North York Moors: Moors, Coast, and Historic Ruins:
Runswick Bay, Ava Lily
The North York Moors cover 44,000 hectares (from Thirsk and Helmsley to the Whitby coast), and feature some of England’s biggest expanses of heather moorland, and is home to many ground-nesting birds like golden plovers and merlins. It also has one of northern England’s largest concentrations of ancient trees.
It features ancient villages like Staithes and Robin Hood’s Bay (where you paddle your toes, at th end of Wainwright’s Coast-to-Coast Walk, which begins in St Bees in Cumbria).
Hikers can follow the horseshoe-shaped Cleveland Way, which winds around the park for 109 miles. You can also take in plenty of star-gazing, as the Moors are a designated International Dark Sky Reserve.
Always follow the Countryside Code to keep all creatures safe. Keep dogs away from steep banks, mushrooms (and toxic plants/trees) and on leads near birds, barnyard friends and wild ponies.
If at the coast, keep away from nesting birds and never walk on sand dunes. Learn how to keep dogs safe by the seaside (check beach bans before travel).
How to upright an overturned sheep
Pregnant sheep (and sometimes due to wool waterlogged from rain) can sometimes roll over onto their backs, and can’t get back upright, due to having four stomach chambers (so will die if not turned back upright).
If you see a sheep on its back, just firmly right it back, then stay with it, until rain has drained off, so it won’t happen again. Then inform your local farmer.
If at the nearby coast, keep away from nesting birds and never walk on sand dunes. Learn how to keep dogs safe by the seaside (check beach bans before travel).
