The Vale of York and the Vale of Mowbray

The Vale of York and the Vale of Mowbray is a broad plain lying between the fells of the Yorkshire Dales to the west and the hills of the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Wolds to the east.

Several of Yorkshire's largest rivers converge in the plain, including the Swale, the Ure, the Nidd and the Wharfe - the result being the navigable Ouse.

Principal towns and places to visit in and around the Vale of York and the Vale of Mowbray include Northallerton, Thirsk and Boroughbridge, Wetherby, Tadcaster, and of course the City of York itself.

The area of this plain lying directly to the west of the North York Moors is known as the "Vale of Mowbray", while the area to the south is known as the "Vale of York" (though often the "Vale of Mowbray" is incorrectly referred to as being part of the "Vale of York").

At the very southernmost end of the Vale of York is the so called "Ouse Basin", in which lies Selby and the port of Goole, (near where the River Ouse is met by the River Aire before feeding in to the tidal Humber Estuary and the Yorkshire Coast to the east), and the industrial towns of Castleford, Knottingley and Pontefract.

Several important archaeological and prehistoric sites can be found in the Vale of York and the Vale of Mowbray, including the The Devil's Arrows and Aldborough Roman Town just outside Boroughbridge, Thornborough Henge near Masham on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, as well as Marston Moor, Towton and Stamford Bridge, where the famous battles of Marston Moor, Towton and Stamford Bridge took place in 1644, 1461 and 1066 respectively.

The Way of the Roses cycle route passes through the Vale of York en route to the Yorkshire Wolds and the Yorkshire Coast.

The Vale of York and the Vale of Mowbray
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