I am interested in finding out more about travel thru Yorkshire. Rick has a chapter about York and a page about the region north of York. Doesn't give me much to plan from. I have looked up Yorkshire on websites and find that Thirsk would be a town I would like to stay in; my husband is an "all creatures great and small" freak and has fantasies about living in Yorkshire. DO any of you have any suggestions as to what guidebook has more informative chapters on Yorkshire? I would consider a car if I had no other option to get around and see all the quaint villages.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Howard Peach - - Curious Tales of Old North Yorkshire. Read it first and then decide what you want to see. Thirsk is pretty central for both the Moors and the Dales, but you're going have to run the whole coast too - - the only thing worth only an ice-cream stop is Scarborough, the rest is great. You can really screw up by spending too much time in York itself. One hint: when driving down to Robin Hoods Bay, go really slow as you crest the hill. I went over the edge at less than thirty per and the drop-off was so steep I thought I'd driven over the cliff - - all I could see was water - - and it was still a couple of miles away. Bad acid taste in my mouth and I like to lost my lunch.
Posted by
Nashville, TN, USA
3872 posts
Two guidebooks that both have chapters on Yorkshire are: Lonely Planet, England (53 pages on Yorkshire) and England, The Rough Guide (101 pages on Yorkshire). I am looking at the pages that detail Thirsk, for example. The Lonely Planet book has 26 pages about the area you're interested in, several paragraphs on the town and listings of B&B's and cafes. The Rough Guide book has 27 pages about the Thirsk area and surrounding towns and some B&B and cafe suggestions. Both books have full page maps of each region they cover, and city maps. You can look at both online or in a bookstore and see which suits you. Both of these books are excellent.
Posted by
Nashville, TN, USA
3872 posts
Kelly, Have you looked at the thread, "Tour of England/Ireland/Scotland..Help!". You may want to read the 9th posting on this thread. It is by Debbie, and she is detailing a trip she took in April through Thirsk and surrounding areas. Here's the thread: http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/85620/tour-of-englandirelandscotlandhelp.html You may want to send her a private message and communicate about her trip. I'm sure she would have some good information for you.
Posted by
Chicagoland
279 posts
If you do drive, make sure you go to Rievaulx Abbey, which is in the North York Moors National Park. It was my favorite stop on our 18-day trip last month! Beautiful ruins that are surprisingly intact considering how old they are (1150 for the oldest part of the abbey, and the roof has been off since Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in the mid 1500s). The setting is peaceful, with relatively few tourists, and the main thing you hear is the sheep bleating in the nearby fields. Just stunning!
Posted by
Ampleforth, North York, United Kingdom
1 posts
I think you would benefit by hiring a car. You could get a train to Thirsk station and you can arrange car hire approx £35per day to collect it at the station. The James Herriot Museum is in town and Skeldale vets -the new one is on the outskirts- we use this sometimes when we need to take our dogs- www.cuckavalda-gundogs.co.uk. There is a selection of both hotels and b and bs in Thirsk. We live approx 11 miles away www.carrhousefarm.co.uk and find that people actually like to stay out of the town and enjoy the "Herriot" countryside and stay on a farm that actually used James Herriot the vet when he was practicing and have a few tales to tell.