North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a county within the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. It is divided into the districts of Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby. York used to be part of it, but is now part of the independent county of York.

The county covers most of the lands of the North Riding, as well as the northern half of the West Riding and the northern and eastern fringes of the traditional East Riding.

Contained within its boundaries are the North York Moors and most of the Yorkshire Dales, two of eleven areas of countryside within England and Wales to be officially designated as a National park.

For ceremonial purposes North Yorkshire includes York, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and that part of Stockton-on-Tees which is south of the river. The ceremonial county borders those of East Riding of Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and Durham.

Towns and villages

• Arncliffe
• Borrowby
• Catterick, Catterick Bridge
• Dalton, Richmond, North Yorkshire, Dalton, Sowerby, North Yorkshire
• Easingwold, Embsay
• Filey
• Giggleswick, Great Ayton
• Harrogate, Hebden, Helmsley, Helperby, Horton-in-Ribblesdale
• Ingleton
• Kettlewell, Kirkbymoorside, Knaresborough
• Leyburn, Linton, Long Marston, Lund
• Malham, Marton, Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, Marton, Pickering, North Yorkshire, Masham, Middleham
• Newbiggin, Askrigg, North Yorkshire, Newbiggin, Aysgarth, North Yorkshire, Northallerton
• Osmotherley
• Ravenscar, Richmond, Rievaulx, Ripon, Robin Hood's Bay
• Scarborough, Selby, Settle, Skipton, Sowerby, Stokesley
• Tadcaster, Thirsk
• Whitby

Places of interest

• Ampleforth College
• Bolton Abbey
• Byland Abbey - English Heritage
• Castle Bolton
• Catterick Camp
• Drax
• Duncombe Park stately home
• Fountains Abbey
• Helmsley Castle - EH
• Malham Cove
• Mount Grace Priory - EH
• North Yorkshire Moors Railway
• Rievaulx Abbey - EH
• Roman Road
• Shandy Hall - stately home
• Studley Royal Water Gardens
• Whitby Abbey

Options for change

On May 25, 2004 the Boundary Committee for England published its final recommendations for systems of Unitary Authorities to be implemented if proposals for elected Regional Assemblies are approved by referendums in three northern Regions of England. They put forward two options for each County Council area, which the electorate will be asked to choose between at the same time as the Assembly Referendums.

For North Yorkshire the options are

• a single authority for the existing County Council area
• three authorities for the existing County Council area, with Selby joined to the East Riding of Yorkshire