Danby Beacon

Overview

About Danby Beacon

Why stop

Historic radar story and nearby trig point
Wide outlook across moor and coast

Heads up

Exposed to wind and cold
Weather can erase the distant views

High points like this carried warning fires for centuries, with arrangements recorded from the 14th century and again in 1415, during the Dutch wars of the 1660s, the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 and the American War of Independence in the 1780s. In the Napoleonic era both soldiers and local civilians kept watch here.

Parkwolf’s verdictWhy this hilltop matters

Map

Where it is

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Full map

SightDanby Beacon54.47351, -0.86565

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Plan your stop

Before you go

Best time to go

The hilltop is fully exposed to wind and cold, and it can feel far harsher than the valley below, so add a layer even in summer. Come on a clear, settled day for the long coastal views, and aim for the hour before sunset when low light picks out the flame silhouette against the moor. In mist the view disappears entirely and the beacon itself becomes the whole reason to stop.

Getting there and parking

A gravel parking area sits directly beside the beacon, so this works well as a short stop rather than a hike.
The surface is uneven and prone to potholes, which can be uncomfortable in a low-clearance car. Take it slowly.
Footpaths, bridleways and rough tracks lead off across the moor, and the beacon also features on longer circular walks from the Danby area that include stretches of road walking.
Bring any essentials you need with you, including water, snacks and anything else you would want on an open hilltop.

8 active North York Moors alerts

ClosureHawnby Bridleway 110 closurePublic Bridleway 25.122/110/1 in Hawnby is closed to pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians because its bridge is unsafe. - The closure is between grid references SE 5309 9073 and SE 5335 9097.Official details
ClosureWest Ayton Footpath 1 closurePublic Footpath 1 in West Ayton (Forge Valley) is temporarily closed because its boardwalk is unsafe. - The closure is between SE 9860 8494 and SE 9839 8712.Official details

See all 8 alerts

A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone — Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

North York Moors Tour Guide

Your drive to Danby Beacon, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for North York Moors National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

Recorded for this place

Danby Beacon

0:00 / 0:35

“You're approaching Danby Beacon, a steel flame on a high, open moor. It's only a short walk from the gravel parking area, and the view can stretch across the Esk Valley and Fryup dales to the coast on a clear day.”

Plays as you drive up to Danby Beacon in the Parkwolf North York Moors Tour Guide.

More about Danby Beacon

What you will seeA 5.

A 5.5 metre beacon in weathering Corten steel, topped with a flame-shaped basket of blued stainless steel and detailed in bronze that nods to the Bronze Age burial mound it stands on. It is a working beacon, commissioned by local residents and first lit on 22 October 2008, and it is looked after by local volunteers and the Dawnay Estate. A trig point sits nearby, and an information board with a toposcope helps you name what you are looking at.

The radar yearsA radar station was built at Danby Beacon in 1937 as part of the Chain Home early warning chain.

A radar station was built at Danby Beacon in 1937 as part of the Chain Home early warning chain. It provided long-range warning through the Second World War and into the Cold War, and signals read here helped guide Flight Lieutenant Peter Townsend to the first enemy aircraft shot down over Britain in 1940. The station closed in 1957, and very little military structure survives above ground today, so the story is carried by the setting rather than by ruins.

The viewFrom roughly 300 metres up, the outlook runs across open moorland, down into the Esk Valley and…

From roughly 300 metres up, the outlook runs across open moorland, down into the Esk Valley and the Fryup dales, and out toward the coast on clear days. It is one of the easier big panoramas in the area because the beacon stands only a short step from where you park.

Wildlife

Wildlife in North York Moors

All North York Moors wildlife maps

15 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

10 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map

79 sightingsGrey SealMost seen around noonSighting map

26 sightingsWestern Barn OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

33 sightingsEuropean BadgerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

10 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around noonSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across North York Moors. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.