Places to Visit

With so much to see it’s hard to know where to start - but here are some good starting points.

Touring around a Region

Yorkshire’s civil administration is divided into metropolitan and county council areas but when planning a visit it is more practical to split the historic county into touring regions.

You can tour around a region recalling the story of how it was 100 years ago and how it has changed today More>>

Looking for specific places

The National Trust, English Heritage and the Treasure Houses of England are national groups that cover some of the best that Yorkshire has to offer. More>>

Many other castles, houses, museums, villages and industrial sites in Yorkshire have great heritage appeal. Some of our favourites are ... More>>

Historic Religious Houses of Yorkshire

At the dissolution during the 1530’s the Abbeys of Yorkshire were taken by the state and all but one suffered a systematic destruction. Only Selby survived by becoming the parish church. Today the remains of abbeys can be found at -

Beauchief, Sheffield
Bolton
Saint Mary, Byland
Coverham
Saint Agatha, Easby
Fountains
Saint Mary, Jervaulx
Saint Mary, Kirkstall
Meaux
Rievaulx
Roche
Saint Mary & Saint Germain, Selby
Saint Peter, Whitby
Saint Mary, York

Also Yorkshire had many other religious houses at the dissolution - organised as a Priory, Preceptory, Friary or Hospital - even though most have few visible signs.

Yorkshire Churches

There are many historic churches that have survived and remain in use today; a few of the popular ones are ....

Industrial Heritage

The growth of the town and cities of Yorkshire during the 18th and 19th centuries was largely fueled by industrial developments. Today many of these industries have been overtaken by changes in technology or the industrialisation of other countries. This has left a wide range of former industrial sites that have either been redeveloped or preserved as reminders of the past.

Some sites, such as Saltaire Village and Mill, have taken on a degree of importance that was not imagined when they were built. And in 2001 UNESCO inscribed Saltaire as a World Heritage Site - only the second in Yorkshire after the combined site of Fountains Abbey, St Mary's Church and Studley Royal Park.

Check out the Yorkshire Tourist Board’s Official Website for many more.

Heritage Open Days

Each year the Civic Trust co-ordinates the opening of a wide range of heritage sites; many of which are not normally open to the public. In 2006 these Open Days were from 7 to 10 September. Details are published on the Heritage Open Days web site by mid-July each year.