Yorkshire's MOORS & SHORES

Equal parts mystical moor and secluded seashore, the Yorkshire coast beats some of Britain’s more traditional summer destinations hands down

- JENNY ROWE

The best-known Victorian pleasure piers in England may be at Brighton and Blackpool, but Saltburn-by-the-sea in North Yorkshire has one too, and an original Cliff Lift to boot. Likewise, Dorset’s Jurassic Coast isn’t the only fossil hunter's paradise on the block: try Yorkshire’s Dinosaur Coast at Staithes. And although visitors flock to Devon on the trail of Sir Walter Raleigh and his Golden Hind, just over a century later in 1728, Captain James Cook was born to more humble stock in the unassuming Yorkshire village of Marton. He would go on to achieve national hero status too, as the first European to chart New Zealand and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

Yorkshire is formidable – England’s largest county, with a population bigger than Scotland – but it is a gentle giant. Perched respectfully on the shoulder of York and its acclaimed Minster is the North York Moors National Park – one of three National Parks in Yorkshire – adjoined to the Howardian Hills, one of three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Though many don’t give North Yorkshire’s softly spoken claims to fame the time of day, it is here that you can get a feel for what the county does best.

Rugged moorland sweeps right up to the North Sea shoreline at the red-roofed fishing villages of Robin Hood’s Bay, Staithes and Ravenscar. Moor and shore are not just neighbours here: they cohabit the ancient landscape in resolute harmony.