4 Best Sights in Yorkshire, England

The perfect marriage of architecture and landscape, Rievaulx (pronounced ree-voh) Abbey sits in a dramatic setting two miles northwest of Helmsley, its soaring arches built to precisely frame the forested hillside rushing down to the River Rye. Founded in 1132 by a French Cistercian sect (there's a 13th century shrine containing the remains of the first abbot, William, at the entrance to the Chapter House), Rievalux soon became one of the most powerful monasteries in Britain. By the end of the 13th century, the abbey was massively wealthy thanks to the monks involvement in the wool trade. The evocative ruins still give a good indication of how vast it once was, from the church's huge 13th-century presbytery (one of the finest examples of Early English architecture in northern England) to the imposing refectory (dining hall). You should also get a glimpse of the 12th-century cloisters with their (reconstructed) symmetrical columns.

By the time of the suppression of the monasteries in 1538 under Henry VIII, the abbey had shrunk dramatically, with only 23 monks still living there. The new owner, the Earl of Rutland, subsequently dismantled what was left of the abbey, sending off the roof leads and bells to the king and allowing villagers to cart away the abbey's stones to build their houses. What remains is a beautiful ghost of the magnificent building that once stood here. From Rievaulx Abbey it's a short climb or drive up the hill to Rievaulx Terrace, an 18th-century escarpment with a magnificent view of the abbey. At either end of the woodland walk are two mid-18th-century follies in the style of small Palladian temples.

Some of the loveliest Wharfedale scenery comes into view near Bolton Priory, the ruins of a 12th-century Augustinian priory that sit on a grassy embankment over a great curve of the River Wharfe. The view inspired J. M. W. Turner to create a number of watercolors of the priory ruins and nearby sites. Close to Bolton Priory and surrounded by romantic woodland scenery, the River Wharfe plunges between a narrow chasm in the rocks (called the Strid) before reaching Barden Tower, a ruined medieval hunting lodge that can be visited just as easily as Bolton Priory. Both are part of the 30,000-acre Bolton Abbey estate owned by the dukes of Devonshire. The priory is just a short walk or drive from the village of Bolton Abbey. You can also visit the priory church. Guides are available weekdays from March to October.

There have been military structures on this promontory commanding a view of the North and South bays since prehistoric times. Digs have uncovered evidence of fortifications here dating back to 500 BC, and there is still some remaining stonework from a 4th-century Roman signaling station. In 1136, a cliff-top stone fortress was built by the Earl of Albermarle, and the massive keep that dominates the existing ruins was added by Henry II in 1158, along with the enormous curtain walls that made the castle virtually impregnable. It remained largely unscathed until Cromwell's cannons did their worst during the Civil War. Further demolition came in 1914 when German warships shelled the town, and in 2012 when local vandals significantly damaged the Roman stonework. The castle also has a spectacular panoramic view of the coast.

Set high on the East Cliff, the strikingly Gothic ruins of this once grand church are visible even from moorland hills miles away. The abbey, one of the very few founded by a woman (St. Hild in AD 657), was populated by a mixed community of monks and nuns. After the Vikings sacked it in the 9th century, it was refounded by the Benedictines in the 11th century and later enlarged (the headland is dominated by the shell of the abbey's 13th-century church), continuing to flourish until it was destroyed by Henry VIII. The excellent visitor center has exhibits on St. Hild and Dracula author Bram Stoker, Anglo-Saxon artifacts from the site, and interactive displays about the medieval abbey.