9 Top Things to do in East Yorkshire
There’s a wealth of great things to do in East Yorkshire. Also known as the East Riding, the area is renowned for its historic ports, ancient market towns and gorgeous countryside, with a generous helping of chalk cliffs and sandy beaches thrown in for good measure.
In Hull, you can ride on a vintage tram at the Streetlife Museum of Transport, climb aboard the 1927 Spurn Lightship, a floating museum in Hull Marina, or walk across the Humber Bridge, the longest single-span suspension bridge in the UK.
For a day out by the sea, try the dramatic coastline around Bempton Cliffs and Flamborough Head, where there’s a sidetrip for the kids at nearby Bondville Model Village. Prefer the countryside? Wander the fields and lanes in the Yorkshire Wolds, a region that inspired David Hockney’s watercolours and iPad drawings. And if you love storied buildings, visit medieval Beverley Minster or Elizabethan-era Burton Agnes Hall.
Whether you love history museums or art galleries, village tea rooms or fish and chips on the seafront, they’re all included in Pitchup’s top things to do in East Yorkshire. We also have a fantastic selection of outdoor accommodation available on our website, catering for all styles of camping and caravanning.
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Streetlife Museum, Hull
The extensive collection at the immersive Streetlife Museum traces 200 years of local transport history. Wander galleries filled with veteran steam-powered cars, horse-drawn carriages, municipal buses and chopper bicycles, or stroll down a recreated 1940s street with chemist and cycle shops. Climb aboard a tram or a goods train, visit a reconstructed 1930s railway shed complete with an original signal box, or take a simulated trip on the horse-drawn mail coach from Hull to York. And watch out for the cute wooden Rhino Wheelbarrow…
Set in Hull’s Museum Quarter, the complex has leafy gardens where you can take a quiet break or have a picnic. It’s open seven days a week, and admission is free.
Ferens Art Gallery, Hull
Housed in an impressive neoclassical building on Hull’s Queen Victoria Square, this gallery has an extensive collection of paintings and sculptures including European Old Masters and modern British art. There’s a free audio guide to the highlights, which include fine work by Frans Hals and Canaletto as well as contemporary fare from David Hockney (a Yorkshire man by birth) and Gillian Wearing.
The permanent collection at Ferens Art Gallery is supplemented by themed temporary shows, including digital art and the eclectic annual summer Open Exhibition, which gives up-and-coming artists the chance to exhibit and sell their work. Like the Streetlife Museum, the gallery is open seven days a week and is free to enter.
Humber Bridge
Opened by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1981, this huge suspension bridge links East Yorkshire with North Lincolnshire; it’s the longest in the UK, and carries 20 million vehicles every year. A stroll (or a bike ride) across its pedestrian walkway takes about half an hour and rewards you with memorable views of the Humber Estuary. Use the QR codes stationed at various points across the bridge for details on its construction, and there are telescopes so you can admire the scenery.
Although you can walk both ways across the bridge, the best place to start is at the car park in Humber Bridge Country Park, a former quarry now covered in woodland on the Yorkshire (northern) side of the river. Follow the Chalk Walk and other nature trails to wildlife ponds and Hessle Whiting Mill where there are interactive displays on the industrial heritage of the country park.
Good to know: the best view of the bridge itself can be found at Hessle Foreshore on the north side of the Humber.
The Yorkshire Wolds
Encompassing rolling chalk hills covered with wildflowers, flat-bottomed glacial valleys, agricultural land and an escarpment, the Yorkshire Wolds National Landscape is a huge favourite with walkers and cyclists. Numerous hiking routes spin off from the 79-mile (127-km) Yorkshire Wolds Way, a long-distance footpath that runs all the way from the Humber Bridge to Filey. Some of the highlights to take in include spring snowdrops around Fridaythorpe, the Iron Age burial sites at Danes Graves and Staple Howe, and the deserted medieval village at Wharram Percy.
