York

Why we love SUTTON-ON-THE-FOREST The wide, winding main street, the absence of street lights, the delightful houses and cottages…this is a small village with huge appeal. Where: Drive out of York, heading north on the Helmsley road, and you’ll soon come across the village of Sutton-on-the-Forest. There isn’t much forest anymore, although you’ll drive through…

If you’re putting together the itinerary for your holiday to the UK, or just planning a short visit to Yorkshire, you’ll want to make the most of whatever time you have. Here’s a fantastic way to get the most out of two days in York, giving you chance to combine city sightseeing, museum visits and a few local luxuries, while also visiting some of the spectacular scenery and awe-inspiring destinations in the fantastic Yorkshire countryside that surrounds the city itself. Day 1: ‘York & Yorkshire in a day’: a full-day sightseeing tour with Grand Yorkshire Book yourself onto ‘York & Yorkshire in a day’, an extended full-day tour that combines both a York walking tour and a Yorkshire countryside and coastline driving tour. The morning walking tour gives you an unbeatable insight into the history of ancient York while introducing…

York already has a fantastic pedigree when it comes to great restaurants. According to the Guardian’s Jay Rayner, that pedigree just got even better. Mr Rayner has reviewed “Skosh” this week and concluded it is another great reason to visit the wonderful city of York. He quickly dispels with any excuses for not making the journey: Here’s what you need to know. You can get from London to York by train in 1 hour and 51 minutes. From Edinburgh, it’s 2 hours 24 minutes. From Birmingham, it’s 2 hours 9 minutes, from Liverpool 1 hour 54 minutes and from Manchester, a mere 1 hour and 14 minutes. The food writer enthuses about the food and the no-nonsense style of the restaurant – and we can’t wait to go! Read Jay Rayner’s full article for the Guardian here: Jay Rayner: Skosh…

You only have to have a casual stroll around York to notice that there are some particularly unusual street names. York is sometimes jokingly referred to as the place where “the streets are called gates, the gates are called bars, and the bars are called pubs”. On tour, I’m often asked what some of York’s…

Not much has changed at Rievaulx Abbey for hundreds of years. The incredible Cistercian abbey ruins lie hidden away in a quiet, wooded valley only a few miles north of Helmsley. Founded in 1131, the abbey had become incredibly successful and wealthy before being ordered closed and destroyed by Henry VIII’s men after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. Fast forward to 2016 and the site of Rievaulx Abbey has just been relaunched with the opening of a brand new visitors’ centre and wonderfully refurbished museum. Arriving at the site after driving through the village of Rievaulx – a village so charming and beautiful that it could be mistaken for a movie set – you’ll arrive in front of the tall, glass-fronted visitors’ centre. You’ll be welcomed on arrival by the friendly staff from English Heritage, the charity charged…

Grand Yorkshire offers you the opportunity to explore Yorkshire on a tailor-made private tour from York. In 2014, Grand Yorkshire helped visitors from across the world to visit destinations and attractions across Yorkshire on a private tour from York. We know that everyone is different, and our exciting weekly programme off scheduled tours and excursion offers visitors to York the opportunity to experience a diverse range of visitor attractions and fascinating places across our wonderful county. However, you can also use Grand Yorkshire to explore the destinations that interest you by booking a private tour from York. Choose the places you would like to visit, pick a date that suits you, decide when you’d like to set off and how long you want to spend at each place – or simply let us create a private tour from York which…

We are delighted to launch three superb half-day excursions from York this autumn. These half-day excursions from York depart in the early afternoon from York city centre and offer you the opportunity to visit and explore three of the most exciting attractions in the region surrounding York. The first of these excursions from York each week is an afternoon excursion from York to Fountains Abbey. This UNESCO World Heritage site is located close to Ripon, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. On this afternoon excursion from York to Fountains Abbey you’ll enjoy approximately 3 1/2 hours to explore the famous abbey ruins, the exquisite Georgian Water Garden, the magnificent medieval Deer Park – and much more. Click here for further details and to book this excursion from York to Fountains Abbey.   On Thursdays and Sundays each week, Grand…

Castle Howard is Yorkshire’s finest stately homes, and one of the best-known stately homes in the UK – helped by its starring role in several adaptations of Brideshead Revisited in film and on TV. Located only a few miles north of York, it offers visitors a truly wonderful day out – there is so much to see both inside and outside the main house, including some great walks which provide breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside and the beautiful Howardian Hills. However, for most visitors to York, it is a difficult place to visit. Many will find themselves asking how to get to Castle Howard. For those with a car, it is a simple case of inputting the address into the SatNav and setting off. But for those who don’t have a car, things aren’t nearly as easy. So how…

I’m delighted to confirm the launch of Grand Yorkshire’s latest excursion – a fantastic day trip to Whitby. This new day trip from York to Whitby includes an exciting journey on the superb North Yorkshire Moors Railway, almost four hours leisure time in Whitby, a visit to Goathland (famously known as ‘Aidensfield’ from ITV’s drama series Heartbeat ) and a wonderful trip through the spectacular scenery of the North York Moors including Rosedale Abbey and Hutton-le-Hole. The new tour runs on Tuesdays, from outside Saint Wilfrid’s Church on Duncombe Place in York. Travelling by executive minibus or air-conditioned coach, this exciting day trip to Whitby is a fabulous way to see some of the most remarkable scenery in Yorkshire. For more information and to book your place, click here.

As the Tour de France raced through the streets of York and wound it’s way across Yorkshire, it was hard not to wonder just what a French bike race was doing here. There are certainly many people who can take credit for the race coming to Yorkshire, and many hundreds who helped deliver such an…