Spirits, ghosts and goats
Sample Yorkshire’s finest single malt whisky at Spirit of Yorkshire or knock back a cask ale or two at Birdbrewer and Taproom. Catch your supper fishing aboard the Heidi J. Then discover award-winning beaches; the Whitby Vampire Curse Treasure Trail; alpacas, sheep and goats at Playdale, and Vikings and ghosts in York.
Kids ahoy!
You’ve two award-winning beaches in Bridlington to pick from and plenty more locally, including the grassy cliffs and beach huts of Whitby Sands and fossil-rich Sandsend. Drive to Saltburn and ride the ancient cable cars down to the beach. And brave the Whitby Vampire Curse Treasure Trail or Dracula Experience.
Take a whale-watching trip and keep your eyes peeled for minke, sperm, humpback and northern whales as well as dolphins, porpoise, jellyfish and sharks. Or head to the Captain Cook Memorial Museum, where a young James Cook, the Pacific explorer, had his lodgings back in 1746.
Go Ape in Dalby Forest. Enjoy the interactive exhibition, sculptures and labyrinth among the woodland and moorland of The Moors National Park Centre. Paint your own pots at Pot 2 Doodle Do. Or get down to Playdale Farm Park to meet and feed alpacas, sheep, goats, ponies, donkeys, pigs and other cuties.
Experience ten inversions on ‘Sik’ or ride the £4m Mumbo Jumbo coaster at Flamingo Land Resort. Or just take a Muddy Duck Tractor Ride or potter around the zoo to meet cheetahs, chickens, land snails and more. Or head inland to York for the Jorvik Centre, York Dungeon and a ghost-bus tour.
For the grown ups
Take a distillery tour and sample Yorkshire’s finest single malt whisky at Spirit of Yorkshire. Or knock back a cask ale or two at Birdbrewer and Taproom. Catch your supper over some rough-ground and wreck fishing aboard the Heidi J. Or get back beachside and learn to ride the waves with Whitby Surf School.
Head into Scarborough, Whitby and Filey to dive into the cosy cafes, pubs, restaurants and fish bars that decorate the steep cobbled streets. Change the scenery with a trip out to the North York Moors – ‘Heartbeat’ country – and walk the Cleveland Way or head up from Goathland to Mallyan Spout.
Get down to Bridlington harbour to join the fishermen (and women) on the pier, take a cruise on the Yorkshire Belle, take a trip round the museum, tour the priory and shop for souvenirs in the pretty streets. Or watch half a million seabirds do their thing at RSPB Bempton, where the cliffs are home to gannets, puffins, guillemots, and razorbills.
Discover beautiful Staithes, a stunning seaside village of cobbled streets and quaint houses that cling to the cliffs. Investigate all things Dracula at Whitby Abbey. Buy the local gemstones at Whitby Heritage Jet Centre. Or discover Robin Hood’s Bay’s cobbles, fossils, rock pools, pubs and restaurants.
Happy hens (and stags)
On a hen or stag weekend, sometimes you want to mix and mingle and other times you want your own company. With two lounges (and two TVs) warmed by the same logburner, you have that choice at North Beach House. You also have a games room complete with BOSE sounds, darts and pool.
There’s plenty of room for coming together at mealtimes around the 16-seater table and the garden’s good for impromptu games of football plus long, lazy lounging in the hot tub. Head out to paint pots over hot chocolate at Pot-a Doodle-Do. Or come for the birdies and play the lush fairways of Bridlington Golf Club.
Looking for an adrenaline hit? Consider balloon flights, supercar driving, aircraft tours, 4×4 off-roading, bungee jumping or wing-walking. Book a spa package at The Parsonage or The Yorkshire Spa Retreat in York. Or enjoy coffee, cake and dainty sandwiches with an afternoon tea at The Georgian Tea Rooms.
Get seriously staggy with some pig-herding and welly wanging at Farm Adventure. Then get cleaned up for a night out at The Marine Bar or cocktails at The Garden, The Bar With No Name and The Dog House. For shape-throwing deep into the night, get over to York’s Popworld, Flares and Kuda.
