North York Moors

"The whole trip went like clockwork and I would definitely do it again. I've been wanting to take my horse on holiday for some time but struggled to find a company that was well organised. Now I've discovered Redlands I shall be encouraging my friends and family to join me on future breaks."- Liz Floyd, June 2010

 The North York Moors National Park is one of the most stunning landscapes in the country; it will simply make you stand and stare. It really is a very special place. The great variety of landscapes in the North York Moors is what truly makes it unique and gives it a character which so many people enjoy.

This is a land where dreams are made. Here you can experience the vast open space of moorland, or listen to the call of the upland birds. You can wander through woods or saunter through picturesque villages of honey sandstone. All around are the signs of past generations, historic abbeys, embattled castles, churches, crosses, ancient routes. The local culture and traditions here are strong.

This riding covers most of the North York Moors National Park. Its centre is in Rosedale, with rides to the west around Osmotherley, Rievaulx and Farndale. To the east, you can ride around Heartbeat country made famous by the TV series, follow a disused railway line along the coast between Scarbrough and Whitby or see the more wooded country around Newtondale. There are few gates, few roads and few people. There are lots of buzzards, grouse, and curlew. There are long stretches of open moorland and a few steep and stony tracks, so you need a fairly fit horse. This network is not very wet, but you sometimes get low cloud and sea mists coming in from the east coast, so we have low-level alternative routes in case of bad visibility.

The western side can be ridden as a big 3 or 4-day place-to-place loop. The scenery is an interesting combination of remote and beautiful moors in the north and lush, steep sided valleys in the south west, where you can visit the ruined medieval Abbey at Reivaulx. Although the dale bottoms are sheltered and surprisingly fertile, there is one long day of 20 miles plus along the western edge of the National Park which crosses several steep sided valleys.

The east of the network has 3, 4 and 5-day place-to-place rides which include some riding along an old railway line above the coast between Scarborough and Whitby, and on forest tracks through Cropton and Dalby Forests as well as wilder stretches of open moor around Goathland, Newtondale and Rosedale. We also have one centre holidays with many circular rides. We also cater for clients requiring up to 9 days' continuous horse riding.

A petal ride via Sturdy Bank, Rudland Rigg and Farndale disused mine railway, this is a long route across the heart of the moors and through remote and little visited dales. You start along a disused railway line around the head of Rosedale, which gives you a good view of the dale, and crossing Farndale you go along a spine of moor on one of the really old ‘roads’ before returning along another disused railway. The first third of this ride includes some steep climbs and descents which make for slow going, though the final third is much easier across open moor, following fairly major tracks.

This ride is 20.25 miles with three pub-stops and a mining and industrial development lesson along the way.

Call us on +44 (0)1225 424413 or email contact@redlandsequestrian.com to check the ride availability and dates, once we have confirmed availability you can download and fill in a booking form:

• UK Rides Booking Form
• Worldwide Rides Booking Form

Each rider in the party must also complete a riding ability questionnaire before we can complete the final confirmation of your holiday booking.