This great region, brought together as one for the purposes of The National Byway route, is a state of mind rather than a place. It represents a set of particular values, and over the centuries these have helped to shape the place that it is today. As has its history: Roman and Viking civilizations flourished here, medieval barons fought for what they believed in - or coveted. In Victorian times Yorkshire was a powerhouse of the industrial revolution. It still makes its presence felt in modern times.
But Yorkshire is also a region of infinite variety: from the high Pennine fells down the tranquil narrow dales, across the fertile farmland of the great Plain of York to the jagged coastline of the North Sea . The National Byway's 420 mile (676km) Yorkshire route, which includes 35 miles (56km) south of the River Humber now part of the official E.U. region, samples all of Yorkshire's facets.
After following the River Trent northwards through North Lincolnshire and crossing the Humber Bridge, The National Byway route leads to Beverley, a bustling market town and site of one of the country's finest great churches. Then it's on to the seaside on a Loop to Bridlington and dramatic Flamborough Head, before heading west across the windswept wolds and to Malton with its Rydale Loop.
At Easingwold there's another Loop (including Ampleforth) before the route swings northwards, touching on the lower slopes of the Dales near Ripon and Bedale, each with their Loops, before descending into the Georgian town of Richmond. North of here the Byway route crosses into County Durham to link up with the North-East England route on its way towards Scotland.
