Visiting Yorkshire without a Car
Welcome to the first in a series of guides for those of you who can’t drive but are eager to explore the English countryside. For many years I thought it was extremely difficult to do, with the exception of visiting towns that had a train station, but the more I tried, the more possibilities I discovered!
And since there’s no better way to write than from personal experience, I figured I’d document what I found out so anyone else looking into travelling to certain locations by public transport only can see what’s possible for them.
P.s. If you’re from Yorkshire then this is probably all stuff you already know and please do excuse me for describing in detail how to get a bus ticket in a place that’s not London, but as someone who likes to plan in DETAIL, it’s the kind of knowledge that I wanted to pass on to fellow travellers.
Top Withens near Haworth
Wuthering Heights Pilgrimage
(ad) I’m happy to announce that I’ll be joining a Wuthering Heights Common Ground Pilgrimage as their Faculty Staff, which means I’ll be hosting all the classes and workshops during the trip! It’s taking place September 6-11 2024, and you can head over here to find out more.
How to pick where you stay
I stayed somewhere in the area between North and West Yorkshire, on the South side of the Yorkshire Dales. We picked our location based on a few specific sights we wanted to visit (Haworth, Bolton Abbey) and after that the transport links were the most important decision-maker. Here are some points you’ll want to keep in mind when picking your location:
Atmosphere
If your main aim for your stay is to be in the middle of nature, or to enjoy the charm of a small town, try to start by finding an AirBnB or hotel that speaks to you most! Don’t worry too much about local transport and just make sure you’ll be able to take a taxi to the location and back. If there’s no local shop in walking distance, pick up some groceries before taking a taxi to the place you’ll be staying at. If you’re not cooking for all meals, scope out the local pub scene. If there isn’t much info about the look of the local area, it’s always worth doing some Google Maps street view or 360 photo vibe checks. You’d be surprised at how many places you can take a look at now!
Walking routes on your doorstep
If you’re an avid walker you might want to pick a location that’s right on the edge of a few different routes you want to visit, or you can choose to split your trip across 2 or 3 different accommodations. By staying close to the start of a walking route the night before and after, you’ll avoid any hassle of having to catch the last bus or train home and you can go straight from the trail to your bed. Malham Cove is a great example of being more remote with very limited public transport, but it has some very accessible accommodation in the small town. If you haven’t done many countryside walks in England before, it’s good to know that the local tourist information point usually sells maps for custom walks + there’s a wealth of walking instructions available online.
Transport connections
If travelling around to lots of locations is your focus, it’s worth staying in a town that has a few different transport options, especially if it’s got train and/or bus connections to other towns that run all day. Ideally you won’t have to take more than a train + a bus to get anywhere, as from my experience having to take more than one bus can get a bit tricky in the Dales. Having a train station and bus station within easy walking distance, plus a handful of restaurants or a grocery shop will make your life a lot easier! And if you still want to head into nature properly, there should be plenty of opportunities nearby.
Pick your dates wisely
Don’t rely on the random route search you did when you first started planning your trip. Especially around Covid closures, but also during holidays, weekdays, etc, there will be lots of activities you can’t do every day of the week. Like the look of the steam train to the neighbouring town? Make sure it’s actually running on the day and time you’re looking for it. There’s a regular bus to your planned location? The schedule could look very different on a Sunday (e.g. 1 bus an hour, from 11 am to 2 pm). You might find that you’ll need to plan where you’re staying specifically around the dates that your planned activity is available, or that there is public transport running to get you there. Most likely you’ll be able to figure it all out, but it’s worth doing to avoid disappointment.
Central Bases to Stay
Don’t have anywhere in particular you want to visit, but just want to stay in a versatile place with lots of connections? Skipton and Settle are some pretty solid options for the Dales, Pickering looks like quite a good option for the North York Moors and there’s also lots of public transport going directly from York.
Public Transport
So, what’s the deal with public transport in Yorkshire? Having lived in London for the last 10 years and growing up in the Netherlands (which has excellent public transport + you can cycle everywhere easily as a backup) I’m often not very sure how realistic my countryside travel plans are. I’ve previously gotten off a 3-hour train from London ready to jump on a bus I’d researched, to be told by locals that the bus in question didn’t exist anymore…
But now that I’ve gotten to experience the local Yorkshire public transport myself, here’s what you need to know:
Buses
Look up the bus schedule! You can plan your general routes in Google Maps, which seems to be pretty up-to-date. But once you’ve found the right bus, also make sure to download the schedule and look for any notes on specific dates/days of the week. Also find out the last and first bus of the day, as you might be surprised by those times. Very vital information!
Most buses will take contactless payments. It’s worth keeping some cash on hand, but you should be fine if you have a contactless card.
