York Travel Forum

My husband and I will be arriving in York on July 11th and departing for the US on July 14th. During the three days we have, we'd like to see some of the high spots in York, go to Wakefield (husband's ancestor's roots), Nottingham, Leeds, Batley and then arrive late in Manchester. We need suggestions if we should find one central place to stay for the nights of the 11th and 12th or if we should find two different places. We're planning on staying close to the Manchester Airport on the 13th. Also, should we hire a car or take the bus to get around? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much in advance.

You have got to hire a car if you want to see that much in three days. It is more expensive than the US yes but then again so is public transport and public transport in the UK just ain't reliable enough. I would never attempt such an itinerary here without a car.

York, Leeds, Batley, Wakefield are fairly close to each other. Nottingham is a bit of a trek there and back and this poses the most difficulty. I would start at Nottingham and work my way back up to Yorkshire to Batley & Wakefield and end up at York, spend time in York say on the evening of 11th, spend the 12th in York. York is by far the most picturesque of the places & maybe this would be the best place to stay. An early start on the 13th to Leeds and then on to the airport. The distances are small compared to US so you could do this staying in one place. The Nottingham bit is the most troublesome. Hope this helps

Bus is out of the question in the time you have allowed; too slow. Train would be possible for the main places, but I doubt you would be able to fit in everywhere in your list.

If you are happy to hire a car, then do so; car hire is tightly regulated in the UK so I suggest you find a firm online (google for 'car hire york') which offers a small car at a good price. However, if you want to drop off the car elsewhere (e.g. Manchester) this will add a substantial amount to the bill. Also, be aware that petrol is just under 1GBP per litre, and that parking is also quite expensive (and often difficult in city centres). Use the journey planner on this link:

http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/planner_main.jsp?database=B

It will give you a detailed route plan, which you can print out, and fairly accurate journey times. However, always allow more than you think you will need to allow for traffic congestion (UK journeys always take longer than it would seem from a map).

I suggest you spend 12th in York, then use 13th for Wakefield/Batley/Leeds. Drop off the car, then get the train to Nottingham (www.nationalrail.co.uk will give you times and fares), then the train to Manchester.

Personally, I'd drop Nottingham altogether (unless you have a personal reason for visiting) and spend all your time on the other places, dropping the car in York and getting an evening train to Manchester.

Use the train in my opinion - fares in West Yorkshire are reasonably cheap and the services good - you don't even need a timetable - just turn up at a station and there will be a train at least every 30 minutes and more often on some routes.
If you base yourself in Leeds - Wakefield only 15 minutes away but use a Leeds to Wakefield Westgate train (destination Doncaster and / or London(don't get a train that stops at Wakefield Kirkgte as the ride is longer and the station is not central like Westgate). York every 20 minutes or so on either Newcastle, Middlesborough or Scarboroigh bound trains. Batley every 20 minutes or so on Manchester Piccadilly/Airport bound trains. You can even get a direct train to Nottingham but as everyone says a longish journey at about two hours.
Have a look at :-
www.transpennineexpress.co.uk
www.northernrail.co.uk
www.midlandmainline.co.uk
The more I think about it Nottingham is just that too far away if you only have a few days. Wakefield is not a bad place - the cathedral is worth a look and the town centre is well laid out but like Batley not really tourist trail places. Could you miss Batley - there is nothing to really see there?
Some VT members pages may help - there are good pages on York, Nottingham and Leeds.
Driving is not recommended but I do agree it gets you point to point - the places you want to go to are busy places and the roads congested in most. Leeds is difficult even for English people.

Indeed, driving in Leeds is not a great thing to do Colin!

I wonder why you want to base yourself in York if your aim is to see all these other places, mostly in WEST Yorkshire. It is true that it is a gorgeous and historic place with lots to see but you won't see any of it with just three days to spend on going elsewhere. You will just see York at night when you cannot visit any of its treasures :) Why not base yourself in Wakefield (contact VT member DAO for suggestions) from where it is easy to visit most of the other places.

Sorry to contradict you, but ANY amount of time in York is worth it. I've spent many a day or even half day there and saw plenty---the inner city is compact and easily walked through. It was just voted Europe's Best Tourist Destination (or something like that).

On another matter, if you do rent a car, it might be best to get an automatic. Last year some American friends hired a standard and had a really hard time adjusting to all the shifting of gears necessary on narrow winding roads and hundreds of roundabouts.

Haha, yes I guess I'm just frustrated at everyone spending far too little time there to see the real gems. When I lived there I lost count of all tourists rushing up Stonegate going "honey, let's look at that big church" and that was it.