A Ride on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Hello world! I got back yesterday from a five-day road trip/whirlwind tour of Scotland, and let me tell you, I'm pretty sure it is the prettiest place on Earth. I'm already looking for excuses/opportunities to go back and actually spend some time exploring. A five-day circuit of the country = lots of rushing about. Lots to tell about that once I get photos organized and get caught up with other entries.

Next up on the backlog is the NYMR, or as we affectionately refer to it, the Harry Potter Train.

You may recognize this from the Harry Potter films; the NYMR steam trains were used for the Hogwarts Express, and the station pictured above (Goathland) was used as Hogsmeade Station. The line is one of only a few steam-powered train lines still in operation in England, and makes for a fun and scenic day out. The line runs about five times a day from Pickering to Whitby, but not all of the trains will go all the way to Whitby, so you may have to connect via a non-steam train from the last station through to Whitby- check the train times before departing, or take the train from Pickering so you don't have to worry about it. We rode from Whitby down to Pickering so we could combine the trip with some sightseeing in Whitby, and it worked out pretty much perfectly.

While some of the carriages (or cars for you Americans out there) have traditional train bucket seats, some of them have the compartments used in the Harry Potter movies. And seeing as how we are big HP dorks, we sought out the fun carriage.

I know, they look much fancier and impressive in the movie, but they're pretty darn neat in real life too. Although we can't quite figure out how they got Harry up on the little luggage shelf above the seats; those things are teensy-tiny!

The train, as you may have guessed from the name, runs through the moors, which means you get some awesome scenery, especially when the heather is in bloom. We were a few months early for that (peak times for the heather are August/September), but it was still gorgeous.

Plenty of unspoiled nature to go around, and most of the little villages the train stops at feature plenty of lovely hiking trails to explore. They'll also have nice little tea rooms for a bite to eat and more ice cream and souvenirs than you can shake a stick at.

A day-roamer ticket will let you get on and off and ride all over for the day, but a more economically-friendly option is to just buy a one-way ticket. Despite the "official" train info that states you cannot break a journey with a one-way, we specifically asked at the station which ticket to buy if we only wanted to get from Whitby to Pickering with a stop at Goathland and were assured that it wasn't a problem to break the one-way.

Speaking of...

There's the main tourist-drag of Goathland. It consists of about 6 touristy shops (all of which sell ice cream, of course) and a Ford Anglia a la Harry Potter. The rest of the village is down the road a bit. We found a nice play ground and enjoyed the swings while eating our delicious ice cream. And then we were on our way to Pickering to pick up the bus to head back to York. A really nice day trip for train enthusiasts and appreciators of the fine scenery of the English countryside, a trip on the NYMR is definitely worth taking.

Whitby

Greetings from Whitby! Whitby is a Yorkshire town on the northeastern coast of England, about an hour (2 by bus) north of York. Modern Whitby is a bustling tourist town, but also supports an active fishing fleet. And you know what that means? The best fish and chips in the country. Seriously.

I'd suggest the Magpie, above, for some really excellent fish and chips, but there are any number of good places serving the fresh fish practically right off the boat. FYI, the Magpie has a take away window and the lines can get pretty darn long. But trying going inside to their sit down restaurant- you can usually just walk right in and be seated. The Magpie's not the cheapest option, but it is delicious and you can have your choice of several types of fish, or try one of their other non fish & chips options.

Whitby Abbey is one of the main attractions in Whitby. The town itself came to exist as a result of the abbey, which was founded in 656 by the king of Northumbria. St Hild/Hilda served as the first abbess over a double monastery (meaning it had both monks and nuns) and she played an active role in the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in this part of England during the 7th century. The abbey is best known as the site of the Synod of Whitby held in 664; it was at this meeting that the King of Northumbria decided that the Christian liturgical calendar in Northumbria would follow Rome's traditions of calculating Easter, rather than the Celtic traditions practiced at Iona, a major monastery in Scotland founded by Irish missionaries. This sounds silly, but it was actually a big deal at the time; both sides of the debate firmly believed their version of Christianity was superior/more correct, and the decision at Whitby spelled the doom of the Celtic version of Christianity for much of what we now call England. The abbey was destroyed by the Vikings in the 9th century, and the current ruins are what is left of the refounded monastery built in the late 11th century.

Of course, they can't make it easy to access the monastery. If you want to visit, you'll first have to climb up 199 steps and then it'll cost you 5 pounds to get in. But the steps aren't that bad, and you can get some really nice shots of the town from the stairs.

Whitby is also known for an important literary connection. Part of Bram Stoker's Dracula is set in Whitby. He used to summer in Whitby and contemplate the ruins of the abbey; in the book, Dracula arrives by ship, runs up the stairs, and hides out in the ruins. During the 1700s, Captain Cook lived in Whitby. The Captain was best known for his surveys and maps of the St Lawrence River and Newfoundland and for being the first European to sail to the east coast of Australia and Hawaii.

History lesson aside, Whitby is a really fun little seaside resort town. The harbor front has some rides and games, while the town itself is full of fun shops. You can tell it is a tourist town by the presence of ice cream _everywhere_. Whitby is an easy day trip from York, and if you are willing to rush things like we were, can be combined with a trip on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. But more on that later :)