York Travel Forum

I'll be arriving in London early on May 24, plan to spend the day exploring London before taking a late train to York. It may be late (near midnight) before I get to York. Are there accomodations close to the train station? Also, will I have any difficulty getting taxi service at that hour? Finally, approximately how long will it take me to drive from York to Sunderland?

www.visityork.org lists all available accommodation in the city, and has online city centre maps so you can see what is where. It's not that big a place (I wonder if you have looked at a US-based website which implies that the railway station is 16 miles + from any hotels etc???) so you shouldn't have a problem.

The station is pretty near the centre of the city, within easy walking distance (about 10 minutes max to the absolute centre). There's a taxi-rank right outside the station entrance; if there are trains, there will be taxis (though you might have to wait a bit, depending).

York to Sunderland should take a bit less than 2 hours, depending on traffic. Use www.theaa.com/travelwatch/planner_main.jsp?database=B to plan your route (make sure you choose the right Sunderland!).

Indeed there are taxis in a rank outside the station exit (and just around the corner to the right up the hill there is a cab office if it gets too quiet at the station).

The station is right in the city centre so there is not a lot of walking involved. In fact, one of York's top hotels is next door to the station - the Royal York:

http://www.principal-hotels.com//royalyork/index.aspx

But if that's above your budget, there is also Park Inn, just five minute's walk from the station, inside the city walls (hotel is along the river):

http://www.rezidorparkinn.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=ParkInn/integration/hotelInfo&hotelCode=qqypd&language=en

Are you hiring a car to go to Sunderland? Do you really need to drive? There are regular trains from York - we can advise if you want train help.

When I leave Sunderland I want to go north into Scotland, stopping wherever looks interesting. Also, I want to have everything ready to head north once I finish with my meeting in Sunderland. That's the main reason for the car.

Good point - good luck with driving in the UK.