Traveling south from the Yorkshire Dales toward Healthrow

Between Yorkshire Dales and York, you could visit the coastal towns of Whitby, Robin Hoods Bay, and Scarborough. I say this without knowing what weather you could expect in October, it we were there in late April and it was lovely.

Or maybe the Lake district? Out of the way in the opposite direction, but distances are not great.

I am not sure you have room for much more. The Cotswolds, Cornwall, and Wales will keep you very busy. By the time you get to Yorkshire, you may want to slow your pace some. Its one of my favorite areas of England and there are so many beautiful villages to visit between the Dales and the Moors you could spend a week here. Trust me you won't want to leave! Oxford may fit in better from your base in the Cotswolds. York is a good day out from your base in the Dales. On your drive/train to London, you could stop in Cambridge. But If you do have 4-5 days left and you are driving you could venture into the Norfolk Broads and come down through the Suffolk/Essex villages on your way back to London.

We have a four week drive tour of Wales ;and England that includes Bath, Cardiff, Tenby, a small village in SW Wales, the Cotswolds (visiting Oxford, Blenheim Palace, Stratford on Avon and Warwick). then three nights in York, then on to the Yorkshire Dales and Whitby, then north to Durham, Hadrian's Wall and the Lake District, ending in Winchester and Southampton.

When reserving B&Bs for our stope, I made sure that parking was provided. Parking can be very expensive in many places in UK cities.

I am biased, of course, but there should be plenty to do in Yorkshire, especially if you are based in the Dales. The Dales are full of small villages and fantastic scenery and if the weather is kind, it has absolutely mile upon mile of excellent walking. The post re the east coast is good but inland there are the delights of Malham, Ingleton, Dent, Buckden and the like. It all depends where in the Dales you are based which is nearer.

If you must tear yourself away from Yorkshire, then the Lakes are a good call and I think the Northumberland coast is stunning - I'm thinking of the area from Lindisfarne (Holy Island) down to Alnmouth and Warkworth and the like. Castles, beaches small coastal towns and villages and nobody there much!

I wonder if visiting Oxford you might be best to take the Intercity rail link from York or Leeds to London and take another train out to Oxford, possibly as an extended part of the journey back to Heathrow? Mainly because the intercity link from Yorkshire to London is quick (around two and a half hours) and direct. (I'm not entirely sure, but it may be possible to connect to Oxford from the Intercity east coast line at Peterborough - would bear more investigation!).

Have a great trip and fingers crossed for decent weather for you!

Ian

it may be possible to connect to Oxford from the Intercity east coast line at Peterborough - would bear more investigation!).

Not without a VERY convoluted route. The Varsity line joining Cambridge and Oxford was hoiked out many years ago and perhaps will be piecemeal replaced in the next 10 years of so... so in the meantime it is much faster into London from Peterborough and back out to Oxford. Otherwise the poor OP would be trying something like Peterborough > Leicester (very slow) > Nuneaton > Coventry > Oxford.....

I am also biased, that's what comes with living in the biggest and most beautiful county in England.
You could easy find a week's worth of stuff to do in the Dales ,nearly all the towns are quaint and the drives over the heads of the valley s dramatic.
How can you not want to go to Jordas Cave, Buttertubbs Pass, Hardraw Force, Tan Hill, Cold Stones Cut quarry ( not it quite what it sounds).
That nice Mr Bill Bryson lived umongst us while in the UK

Thanks for the clarification Nigel, I hoped I might summon you up! I wasn't sure which is why my initial recommendation was to go to London and get a second train from there. Although I didn't want to miss a potential opportunity to do the trip an alternative, quicker and shorter way.

My trips to Oxford have been infrequent to put it mildly - I'm from Yorkshire!

Ian

Yorkshire Dales to York (& visit) to Oxford (&visit) is minimum 4-5 days, there is no time for anything else!

And I know you said you were driving, but for anyone else thinking of going from York to Oxford by train you simply get on at York and get off at Oxford, there are direct trains almost every hour through the day.

and Bill Bryson has lived in the south of England for the last 14 years but don't tell Yorkshire.......