: it entertains children under about eight without demanding a whole day. Bolton Abbey station is a mile and a half from the priory ruins and the stepping stones over the Wharfe, so pair the train with an afternoon on the estate and accept the estate car parking charge at the other end. The catch is that the line is short and the scenery is pleasant rather than dramatic. Adults travelling without children should spend the same money on the Settle-Carlisle instead.
4. Wensleydale Railway, Leeming Bar to Redmire
Twenty-two miles of former Northallerton-to-Garsdale trackbed survive between Leeming Bar, just off the A1(M) near Bedale, and Redmire in lower Wensleydale. Most services are heritage diesel railcars, with steam appearing on advertised dates only, so read the calendar carefully if a locomotive is what you came for. The line has had repeated funding and track-condition problems and its operating pattern has changed more than once, which is why it sits fourth rather than second on scenic merit. Always check the current running days with the railway directly before planning a day around it.
When it is running, the appeal is the quiet: broad pasture, lapwings, Bolton Castle sitting four miles from Redmire on the north side of the dale, and hardly any crowds. Leeming Bar is the practical end for drivers, with free parking and a café on the platform, and Bedale station puts you a short walk from the town's Georgian market place. Choose this over Embsay if you want distance and emptiness rather than a locomotive photograph. Do not build a whole holiday day around it without a confirmed departure time in writing.
5. North Bay Railway, Scarborough
A 20-inch-gauge miniature line that has run beside the North Bay since 1931, carrying passengers three-quarters of a mile from Peasholm Park to Scalby Mills beside the sea life centre. The journey takes about ten minutes, the locomotives are diesels dressed as streamlined steam engines with names like Neptune and Triton, and singles cost a few pounds with returns a little more. It operates roughly from the spring school holidays to the end of the October half-term, weather permitting, and runs a reduced service in shoulder months. Check the day's operation before walking down from the town.
This is the entry that stops a wet Scarborough afternoon collapsing. Ride out to Scalby Mills, walk back along the North Bay promenade past the beach chalets, and finish with chips on the sea wall. It cannot pretend to be a serious railway, and if the wind is northerly the open coaches are genuinely cold, so bring a layer even in August. Families staying in Scarborough should treat it as transport as much as an attraction. Anyone based inland can skip it without regret and put the time into the Moors Railway instead.
Near misses, and the one to skip
The Esk Valley line from Middlesbrough to Whitby deserves a mention nobody gives it. It is a plain diesel service, four or so trains a day, threading Danby, Lealholm and Egton along the river, and it is the cheapest way to reach Whitby without a car from the north. Use it as the return leg after a steam run out from Pickering. Grosmont is the interchange point, and the platform-to-platform connection is short, so allow slack if you are carrying luggage or a pushchair and confirm the connecting times with the operators.
What to skip: expensive dining trains, unless the meal itself is the occasion. A three-course service behind a locomotive can cost several times a standard day rover, the carriage rocks while you eat, and you see the same Newtondale you would see for a fraction of the price in an ordinary compartment. Skip too the temptation to fit two heritage lines into one day. The Moors Railway and the Embsay line are 55 miles and about an hour and forty minutes apart by road, and you will spend the day driving rather than riding.
Timing, tickets and where to base yourself
Late April to early June and the second half of September are the sweet spots: the lines are running, the moors are colourful with gorse or heather, and the trains are not standing-room-only. Late July and August bring seat shortages on the Whitby services, and the Santa programmes in December sell out first. Book online in advance for anything with a reserved seat, buy Northern tickets for the Settle-Carlisle on the day if you want timetable flexibility, and always re-check operating calendars in the week before you travel rather than relying on a printed leaflet.
For a railway-led trip, Pickering is the obvious base: guesthouses on Eastgate and the Whitby Road run roughly £90-130 a night for a double with breakfast outside peak weeks, and you can walk to the station. Whitby's West Cliff guesthouses cost more in summer, £110-170 typically, but let you ride the line as a return day trip. In the west, the small inns around Skipton's canal basin and Settle's market place sit in a similar band and put both the Embsay line and the Settle-Carlisle within a fifteen-minute drive.
Before you book
What people ask before booking Whitby.
Yes, on selected services the North Yorkshire Moors Railway runs through from Pickering to Whitby over the Esk Valley line, about 42 miles and roughly an hour and fifty minutes. Not every departure goes through, tickets cost more than the Pickering-Grosmont rover, and seats should be booked ahead in summer.
Embsay and Bolton Abbey, because the round trip is under an hour, the platforms are flat, and there is a café at Embsay station. Scarborough's North Bay Railway is an even shorter ten-minute ride but the coaches are open to the weather, so it depends on the wind.
The Settle-Carlisle is a year-round scheduled service. The heritage lines mostly close from November, reopening briefly for Santa specials in December and half-term events in February. Confirm dates with each railway directly, since winter operating calendars change and snow occasionally shuts the Dales section of the mainline.
No. If you intend a single out-and-back hop such as Grosmont to Goathland, buy the short-section fare instead. Rovers only pay off if you plan to break the journey twice or more, for example Pickering, Levisham, Goathland and Grosmont in one day.