For buses, figure out your end destination and just ask for a single or return to your destination from the bus driver as you get on. You’ll pay and then the ticket will be printed for you to take from the machine on the bus yourself. (This might be logical for UK travellers, but is handy info for foreign travellers.) Some of the buses also operated on a ‘tap in, tap out’ system, where you don’t have to buy a specific ticket and just tap your card when you get on and off the bus. You can check this with your friendly local bus driver or bus ticket office if you’re at a bus station (or observe the people before you).
Many bus systems also have discounted tickets you can buy online or via an app, in case you’ll be taking the same bus or buses in the same area lot. The ‘tap in, tap out’ system usually also has an automated daily cap.
Some of the buses we took were more like local shuttles. They only go a very limited number of times a day, but sometimes they’re the only way to reach a remote location. Again, just ask the driver how to pay, most likely you just do so on the day.
Trains
Trains are pretty straightforward, so not much to share on that topic. However, if you’re not from the UK it might be helpful to know that you can book them in advance for cheaper prices (as the price can vary significantly depending on when you buy, so don’t leave the book of longer train journeys until the day of travel, trust me), but for shorter local trains you can just get the Trainline app and book the ticket right before you jump on board. Long-distance trains often require advance bookings and will have seat assignments (especially during Covid).
Steam Trains?
I’m making this a separate section, as it’s a tourist attraction as well as a mode of transport. Across Yorkshire there are a few old fashioned steam trains running, but on pretty sparse schedules and not every day of the week or every season. There’s the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, which also stops a Haworth, the home of the Brontë Parsonage, the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway that (as you might have gathered) goes from Embsay to Bolton Abbey, and there’s a few more! You can order ‘day rover’ tickets in advance if you’re planning on hopping on and off, buy a return in a private compartment or just show up and buy a ticket at the station. The historic stations are beautiful and the staff looks the part in historic outfits. Would highly recommend it!
Taxis
I’ve had some excellent and some really bad experiences with taxis in the countryside (for example the time we got stuck in the middle of nowhere at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland because the 10 local taxi companies we called were all not working on Sunday). It’s always worth giving the local taxi company a quick call before you travel to see if there’s anything you need to keep mind. But very often for 10-30 min rides they should be able to help you out. If you’re really scared you might get stuck somewhere, make sure to pre-book. And ask for the pricing in advance, so you can make sure you’ve got enough cash on hand. All taxis on the trip I took required cash, though there might be some that will also take card.
Tours
If you’ve exhausted Google Maps and truly can’t find a connection to get to your destination of choice or just want to cram more locations into your shorter trip? Tours might be an excellent solution! I haven’t done any myself in a good while, but it’s definitely something I’ve looked into for future trips to remote locations. It’s not always a massive bus filled with 50 tourists, often you can book a smaller van tour (for 6-10 people, so you might be matched with a few other travellers) and a knowledgeable guide. They’ll whiz you through the countryside, and you’ll get to hit all your favourite locations in a day. You might not have loads of freedom to take it slow and wander around, but it’s a great alternative.
Places to Visit
I’ve only visited Yorkshire twice, so I don’t have an exhaustive list of every beautiful town you can visit, but these are some of my personal highlights that I would visit again without a doubt, plus a few that are on my list for next time. Apparently I’m all about the Abbeys!
Bolton Abbey
I can’t explain how magical this place feels and it’s my #1 recommendation. I visited once before on a trip with my parents and loved jumping over the stones in the river, which reminded me of the stepping stones in Sabriel by Garth Nix. You can just feel history come alive here. The ruins of the abbey are in a beautiful valley, and there’s a second-hand bookshop and a few cafes close to the abbey too. On my more recent trip we visited on a very sunny day, which meant the valley was filled with families enjoying the water. It also meant that there was a massive queue for the stepping stones as quite a few small kids couldn’t quite make it across. So tip 1: if you’re visiting during a holiday period, show up early or late to beat the crowds. Tip 2: if you’re not coming by car, it’s FREE to visit and you can just walk onto the grounds. Tip 3: for safety you might want to leave your valuables on shore with a friend when crossing the stepping stones, as I saw many people lose their balance on the slanted stones!
Malham Cove & the Gordale Scar
If you don’t like stairs… beware. Although, to be honest, this is a brilliant place to visit even if you don’t make it all the way to the top. Malham Cove has been the set for both Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, plus the 2009 Wuthering Heights adaptation. We took a twice-a-day shuttle bus from Skipton, which seems to be the easiest public transport link. If you want to take your time to explore, you can also stay the night in one of the lovely bed and breakfasts. The Cove is a lovely stroll from Malham, with an option to walk on a white path or to take the clearly indicated route through the fields and stone wall-lined paths (HIGHLY recommended). We couldn’t believe how beautiful the valley was! Then it’s 400 stairs all the way to the top. It’s hard, but very doable with a few breaks and I think it probably took me no longer than 30 min from top to bottom. If you don’t feel tired yet, you can keep going to the Gordale Scar, a limestone ravine, which looks absolutely stunning and is on a list for the future!