Fans of local artist David Hockney might like to seek out some of the locations that inspired his work in the lanes and fields around Bridlington, including Woldgate Woods, the tree tunnels in farmland around Kilham and Burton Agnes Hall.
Burton Agnes
If you love visiting historic country houses, you get two for the price of one in Burton Agnes, a pretty village between Bridlington and Driffield. Burton Agnes Hall is a spectacular Elizabethan mansion with Tudor Renaissance architecture, Georgian furniture and a collection of Impressionist paintings. Kids will be in their element here too – the extensive grounds are home to a yew maze and giant versions of chess and draughts in the Walled Garden, and an adventure playground with a zipwire. Opening times vary and there are several options for admission tickets
Neighbouring Burton Agnes Manor House is overseen by English Heritage and was built in the 12th century. Open from April to October and free to visit, its highlights include a vaulted Norman undercroft and the old water wheel in the grounds, once powered by donkeys.
Beverley Minster
Dominating the market town of Beverley, the medieval Beverley Minster has soaring twin towers and was built in 1425; it is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Things to look out for in its cavernous vaulted interior include medieval stained glass, a magnificent 18th-century organ and a Norman font. A statue commemorates St John of Beverley, an 8th-century bishop who founded the original monastery on the site.
The minster has guided tours on Wednesdays at 11am and Saturdays at 1pm, with separate visits going up a spiral staircase into the roof on Saturday at 11pm. Alternatively, you could time your visit to coincide with a choral evensong on Thursday evening at 7.30pm.
Flamborough Cliffs Nature Reserve
You’re guaranteed an active day out at Flamborough Head, a clifftop peninsula and nature reserve with dramatic coastal views; visit in summer and the cliffs are covered with thousands of breeding seabirds, including gannets and puffins, nesting in steep nooks and crannies. Miles of footpaths give you the chance to see basking seals on the beach, wander through colourful fields of pink sea thrift and red campion, or gaze up at an octagonal 17th-century lighthouse. Below the cliffs, North and South Landing beaches have rockpools and sea caves to explore, but be aware of the tide. If you’re a competent canoeist, you can also view the whole area from the water.
While you’re here, you could give the kids an extra treat by dropping in to nearby Bondville Model Village. Set in pretty clifftop gardens with a tea room, it’s home to more than 200 mini-sized and handcrafted buildings including half-timbered cottages, a castle, thatched pubs and a lighthouse.
Bempton Cliffs
Five miles along the coast from Flamborough, towering Bempton Cliffs are worth a visit in their own right, especially if you’re into birding. The big draw here is tens of thousands of nesting seabirds, including puffins, guillemots and gannets. A two-mile clifftop nature trail guides visitors to six specially constructed viewing platforms, where helpful volunteer guides explain about the birds and their habits.
Seabirds nest here from March to October – but you can also see linnets and skylarks nesting in scrub at the edge of the sea during spring, and raptors flying overhead all year around. The visitor centre has a picnic area and binoculars to hire, and the RSPB runs three-hour cruises from Bridlington Harbour, giving photographers the chance to get a view of the action from the water.
A Day at the Beach
The East Yorkshire coast has so many beaches that it’s really worth mentioning a few. Bridlington is a classic sandy seaside resort with a busy promenade, beach huts and deck chairs for hire, while Mappleton’s long stretch is a favourite with dog walkers and fossil hunters. Meanwhile, Hornsea is renowned for watersports and Barmston Beach is the place to go for sea fishing.
If it wouldn’t be a holiday without bringing your hound along, try these seven dog-friendly East Yorkshire beaches.
Looking to stay around a few days in East Yorkshire? If you’d like to learn more about the region, look at our North East England area guides. Pitchup can also help with your accommodation plans; the site has a superb selection of camping options from which to choose, whether you’re looking for family-friendly holiday parks or quiet pitches tucked away on a farm with spectacular wolds views.