November 20, 2015

North York Moors National Park

The Moors National Park Centre is our historic visitor centre, set in an idyllic spot on the banks of the River Esk, near Danby. From the doorstep, you can see pretty much everything that makes the North York Moors National Park so special: moorland, woodland, farmland, miles of hedges and drystone walls, historic buildings – all basking in glorious peace and quiet.

There are loads of fun and fascinating things to do, inside...

Explore the open spaces … discover the secret places. Our exhibition about the people, history, wildlife and landscape of the National Park is packed with fascinating facts and entertaining interactives
Climb the walls! Try our fabulous climbing wall. Kids only – it's far too much fun for adults!
Splash out in the shop. There's a great range of books, maps and guides, postcards, and it's a good place to purchase something unique from or about the area

And heaps more outside...

Make like a monkey in the outdoor adventure play area
Visit our woodland kitchen for messy mud-pie making, in the Mud Kitchen, complete with ovens, cupboards, pots and pans. It's open from spring until the end of November. Perfect for under 5's
Get lost in the Salmon Labyrinth, following the incredible journey of a salmon upstream to its spawning grounds
Try your hand at quoits, a traditional North York Moors pastime
Become a natty navigator – brush up your wayfinding skills in the Compass Field
Explore Crow Wood via a short, circular, easy access route that starts in the main car park
Admire the sculptures – some of them even talk!
Have a picnic in the grounds
Go for a walk – why not try one of the 5 easy-to-follow routes in the Walks from the Moors Centre booklet, available to purchase for £2 in the Centre.

What's the story?

Picnic time? Rainy day? Looking for fun? Then borrow one of our 'Story Time Boxes' and spend an hour or two in the company of Monty the Wood Mouse! The boxes have all you need to entertain your under 7s, including a special story, character puppets, mask making materials and colouring sheets, family games and song sheets. Hire a box from £3/hour or £10/day (plus returnable deposit). Story Time boxes are also available out of hours and overnight, just ask for details.

Dog policy

Please note - dogs are not allowed in the Centre buildings or in Crow Wood, except for assistance dogs. Crow Wood is used for children's activities such as den building and plant identification where children are likely to be in close contact with the ground and professional advice given to us is that we should avoid the potential for contamination with domestic animals.