Haworth & The Brontë Parsonage
The hometown of the famous Brontë sisters will be getting a full blog post of its very own, so for now I’ll just share that it’s a must-visit for any Brontë fan. From visiting the house where they lived (the Brontë Parsonage) and the graveyard they could see from their windows, to the moors just outside of town and the very steep but beautiful high street, it’s an incredibly unique experience. I fully immersed myself by listening to the Wuthering Heights audiobook while wandering around. You can also hike to the sisters’ favourite spot, the Brontë Waterfall and Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse on the moors which was a ‘possible inspiration’ for Wuthering Heights.
Skipton Castle
This well-preserved castle is perfectly located in the charming town Skipton. Currently the castle is running with a self-guided tour. The inside is mostly empty, but even just the fairy-tale like courtyard is worth a visit. You’ll probably spend about an hour here and can spend another hour or two exploring the town.
East Riddlesden Hall
Located a 30 minute walk from Keighley station (or a 5 minute bus) is the beautiful East Riddlesden Hall. I spotted it on a random castle and estate map search, as I was staying close to Keighley (the town centre itself isn’t super picturesque, so can probably be left off your list). All the guides inside the property were so friendly and chatty and there are beautiful (small-ish) gardens to explore. I didn’t realise until after my visit that it’s also where the outside of Wuthering Heights was filmed for the 2009 adaptation. They mostly used the front (which I didn’t get pictures of due to a queue of people) in the show and I immediately recognised it when I watched the series the week after I returned. It’s definitely worth a visit, plus you can take some broody pics pretending to be Tom Hardy as Heathcliffe, lurking around the corner of the front door. What’s not to love? It’s also a National Trust property, so don’t forget your card if you’re a member.
On my wishlist
These are some of the places I haven’t had the chance to visit myself yet, so can’t share any personal experience from, but that are high on my list!
Fountains Abbey. Looks similarly awe-inducing as Bolton Abbey, with beautiful grounds to explore. Can be reached by bus from Ripon.
Rievaulx Abbey. For your North York Moors abbey ruin needs. No direct bus connection, but you can walk from Hemsley via an existing path (you can reach Hemsley via bus from York).
North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Goathland Station. This is where they filmed the Hogsmeade train station! Can be reached directly by bus from York (or a shorter trip from Whitby).
Whitby. The coastal town that was the setting for Bram Stoker’s Dracula which also features the beautiful Whitby Abbey ruins. It’s located about 2-2.5 hours by public transport from York (1 train and 1 bus or one direct bus).
Ribblehead Viaduct. This can be reached via train from Settle or any other connecting town to the North. (I don’t know why I was surprised there was a train you could take… it is a train viaduct after all!).
Castle Howard. If you’re all about the giant stately homes, this one is for you. There’s a direct bus from York, appropriately called the CastleLine.
Hardraw Force Waterfall. This is a weird bonus one. I visited it by car on a previous family trip and randomly found it on the map again while researching. I remember it being very pretty, but it’s a bit tricky to get to, so maybe only one for if you’re in the local area already. Though it can also be reached by 1.5 hour bus from Leyburn.
Travel Checklist
You’ve made your plans, booked your accommodation, but maybe you still feel like you missed something? Use the checklist below to make sure you’re 100% prepared and can relax and wait for your trip to begin.
Use Google Streetview to check for beautiful nature areas you want to visit near your accommodation
Download all needed public transport times/schedules
Take out cash for taxis
Download the Google Maps area offline
Bookmark/screenshot any public walking routes from https://footpathmap.co.uk/ (handy for when you’re going off paths and onto farmer’s fields)
Download descriptions of specific walking routes
Need to walk from a town to your accommodation? Check if there’s a pavement on Google Streetview or make alternative plans.
Check the dates for any unexpected closures for any attractions
Write down the numbers of several local taxis
Create some backup routes or entertainment if needed (due to weather or being tired)
Planning to eat at a pub while travelling through? Check if they stop serving food during the afternoon
Weather essentials: cap, sunscreen, rain jacket and appropriate shoes
Check pronunciations for the towns you’re visiting and you’ll blend in like a local on the bus when buying your ticket
Bring backup snacks so you don’t have to rely on finding an open cornershop right before your next adventure
Have you packed a book/board game/Chromecast to plug into the TV at your accommodation?
Bring whatever you need to package your own picnic (reusable ziplock bags, fork, etc.)
Don’t forget your National Trust membership and/or travel card if you have one!
Got everything? Enjoy your journey to Yorkshire! If you're visiting any places I’ve shared, have your own places to recommend or found any of the above tips helpful, I’d love to read all about it in a comment below.
