Dogging in North Yorkshire: area guide

The lie of the land in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is huge. It stretches from the Pennine edge in the west to the North Sea at Scarborough and Whitby in the east. York is the historic centre. Harrogate, Skipton, Ripon, Northallerton, Thirsk, Selby, Richmond and Malton each sit in their own pocket of countryside, often an hour or more from the next.

Two National Parks take up a large share of the map: the Yorkshire Dales in the west and the North York Moors in the north-east. Nidderdale and the Howardian Hills are protected landscapes too. Between them lie the flat farmland of the Vale of York and the wide, wet ground around the lower Ouse near Selby.

Most of the county is thinly populated. Distances are long, and a journey that looks short on the map can take twice as long on a moor road. Some quiet roads fill up for reasons you can't see from the verge, which is another reason this guide stays general.

Getting about safely

The A1(M) runs down the county's western side, with the A19 and A64 serving York and the east. The A66 crosses the northern edge. Moorland roads such as the A169 between Pickering and Whitby climb high, and they get fog, ice and sheep on the tarmac. Snow can close them for hours in winter.

The East Coast Main Line calls at York, Thirsk and Northallerton. Harrogate and Skipton have their own lines to Leeds, and a branch runs from York to Scarborough. The Esk Valley line to Whitby is slow and sparse, and the Settle to Carlisle line runs through the Dales. Evening services thin out quickly, so check the last train before you go.

Mobile signal drops in the dales and on the moors. Lanes are narrow, often with no lights and walls close to the road. Along the coast, sea fret can roll in on a warm day and cut visibility to a few metres. Around York and Selby the Ouse floods after heavy rain, and low roads can go under with little warning. Keep fuel in the tank and tell someone your route.