Attractions Nearby Scarborough, Day Trips and Excursions

(Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK)



Photo of the beach at WhitbyThe varied attractions available around North Yorkshire are certainly in plentiful supply and within easy driving distance of Scarborough. When it comes to day trips and excursions, the seaside resort of Whitby enjoys a great deal of summer tourists and is a mere 40 minutes from Scarborough.

Tourists visiting Whitby will find that this town is not only known for its beautiful sandy beaches, but also for being the home town of famous explorer Captain James Cook, as well as its appearance in the Dracula novel by Bram Stoker. Whitby is anything but a tacky seaside resort and each year, the thousands of day trippers from Scarborough come here to visit attractions such as the Whitby Abbey and St. Mary's Church, the Captain Cook Memorial Museum, the spooky Dracula experience, and the annual folk music, world music and Gothic festivals.


Picture taken from the top of the York Minster

General Information

Even closer than Whitby is the peaceful beach town of Filey, which lies to the south-east and tends to be more reserved than neighbouring Scarborough and Bridlington, further to the south. The sandy beachfront of Filey stretches for roughly 8 km / 5 miles, while nearby Murray Street is lined with interesting shops and cafes.

The North Yorkshire Moors National Park is also to be found alongside Scarborough and covers such an enormous area to the north and west, that it really is very hard to miss. Attractions within the North York Moors include a multitude of hiking trails and footpaths, recreational attractions, coastal views, lush valleys, rolling countryside, and many charming towns and villages. If you enjoy walking, then you may be interested to check out the Cook Country Walk, which stretches for around 64 km / 40 miles and links the Cleveland Hills and Matron with the coastline of Staithes and Whitby.

Further view from York MinsterLocated on the southerly outskirts of the North York Moors National Park and easily under an hour away from Scarborough, the traditional North Yorkshire market town of Helmsley is somewhat dominated by a splendid Norman Castle. Nearby is the Helmsley Walled Garden and Duncombe Park, and virtually next door, the ruined attractions of Rievaulx Abbey. Pickering is another market town in this area and a little closer to Scarborough, with its southerly outskirts being where you will find Flamingo Land. Visitors often come to Pickering as it is an important Yorkshire transport hub, and the southerly terminus of the popular North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR).

York is one of the region's biggest tourist hotspots and its historic sights and attractions are just over an hour to the south-west of Scarborough, being approximately 67 km / 42 miles away. The centre of York is partly encircled by a medieval fortified wall, which you can actually walk along to sightsee. York Minster is the city's crowning glory and is northern Europe's biggest Gothic cathedral still in existence, dating back some 1,000 years.

Other attractions close to Scarborough include the characterful villages of Coxwald, Danby and Hotton le Hole, the Iron Age settlement of Sutton Bank, and Robin Hood's Bay, which is just a short distance south of Whitby and boasts a rich smuggling heritage. Also worth of consideration are day trips to the attractions of Guisborough, Harrogate and Hull, and slightly further afield, Leeds, Lincoln and Sunderland.