Known as the "Gateway to the Moors" and said to be one of the oldest towns in the area (it dates back to at least 270 BC) Pickering is a fine town built on a hill, at the top of which a well-preserved castle looks down over the town.
The Beck Isle Museum in the town gives a fine flavour of how Yorkshire folk used to live, as does the Ryedale Folk Museum in nearby Hutton-le-Hole.
Its location at the edge of the North York Moors makes it an ideal base for walking holidays and it's also in a prime spot for day trips to Whitby, Scarborough, Robin Hood's Bay and Filey.
The Forge Valley Railway line, opened in 1882, connected Pickering to Scarborough to assist in bringing more visitors to the coast. In the mid 1930s camping coaches were established at 2 beauty spots on the line, one at Thornton Dale and the other at Forge Valley station. The service ran until 1950 when British Railways decommisioned it for not paying its way.
There's some stunning scenery around Pickering and the most eye-catching has to be the Hole of Horcum - a vast hollow carved out by the action of rivers and streams (though legend has it that a giant grabbed a huge handful of soil to throw at his wife). The Hole of Horcum - which incidentally was ranked 11th in a list of "rude British place names" - is a favourite for walkers, hang gliders or simply for sightseers from an observation point a few miles to the west of Fylingdales.
Pickering events on Hello Yorkshire's blog
Beck Isle Museum
Cropton Brewery, Cropton
Dalby Forest
Eden Camp, Malton
Go Ape, Dalby Forest
Hole of Horcum
Levisham Village
North York Moors National Park
Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole
Walled Garden at Scampston, Malton