10 of the best outdoor activities in Yorkshire

Did you know that the very first ‘Yorkshire Day’ was created way back in the 70’s (1975 to be exact)? It’s an annual event, taking place on the 1st August, aimed at celebrating all things Yorkshire. Last year, I wrote a blog post What’s so great about Yorkshire? It’s one of the popular posts on this site, so I reckon you guys are interested in learning more about my fabulous home county!

Having recently posted 10 of the best outdoor activities in the Peak District it seemed a great idea to create a similar one for Yorkshire. With Sheffield branding itself as The Outdoor City and Yorkshire being the largest county in England, it’s been hard work keeping the word count down!

1. Mountain biking

There are so many options for mountain biking in Yorkshire that I’m not even sure where to begin! If riding natural trails is your thing, you’ll find a network of bridleways all over the county, so just get out and explore! You’ll need to follow guidebooks and maps so, if you’re a bit uncertain, it may be worth finding a local mountain bike guide who knows the area, leaving you free to relax and enjoy the scenery.

The Dales Bike Centre near Reeth in North Yorkshire is also well worth a visit. Stu in the bike shop will point you in the right direction and help you pick the right trail and distance. If you prefer to be guided on your route, he can arrange that too. They have accommodation, so you can make a weekend of it and, top tip - the cafe is awesome!

Dalby Forest near Pickering in North Yorkshire is a purpose built trail centre, with a cafe and a mix of green, blue, red and black trails. Sutton Bank in the North York Moors National Park has cycle trails from 1.5 miles through to a red graded adventure ride covering 18 miles.

Heading down to South Yorkshire, anyone interested in the Downhill Mountain Biking World Cup will have heard about Steve Peat and his local trails at Wharncliffe Woods. Opposite is Grenoside, home to the Steel City Downhill race. Lady Cannings plantation is also near Sheffield and has 2 superb blue graded trails which were developed through crowd funding.

Ride Holme setting out on a 2 day bike packing trip from the Dales Bike Centre — *Ride Holme* *setting out on a 2 day bike packing trip from the Dales Bike Centre*

2. Climbing

If you love climbing on limestone, the Yorkshire Dales is the place to be! At a height of 260ft (80m) Malham Cove is an iconic sport climbing location, especially for those climbing grades F7a to F9a. However, there are also plenty of other limestone crags in the area (both trad and sport) such as Gordale, Kilnsey and Attermire. Giggleswick South is a good option for anyone climbing in the F6a to F6b range.

Yorkshire grit is also pretty iconic. At Ilkley, you’ll find The New Statesman, first climbed in 1987 by John Dunne and graded E8 7a. Almscliffe crag, near Leeds, was where I did my first outdoor lead climb and has a variety of trad routes starting in the easier grades, but you’ll also find harder routes there.

This website has a good summary of other crags you’ll find around Yorkshire and, when the conditions turn damp, you’ll find numerous climbing and bouldering walls located all over the county (search for venues in Leeds, Sheffield, Harrogate and Brighouse as a starter).

3. Surfing

It may not be your first thought when checking out the best surf spots in the country, but the Yorkshire coast is pretty well known for it’s surfing. According to the experts, the natural reefs, inlets and coves of the coastline are what make it such a great place to catch a wave.

Still not convinced? Bridlington has a plaque on the promenade commemorating two Hawaiian princes who are credited with the first recorded surfing in the UK way back in September 1890!

The most popular surfing locations include Scarborough, Cayton Bay, Saltburn, Sandsend and Whitby. But remember, you’ll be heading out into the cold north sea temperatures so make sure you get properly kitted out and stay warm.

This website has more details about surfing in the area, including surf schools where you can get lessons.

Image taken from www.discoveryorkshirecoast.com — *Image taken from* *www.discoveryorkshirecoast.com*

4. Beaches

The Yorkshire coast is 45 miles long, so there are plenty of options for beach holidays!

