Many of our guests visit us to experience the peace and beauty of the North York Moors National Park. Our location in the centre of Rosedale Abbey is a great platform for exploring the area, plus our ability to sleep up to nine people makes The Old Post Office a perfect hub for family reunions and large family holidays.

For those who also wish to see some large attractions and go shopping in a city, you won’t need to drive very far to find what you’re looking for. Less than a one hour drive in any direction for Rosedale Abbey are great things to do. We’ll start off by looking south, to the ancient City of York.

Visiting The City of York.

We could write for hours on all of the things to do in the City of York. It’s rich history through the ages, from Viking occupation, through medieval Kings all the way to Victorian engineering is all there for you to explore. One day probably worn’t be enough.

Like many very old cities, York has traffic issues. The best way to visit is to use the excellent York park and ride facility that offers efficient car parking and transport hubs into the city centre. You won’t need your car to explore York, but a good pair of comfortable shoes is a good idea!

We reccommend using the park and ride facility at McArthur Glen Designer Outlet. This is easy to find from our location, simply by following the A64 until you see the signs. The benefit is that the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet is a great shopping location in itself. If you wish to explore York without carrying heavy shopping with you, why not spend your shopping time there, then take the public transport into the city?

Once inside of the city, our must see things include the obvious icons such as the majestic York Minster. As we write this, the York Minster is fresh from a long period of maintenance work, meaning that the beautiful exterior is free from scaffolding for the first time in a while. The Shambles close by is a great location to see original, ancient York buildings, with bustling gift shops and chances to but things that you simply won’t find online and in high street stores.

For experience of early history of York, the Yorvik exhibition tells you all about our Viking ancestors, while the spooky York Dungeon will take you back to a time when we weren’t quite so easy on prisoners…

Places to eat in York are abundant, so please don’t go with the easy option of the nearest McDonalds! There are excellent fish and chips, bistros, gastro pubs and cosy cafes too numerous to mention. We make no recommendations here, everyone has their own favourite!

For children (of quite literally all ages) the National Railway Museum is an absolute must. Free of charge to enter, you can spend hours investigating the history of British railways and rail technology across the world. You will see everything from Stephenson’s Rocket, to the beautiful record breaking Mallard, all the way to a genuine Japanese Bullet Train. Many of the exhibits are still in working order and it’s not unusual to see an old steam engine being brought to life outside.

For lovers of all things engineering, there are two more attractions we recommend. A short drive by car from your park and ride location, Yorkshire Air Museum on the edge of York is a self funded aviation museum with more than 45 aircraft exhibits. With the entire history of aviation covered, from early biplanes right through to recently retired military jets, plus lots of fascinating information dedicated to the memory of the many French airmen that served in Yorkshire during World War Two, the museum has been regularly voted one of Yorkshire’s top visitor attractions.

Some of the Cold War era jets are still in running order and their Thunder Days are always a very popular event, with the chance to see military jets undertaking a ‘fast taxi’ down the adjoining Elvington runway.

Immediately adjacent to the Air Museum is the ever popular York Maze. There are several family attractions like this in the York area, but York Maze is the largest natural maze in the UK and probably the best. Each year, the owners create a maze from the natural crop of over one million maize plants with a theme. In 2015, the theme was Thunderbirds, with lots of activities related to the genre. The Maze operates from spring time until mid October, when the crop is harvested and the cycle starts all over again.

Finally for now, if you’d like to see York Maze, or even the rest of York, from the air, Hields Aviation operate helicopter pleasure flights from Sherburn airfield. It’s a short distance by helicopter to the Maze and you’ll see from the air the current year’s theme. Extend your flight and you could actually fly right over Rosedale Abbey!

By now, you’ve probably realised that while we may be in a peaceful and picturesque village in the North York Moors National Park, in less than sixty minutes you can be strolling around of of the top visitor destinations in the UK. You’ll need to make an early start to see all of York in one day, but we recommend you pace yourself. Mix in a couple of days in York with the odd rest day here in Rosedale Abbey. There are plenty of places to relax right here on our doorstep and after all, you’re supposed to be on holiday.