Classic Silver Birch at Keldy

Flamingo Land is a theme park, zoo and resort at Kirby Misperton in North Yorkshire. It has been running since 1959 and was the first site in Europe to combine rides and a zoo. The theme park has eight themed areas, with thrill coasters such as Sik, Hero, Kumali and Velocity, plus gentler family and kids' rides.

Tip: Check the day's keeper talk and show times on the website before you go, and plan your route around them.

Castle Howard is a Baroque country house in North Yorkshire, designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and home to the Howard family for over 300 years. Inside, you can explore grand galleries, bedrooms and a world-class art and sculpture collection. The house is also well known as a filming location, including for Brideshead Revisited and Bridgerton.

Tip: Buying tickets online costs less than buying at the Ticket Office, so book online. House and Gardens tickets include the playground.

The ruins of Whitby Abbey crown a clifftop above the historic fishing port of Whitby. The headland has been home to an Anglo-Saxon monastery, a great medieval abbey and a 17th-century mansion, and it has long been wrapped in myths and legends. The substantial remains of the abbey church are Grade I listed and cared for by English Heritage.

Tip: Head into the museum in Cholmley House as well as the ruins - it holds most of the stories of the headland.

Rievaulx Abbey was the first Cistercian monastery in the north of England, founded in 1132 and set in a wooded dale by the River Rye in the North York Moors National Park. It became one of the great monasteries in England before it was seized under Henry VIII in 1538. Today the ruins are owned and maintained by English Heritage.

Tip: Park in Helmsley and take the scenic walk from Helmsley Castle to the abbey; a joint ticket also covers nearby Rievaulx Terrace.

Helmsley Castle stands in the market town of Helmsley, in the North York Moors National Park. Over the centuries it was a medieval fortress, an Elizabethan mansion, a Civil War stronghold under siege and, later, a romantic ruin. The tall, keep-like east tower still dominates the town, and the stonework defences are impressive.

Tip: Pick up the fort-building trail at the start if you have children with you.

Scarborough Castle crowns a headland between the town's two bays. Climb to the viewing platforms in the Inner Bailey and the Great Tower for views over the town, the harbour and the bay. An exhibition tells the story of the site, including a Bronze Age sword on display, and there's a World Builder trail for younger visitors.

Tip: Leave plenty of time to wander the wide grassy headland as well as the castle itself.

Eden Camp is a large Second World War museum near Malton in North Yorkshire. It fills a former prisoner-of-war camp, and the museum's displays are spread across the camp's original huts. Italian and German prisoners were held here, and the huts have since been repaired and renovated for visitors.

Whitby Museum is an independent museum in Pannett Park, run by Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society since 1823. It tells the story of the town from the Jurassic era to the present day, and its collections are a little quirky in the best way.

Tip: Park at the large West Cliff car park, under five minutes' walk away, or walk up from the harbour, bus or train station in about 10 minutes.