Sandsend beach is around 1km long with a gentle slope which is great for kids, plus it has fabulous beach cafes. It’s located just up the coast from Whitby and many people enjoy walking between the two resorts.

One of the best places to find fossils is Robin Hood’s Bay. I remember visiting there many years ago and finding a pyrite (fool’s gold) ammonite. A top tip from fossil hunters is to visit after winter storms when the sea has thrown up new rocks!

Bridlington has 2 beaches (north and south) which have won awards. The promenades are clean and modern giving a lovely walk to the harbour which is located between the two. This website has more information about the different beaches and resorts you can find along the Yorkshire coast, including dog friendly beaches.

5. Walking

I’m going to take a wild guess that walking is one of the most popular activities in Yorkshire!

The Yorkshire Dales are a well-known walking destination. Malham has been featured on so many walking programmes, and with good reason. The walk from Malham village, via Janet’s Foss, Gordale Scar, Malham Tarn and back down the dry valley to the top of Malham Cove is one of my all-time favourite walks. I’ve walked it many times and, maybe one of these days, I’ll map and share it here!

However, make sure to also explore a little further afield as the Yorkshire Dales has so much more to offer. There are honestly too many walks and areas to list, but a quick internet search will reveal numerous websites and walking guidebooks.

That said, many of the search results for ‘walking in Yorkshire’ will only include walks located in the popular northern areas, which is a shame! The rugged moorlands of West and South Yorkshire are equally stunning, perhaps more so because they’re quieter (don’t tell everyone). These two walks are popular posts on my website and will give you a feel for these moorland areas, :

Wessenden and West Nab
Digley reservoir to Black Hill summit

Anyone looking for longer distance walks will want to know about the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge (Yorkshire’s very own rival to the national 3 peaks?). It’s a 24 mile walk, taking on the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough in under 12 hours. However, if you’re looking for something a bit longer, the Cleveland Way at 109 miles should satisfy your thirst for adventure. It starts in Helmsley and crosses the North York Moors National Park before hitting the Yorkshire Coast and ending in Filey.

6. Birdwatching

The RSPB site at Bempton Cliffs is an incredible place to get up front and close with seabirds. From the visitor centre, you can walk 20 minutes in either direction along the cliff tops, stopping at platforms which have been positioned to give you the best views. You’ll see a variety of seabirds, including gannets, guillemots, kittiwakes and puffins. Three viewpoints nearest to the visitor centre are fully wheelchair accessible and have bays to give improved viewing.

Spurn point is Yorkshire’s Lands End. It’s over 3 miles long, but just 50m wide (and constantly moving). The nature reserve is famous for bird migration with the numbers and varieties of birds changing weekly. However, make sure you know the tide times before walking across spurn point as the peninsula has a 1km 'washover' section of sand which is covered at high tide and dangerous to cross when covered with water.

Between July and April, you can watch peregrine falcons above Malham Cove. The Yorkshire Dales National Park and RSPB often set up a viewpoint with high powered telescopes so you can see them (and maybe even their chicks) clearly.

7. Wild swimming

The Yorkshire coast has plenty of places to swim in the sea, so check out some of the beaches in number 4 above to find your spot. Before getting in the sea, it’s important to understand about rip currents and to always swim between the flags if you’re on a patrolled beach. This website has a great video demonstrating what rip currents look like and the RNLI have a page on their website giving advice about what to do if you’re caught in one.

The North Yorkshire Water Park is located near Scarborough and has open swimming on a natural lake. Other water activities are also on offer here, including kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, fishing and sailing.

With the Yorkshire Dales being full of dales, it stands to reason that you can find lots of streams and waterfalls with pools here. Vertebrate Publishing are releasing a book called ‘The Outdoor Swimming Guide’ on 12th August 2021 which has a section dedicated to Yorkshire. You can also search for places on the Wild Swimming website (Appletreewick and Stainforth Force are popular locations). The Outdoor Swimming Society has details of wild swimming groups across the country and you can also read some great articles about safety in the water.

