Day trip from York by public transit

Knaresborough- the previous stop to Harrogate on the train- is smaller, and quite interesting in its own right. If you saw the 2019 romantic movie A Very British Christmas, it was largely filmed there, and very recognisably so.

Malton, the intermediate stop on the train to Scarborough (also on the bus route to Scarborough and Whitby) is another interesting small town.

On the main line to Durham Northallerton (2 stops North of York, at least hourly trains, mainly TransPennine, but some LNER) is another nice small town. Unlike Thirsk the station is pretty central. Originally a Roman town, has a big market on Wednesday and Saturday.

The Cathedral city of Ripon by frequent bus #36 from Harrogate, or direct by bus from York is another possibility. At 16,000 population it is the 3rd smallest city in the UK.

PS- If this day is a Sunday there is a direct bus, #822, which goes to Grassington via Pateley Bridge. That could be ideal for you. You could either spend all day there, or come back to Ripon for the afternoon after a few hours in PB. Then the bus straight back from Ripon to York. It is operated with a double decker bus for great views.

We took the train to Harrogate and went to Betty's (no line like in York). On the way back, we stopped at Knaresborough, which might be what you're looking for. A quick walk up to the castle provides an excellent view. Buy the train ticket that allows you to get off and on where you like.

The easiest trip looks to be Harrogate and/or Knaresborough by train. Unfortunately, a number of places that are easy to get to by car from York aren't that easy by public transport.

These would include - Castle Howard, a magnificent country house with lovely gardens and the small market town of Beverley. There are buses to both, although the bus to Castle Howard is infrequent and may not run on Sundays.

Hi mistime -

If you decide to go to Ripon on the frequent bus service, then you are only three miles from the Fountains Abbey complex (huge abbey ruins as a ‘water feature’ in the landscaped water gardens) which is well worth a visit. There is a linking bus I believe from Ripon or there are several walking routes from Ripon.

Also nearby Ripon is the remarkable Markenfield Hall, a moated, fortified residence. It’s only open a few days a year (still in private hands) but worthy of investigation if open while you are nearby. There’ll be a bus stop on the main road towards Harrogate from the ‘36’ route but a fairly long walk up a narrow lane from there, so taxi from Ripon might be easiest if you can plan a visit.

Ian

There's an hourly direct train to Beverley. It's slow at around 90 minutes but direct.

On a sunny day - I have been told that Yorkshire does get them (!) - Fountains Abbey is beautiful. Depending on how many there are in your party, getting a taxi from Ripon might be a quick and cost effective solution.

If you do to Ripon, it's worth visiting Ripon Cathedral. It's crypt, which I think can be visited, dates from the 7th Century.

We did Castle Howard, but we had a rental car.
Also, don't miss Durham.
In York, don't miss the National Railway Museum.

Another vote for Knaresborough. I did a day trip there last year and really enjoyed it.

Another suggestion would be to do a second day tour. I did two different ones and really fell in love with the countryside.

You might find the first part of my trip report helpful as it details my day trips/tours:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-in-the-uk-my-york-and-edinburgh-trip-report

It's worth noting that the National Railway museum is free to enter, although they may charge for some special displays etc. When we went a few years ago, we were asked to queue up simply to go to a desk to be asked for a donation. We didn't have to queue for long, but when we left, I'd guess the queuing time was around 15 mins which seems a ridiculous waste of time.

If this happens, leave the queue and enter the exit of the gift shop and from its entrance go into the museum itself.

York Castle Museum (not free, I think), is also well worth a visit.

Thanks everyone for these great ideas for York and for day trips. We are thinking we might go to Knaresborough for the day since our guided tour with Grand Yorkshire Tours goes to Ripon as well as the other places I mentioned.
We were in Beverley before York and really loved the Minster and Evensong there.
We will do the York Castle Museum. Thanks for suggesting it.

Harrogate is great, but if you want villages and incredible countryside, I'd recommend taking the #81 bus to the Howardian Hills. Every place there is postacard-worthy and it is home to Castle Howard, one of the more incredible stately homes in the entire country. It's also the least-frequented Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the UK, so you don't have to worry about crowds.

Here's a link to the bus schedule:

https://bustimes.org/services/81-york-claxton-sheriff-hutton-castle-howard-malto

Good luck!!

You could take a train from York to Helmsley, which is a lovely village that was close to where I stayed. Nice restaurants and shopping and the Helmsley Castle ruins make it a good day trip. Also, just 3 miles up the road is Rievaulx Abbey, which is an incredible site, and one of my favorite places in the UK (although I also loved Fountains Abbey). If you wanted to get some walking in, there is a really nice walk from Helmsley to the Abbey, which is about 3 miles. You could walk both ways, or get a cab from Helmsley to take you to the Abbey, then walk back. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/travel-guides/helmsley-to-rievaulx/

Thanks everyone for your excellent ideas! We ended up doing three day trips although one was with a tour, Grand Yorkshire, on the World of James Herriot tour. We had a wonderful day!
We also went to Castle Howard and loved the garden (so big and beautiful) and the house and we thought we were getting on a bus (on a Sunday) and there was no bus so we called an uber last minute which is very rare for us to do. We got an uber for the way back too.
The third trip was by train to Durham. We loved Durham, especially the Cathedral. So magnificent with a lot of Norman features which we loved!

Thanks for reporting back. It sounds like you had 3 great day trips.

Glad it all panned out well!

Oh, that's great that you got to Castle Howard! I saw that on my first trip in 1996 and absolutely loved it! I also loved Durham Cathedral, and could easily visit it every single time I come back. It sounds like everything went very well! Thanks for the update!