My husband and I will be in York the week of 4 September and are wanting to take a day trip to Thirsk to see the James Herriot Museum. We will be dependent on public transportation and I have been looking at bus service to get us there. Does anyone have personal experience or advice about using the Reliance bus service? I've been looking on their website and at their schedule. I think I understand what I'm looking at (lol)...and btw, are there any alternatives to Reliance to get us there? (besides cab or renting a car). Reliance website does not (or at least I couldn't find) the cost or method of payment for service.
Any advice and/or clarification very much appreciated. Thanks again...Wendy
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7168 posts
It looks like their might be an hourly train to Thirsk station and you can call a taxi from there to town.
Posted by
New England
702 posts
We visited Thirsk from York this past May. We would have taken the public bus, but we were visiting on a Sunday, the one day the buses don’t run. So we took the train from York to Thirsk and prebooked a cab to bring us the mile and a half or so to the center of town. We could have walked (30 min) but chose not to. The benefit of taking the bus instead of the train is that it drops off in the center of Thirsk.
The Thirsk tourist board was very helpful in answering questions we emailed them ahead of our trip. For example, they pointed us to the taxi cab info page on their website which gives phone numbers for pre booking and also explained the station location relative to town center. Here is their page on bus service between York and Thirsk.
I think the 30 and 30x routes are operated by Reliance. In looking at this section of Reliance’s webpage, they say that you can pay the driver with a contactless credit card, Apple Pay, or G pay. The Thirsk tourist information webpage says that bus fares are capped at 2 pounds until the end of October and then will be £2.50 for the following 12 months. So, quite a deal!
We really enjoyed the World of James Herriot, and also enjoyed browsing Thirsk’s shops (being Sunday, many of the regular shops were closed but lunch places and tourist-focused were open for the folks visiting).
I imagine our helpful forum friends in the UK will post when their day starts over there. Enjoy your visit!
Posted by
Lake District, England
8151 posts
Really just to confirm the above post. They are in the £2 each way flat fare scheme, I have confirmed that this morning from the government list
They will drop you off less than 5 minutes walk away.
It never hurts to have cash with you, just in case of machine or card failure.
Reliance have been around since before Adam was a lad and have a high reputation.
Transpennine have an hourly train service each way if you want to mix and match or its a Sunday.
Very easy and straightforward journey. A bus where you will meet the locals.
If you wanted to you could come back via the Cathedral City of Ripon on the £2 fares- Reliance #70 to Ripon, then Transdev York and City #22 to York. Ripon is a charming small town, and it's a fine Cathedral. The #22 runs every two hours through lots of small villages, a locals bus, so check your timings. It stops in York at the train station and at Piccadilly bus interchange.
Or do Ripon first and then Thirsk.
EDIT- Just checked the list. The Reliance #70 was withdrawn from the £2 fare cap in June, but all other Reliance services are still in the scheme.