Day trips from York

Don't ignore York -- it is full of great things to see.

This recent thread tells you how to do York to Haworth on a day trip by public transport from York- https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/day-trips-from-york-including-haworth

Beverley is easy to do by bus from York.

Whitby is another great bus ride.

That bus also stops at Pickering to allow you to take The North Yorkshire Moor Steam Railway to Whitby

For Ripon take the frequent train via Knaresborough to Harrogate then the service 36 bus.

Thirsk (for the James Herriot Museum- All Creatures Great and Small) is either a short hourly train ride (then a half hour walk into town) or Reliance Service 30 bus.

On a Sunday you can get to Fountains Abbey or far into the Yorkshire Dales (as far as Hawes) on the Summer Dalesbus network; or way into the North Yorkshire Moors on the Moorsbus network

Durham is a short and frequent train ride.

On a Saturday train to Harrogate then the bus 59 (see the Dalesbus book above) to Bolton Abbey and the Strid.

That's just a few ideas.

We took a daytrip to Durham from York and enjoyed it.

From my trip report:

We took a daytrip to Durham. When we arrived, we headed straight for Durham Cathedral and wow, this one turned out to be our favorite of the trip. Absolutely stunning. We thought this little city was pleasant and we had a great day here – we wandered around Durham Market Hall, had coffee and Millionaire’s Shortbread, discovered Gregg’s Bakery (best sausage rolls of the trip), and sat enjoying the view at The Riverwalk. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-york-and-edinburgh-aug-sept-2023

I took two day tours last year from York and highly recommend both:

https://www.mountain-goat.com/Yorkshire/Scheduled-Tours/North-York-Moors-and-Whitby

https://bobholidays.com/tours/herriot/

If you’d like, you can read more details from my trip report:

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

Another vote for Durham. I went as a day trip from York about a year ago and the cathedral alone is worth the trip. Also, it's a really pretty little city. Great pubs. If you see both Durham Cathedral and York Minster it will be interesting to note the differences as each is unique in their own way.

And one more vote for Durham. The cathedral was fascinating to me, and we enjoyed a boat ride on the river.

In York they have a free public tour by volunteer guides https://avgyork.co.uk/ that was really informative

If you are a fan of "All Creatures Great and Small" show or book series then the Herriot Museum is an easy bus ride from York and drops you 100 yards from the museum. Although we haven't done them there are also tour companies in York that will take you out to the countryside for a few hours.

Last May when we visited York we did 2 days out in addition to seeing York itself:

Full-day private (customizable) driving tour with Tim Barber, who shared local history and food treats as we visited a series of gorgeous dales and charming villages.
http://www.realyorkshiretours.co.uk/

Morning at Rielvaulx Abbey and afternoon at World of James Herriot in Thirsk (on our own). We took public transport to Thirsk and arranged a taxi from there to the Abbey.

Enjoy whatever you do!