My partner and I are conflicted about whether to do
Plan A) 2 nights in York, drive to Keswick in the morning, spend 4 nights in Keswick and the lakes,
or
Plan B) 2 nights in York, 1 night staying somewhere to see north York moors, Whitby, and Rievaulx and then 3 nights in Keswick. There is an evening event at Rievaulx (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/whats-on/rievaulx-brocken-spectre/) so we thought it might be neat to go and see the abbey at nighttime.
Wondering if anyone has any thoughts, or have been to the moors/Whitby in April before -- are they good places to visit at this time of year? I know that they are better in the summer when the heather is blooming. We are fairly interested but we also noticed Rick Steves has said that the North York Moors are disappointing in some of his articles and doesn't rate it highly in his guidebook. We are especially interested in Whitby because we are not going to too many coastal areas this trip, besides Liverpool.
If we do option B, How long do we need in Whitby? What might be a good place to stay? We could see if we can stay in the same B&B in York, or perhaps move to a B&B in Helmsley to be closer to Rievaulx. Google gives similar times traveling to Keswick from both cities.
It's worth mentioning that we will be in the Lake District on Easter weekend (departing Easter Sunday), so we anticipate car travel may be slow because of congestion, hence our thoughts about adding the extra night there.
Appreciate any thoughts from those with experience in these two areas!