Wandering the North Yorkshire Moors – A Lesson in Getting Lost (and Finding a Few Gems)

Today was one of those days where I set off with no clear plan, just the camera, the drone, and the hope of stumbling across something special. Sometimes that works a treat—today, not quite. I ended up in the North Yorkshire Moors, which is a stunning area by anyone’s standards, but it quickly became clear that this is a landscape that rewards preparation. The best spots are often tucked away, off the beaten path, and without a bit of direction, it’s easy to miss them entirely.

Still, despite a few aimless miles and more than one dead-end lane, I did manage to uncover three interesting and atmospheric locations: a quiet little church with loads of charm, the remains of a once-busy mine, and a grand country hall, tucked into the moorland like a scene from a period drama. Not a wasted day by any means—just a reminder that the North Yorkshire Moors deserve a return visit with a bit more planning and a proper list of places to seek out.

St Andrew’s Old Church, Upleatham – A Tiny Treasure in the Trees

St Andrew’s Old Church in Upleatham is a wonderfully atmospheric little building tucked away on the edge of the village. Dating back to the 12th century, it’s one of the smallest churches in North Yorkshire and a rare surviving example of Norman architecture. With its simple rectangular layout, narrow rounded-arch windows, and a charming bellcote at the west end, the church reflects centuries of quiet worship in a rural setting. It was replaced in the 19th century by a new church nearby, and since then, the original building has fallen out of regular use - but it survives today as a Grade II listed building*, maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust. Inside, you’ll find an ancient stone font and fragments of medieval detail, while outside, the peaceful churchyard is dotted with weathered gravestones.

From above, St Andrew’s Old Church feels almost hidden, its low stone walls and red-tiled roof blending beautifully with the surrounding trees and greenery. The aerial view really brings home its isolation and modest scale, sitting quietly at the edge of the village, surrounded by open farmland and hedgerows. It’s the sort of place you could easily miss if you weren’t looking - but once seen from the sky, it reveals itself as a perfectly preserved pocket of local history. The light filtering through the trees and casting soft shadows across the churchyard added a sense of stillness to the scene, making it a truly peaceful place to capture, both visually and in spirit.

Skelton Park Pit – Traces of an Industrial Past in the Moors

Skelton Park Pit, located near the village of Skelton-in-Cleveland on the edge of the North York Moors, was once part of the Cleveland Ironstone industry—an essential part of the North East’s industrial heritage. The pit was established in the late 19th century, and at its peak, it provided ironstone to the blast furnaces of nearby Teesside, fuelling the rapid growth of Middlesbrough and the surrounding area. The site was operated by Bolckow, Vaughan & Co., a major name in local mining and steelmaking. Although operations ceased decades ago, the pit once had an extensive infrastructure including shafts, winding houses, and a railway connection. Today, little remains of the original buildings, but the land still bears the imprint of its industrial past.

From the air, Skelton Park Pit is a fascinating landscape of subtle contrasts—flat grassed-over ground, old embankments, and woodland slowly reclaiming the site. While most of the visible structures have disappeared, the drone captured the sweeping layout of the former industrial area, with track beds and spoil heaps still faintly etched into the land. It’s a place that might look unremarkable at ground level, but from above, the geometry of the site and its former scale become more apparent. The surrounding fields and tree lines give it a strange tranquillity now, but with a deeper story lying just beneath the surface - a quiet memorial to the ironstone that once built empires.

Westerdale Hall – Victorian Grandeur in a Moorland Setting

Westerdale Hall, set in the tranquil surroundings of the North York Moors, is a striking Victorian country house built in 1873. Originally constructed as a hunting lodge and shooting retreat for the local gentry, the hall was later used for various purposes, including as a youth hostel and educational facility. Its imposing Gothic Revival design - with pointed arches, tall chimneys, and decorative stonework—makes it stand out dramatically against the rugged moorland backdrop. Though privately owned today and not open to the public, it remains one of the more eye-catching architectural features in the Esk Valley area, embodying the ambitions and tastes of Victorian wealth in rural Yorkshire.

From the air, Westerdale Hall appears almost like a miniature castle, nestled in a clearing surrounded by rolling moorland and distant woodland. The drone captured its distinctive architecture and symmetry, with well-maintained grounds framing the hall perfectly. Its elevated position offers sweeping views across the valley, and from above, you really get a sense of its seclusion and status, as if it’s a hidden retreat from another era. The contrast between the ornate stonework and the untamed natural landscape around it made for a striking visual composition - a grand reminder of the Victorian presence that once shaped so much of this wild, beautiful region.

Wrapping Up the Day

While today didn’t quite go to plan - or, more accurately, lacked a plan altogether - it still turned out to be a worthwhile wander through a lesser-explored part of the North York Moors. This is definitely a landscape that rewards a bit of research and direction, but even without a list of must-sees, I still managed to uncover a few brilliant and unexpected locations.

From the peaceful simplicity of St Andrew’s Old Church in Upleatham, to the quiet echoes of industry at Skelton Park Pit, and finally the grand, dramatic setting of Westerdale Hall, each place offered its own sense of character and history. The moors are vast, raw, and full of hidden gems - it just takes a bit more digging to find them. I’ll definitely be back with a better plan, but for now, I’m glad I captured at least a few pieces of the story tucked away in this wild and beautiful landscape.