8. Caving

The limestone landscape of the Yorkshire Dales is home to many caves and potholes. There are 2,500 known caves in the Dales, including the impressive Gaping Gill which is large enough to fit St Paul’s Cathedral. Craven and Bradford Pothole Clubs usually set up a winch twice a year so members of the public without caving experience can take a look. I was asked to carry refreshments to volunteers in the cave with me when I was winched down a few years ago!

There are also some great show caves in the area. White Scar Cave near Ingleton is the longest show cave in Britain. Ingleborough Cave near Clapham is reached via a 1.3 mile walk (which is well worth doing even if you don’t venture into the cave). Another popular show cave is Stump Cross Caverns near Pateley Bridge.

If you want to go on a guided caving trip, the Yorkshire Dales National Park have a page on their website for outdoor adventure activity centres and guides which you can access here.

*Descending into Gaping Gill (with a flask of tea)*

9. Road cycling

Back in July 2014, the Tour de France Grand Depart was held in Yorkshire. The first day began in Leeds and the route wove its way through the Yorkshire Dales National Park to finish in Harrogate. Day 2 then began in York and headed over the rugged moorland and industrial heartlands of West Yorkshire, taking in Cote de Holme Moss (521m) before finishing in Sheffield.

The legacy of the event was the Tour de Yorkshire which has taken place in each subsequent year until Covid struck!

So, if Yorkshire’s road cycling is good enough to attract the pro riders, there should be enough for the rest of us to go at! The Tour de Yorkshire’s website has all the previous stages over the years listed, so you could even challenge yourself to ride all of them!

If hill climbing is your thing, Yorkshire has plenty of entries in the ‘100 Greatest Cycling Climbs’ or you could pick up a copy of ‘Cycling Climbs of Yorkshire’.

Other challenges include the Yorkshire Dales Cycle Way which is a 130 mile circular route in the national park or you could tackle the Way of the Roses, a 170 mile route going coast to coast from Morecambe to Bridlington. Ok, so it starts over the border in Lancashire, but the vast majority of the route is located in Yorkshire!

*Cote de Ewden Heights on the Tour de Yorkshire*

10. More adrenaline fuelled activities

For those looking for a full-on adrenaline experience, Yorkshire has a skydive centre near Bridlington. They specialise in one-off and charity skydives where you’re attached to an instructor, so there’s no need to have any prior experience before booking on one of their jumps.

Or how about Coasteering along the Yorkshire coast. It includes a mix of swimming, traversing along the low level shoreline and jumping into the sea from rocks.

Further south at Rother Valley Country Park near Sheffield, you can learn wakeboarding or water skiing on their cable wake park.

How Stean Gorge near Harrogate has the only Via Ferrata in Yorkshire. The aerial network of metal beams, ladders and cables set into the cliffs of the gorge will test your head for heights. It also includes a Tyrolean traverse where you pull yourself horizontally along a wire with a pulley.

If you’re looking for white water adrenaline, it’s not the most common experience you’ll come across in Yorkshire but the River Washburn near Harrogate is a dam release river meaning that periodically, Yorkshire Water will release water from Thruscross reservoir to create 1.5 miles of fast flowing white water.

Working in partnership with Yorkshire Water, volunteer groups co-ordinate days for rafting and canoe slalom when the water is released. One group has announced on their Facebook page that they’re unable to publish a 2021 calendar (for various reasons) but will release dates as and when they are possible - so keep an eye on their page if it’s something you’re interested in doing. You can also learn more about it on the British Canoeing website.

There are plenty more activities you can do which I’ve not covered here - things like pony trekking, high ropes courses, mountain boarding and wind surfing. You’ll also find lots of guides and activity centres offering a multitude of activities and days out. Check the ‘Call in the experts’ page on the Yorkshire Dales National Park website to find accredited activity centres and guides.

Drop a comment below if you’d like to share any more activities not listed!