Day trips from York
Whitby for the abbey and Dracula, Castle Howard for the grounds, the Dales for the stone, Harrogate for the spa.
- Castle Howard
- 1 h on the 81 bus, none on Sundays
- The Yorkshire Dales
- About 1 h 20 by car to Malham
- Harrogate and Knaresborough
- 35 minutes by train
Day trips from York are chosen by what you want: the sea and the abbey at Whitby, a baroque house and grounds at Castle Howard, the limestone of the Dales, or spa-town Harrogate. All can be reached by public transport, but only Harrogate is under an hour; Whitby is over two hours by bus, and the Dales need a change.
Whitby — a full day
About two hours twenty on the 840 bus across the North York Moors, a route voted the most scenic bus route in Britain in a 2018 online poll; by train it means a change at Middlesbrough. Whitby is a fishing port with an abbey on the cliff above it — a ruin that gave Bram Stoker the scene in which Dracula lands in England. Below is a town of narrow streets and the harbour.
Castle Howard — half a day and a park
An hour on the 81 bus from the station, four or five a day and none on Sundays. The baroque house was begun in 1699 by John Vanbrugh, a playwright with no architectural training, with a dome over the central hall. Around it are grounds with lakes, the Temple of the Four Winds and a mausoleum.
Y1 dayYork by the hour, for a day in the city itself:York in 1 day →The Dales and Harrogate
The Yorkshire Dales are the hills and valleys west of the city, with drystone walls dividing the pasture and villages of grey stone. Malham is the best-known point: a limestone pavement above the village, flat as a floor and cracked into regular blocks. By car it is about an hour and twenty; without one you take the train via Leeds to Skipton, then the bus to Malham. Harrogate is thirty-five minutes by train and a different story: a nineteenth-century spa town with a tea room working since 1919, and Knaresborough beside it, where a railway viaduct crosses the river above the town.
How long each takes
All out and back from York the same day — a car helps most for the Dales
What to sort out beforehand
- Whitby is not a half day. Over two hours each way leaves no time for the abbey, the town and the beach unless you set off in the morning.
- The Dales without a car. The bus from Skipton to Malham runs every day but rarely — check the return before you go.
- Castle Howard on a Sunday. The 81 does not run, which leaves a car or a taxi.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Which is the shortest trip from York?
Harrogate and Knaresborough: thirty-five minutes by train, hourly. Castle Howard is an hour by bus, but the bus does not run on Sundays.
Do I need a car for the Yorkshire Dales?
Not strictly, but it helps. Without one you take the train to Skipton and the infrequent bus on to Malham; by car it is about an hour and twenty.
Is Whitby worth it from York?
It is, as a full day. The 840 takes about two hours twenty across the North York Moors, and above the harbour is the abbey that gave Bram Stoker the scene of Dracula's arrival in England.
Ready for York?
Where to next
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How well does York suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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