Vale of Pickering - Location and Transport

Location and Transport

The Vale of Pickering is a low-lying plain, orientated in an east-west direction. It is well defined by the Yorkshire Wolds escarpment to the south, the Corallian limestone foothills of the North York Moors to the north, the North Sea coast to the east and the Howardian Hills to the west. The east west orientated main roads (A64 and A170) in the vale follow the shoreline of the glacial lake, which formed in the vale after the last ice age. The main A169 road crosses the vale in a north-south direction, joining the market towns of Malton and Pickering. At the eastern edge of the vale the A165 carries traffic along a north-south coastal route through Scarborough. The main line railway crosses the eastern part of the vale from south to north west linking Malton to Scarborough and the east coast rail line links Scarborough to Filey, and Bridlington. There is a heritage railway from Pickering to Grosmont with connections to Whitby, which operates steam and old diesel engines in the tourist seasons. Administratively, the Vale of Pickering lies largely in the Ryedale District Council area with a smaller area to the east lying in Scarborough District.