7 best day trips from York

Day trips compared

The day trips

25 km · About 40 minutes by car or bus

1.Castle Howard

One of England's grandest stately homes, designed by John Vanbrugh in the early 18th century, with a painted dome, a vast landscaped park with temples and lakes, and an adventure playground. It is famous as a filming location for Brideshead Revisited.

Getting there

Bus from York in season, or car

Best for

Families, Couples, Culture

75 km · About 1 hour 30 minutes–2 hours by car or coach

2.Whitby

A fishing port on the North Yorkshire coast where 199 steps climb to the clifftop ruins of Whitby Abbey, which helped inspire Bram Stoker's Dracula. Fish and chips by the harbour and the Captain Cook Memorial Museum complete the day.

Getting there

Coach from York, car, or train via Middlesbrough

Best for

Families, Couples, Beach

35 km · About 35 minutes by train

3.Harrogate

An elegant Victorian spa town with the Royal Pump Room Museum, the Turkish Baths, the Valley Gardens and the original Bettys tearoom, surrounded by the open lawns of the Stray.

Getting there

Train from York

Best for

Couples, Quiet stays, Food lovers

28 km · About 30 minutes by train

4.Knaresborough

A small market town on a gorge of the River Nidd, with a railway viaduct over the river, rowing boats for hire, castle ruins on the clifftop and Mother Shipton's Cave and petrifying well.

Getting there

Train from York

Best for

Families, Couples, Quiet stays

45 km · About 50 minutes by car

5.Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal

The ruins of a 12th-century Cistercian abbey, among the largest and best-preserved in England, set beside an 18th-century water garden with ponds, temples and a deer park. It is a National Trust and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Getting there

Car, or bus via Ripon

Best for

Culture, Quiet stays, Families

65 km · About 50 minutes by train

6.Scarborough

A traditional seaside resort with two sandy bays separated by a headland crowned by Scarborough Castle, a harbour, a funicular railway and a long promenade.

Getting there

Train from York

Best for

Families, Beach

40 km · About 1 hour by car or bus to Pickering

7.North York Moors Railway

A heritage steam railway runs from Pickering across the heather moorland of the North York Moors via Goathland, which doubled as Hogsmeade station in the Harry Potter films, with some trains continuing to Whitby.

Getting there

Bus or car to Pickering, then the heritage railway

Best for

Families, Couples, Quiet stays

Day-trip tips

• Leave early: most trips are more relaxed with a morning departure and a return before dinner.
• Local buses run from the station and the centre to the suburbs, the university and the Park and Ride sites on the ring road.
• York station is a major hub on the East Coast Main Line, with direct trains to London King's Cross in about 2 hours, Edinburgh in about 2 hours 30 minutes, and Leeds, Manchester, Harrogate and Scarborough.
• For trips over about 150 km, an overnight stay or an organised tour saves a lot of travelling.

Questions travellers ask