North Yorkshire Moors

Robin Hood's Bay, further south along the coast, is a highly recommended detour from the route. The picturesquely steep fishing village was once rife with smuggling, and its tiny streets are traffic-free cars have to be left of the top of the village. The Music in Miniature Exhibition is a collection of astonishingly detailed models illustrating English musical history, while the Laurel is a charming fishermen's pub at the foot of the village.

The rocky shore is a rich hunting ground for fossil hunters. The Cleveland Way leads south above the shore towards the hamlet of Ravenscar (a curious intended seaside resort that never materialised all that's left is a hotel and a parade of failed shops) and the highest cliffs on the east coast.

Take the A169 south from Whitby then fork right to Goathland.

Sheep graze along the verges of the long moorland village of Goathland, familiar to many from the TV series Heartbeat. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (timetable: (01751) 472508) makes a stop on its way from Grosmont to Pickering (mixture of diesel and steam services); at Grosmont the loco shed has a viewing window on to a repair area as well as a model railway layout.

Goathland itself has an excellent walk for the Mallyan Spout Hotel (a handy lunch spot) to the slender waterfall of Mallyan Spout, and southwards along the wooded valley of West Beck, where flat rocks provide wonderful picnic places. Further along is the Wade's Causeway (also known as a Wheeldale Roman Road), the best-preserved stretch of Roman road in Britain, extending over a mile across bracingly open scenery.