I think you are going to need to be a little more specific.
How are you travelling - I presume you are driving?
Where in Yorkshire.

For York or Leeds, the M62.

If flying from outside Europe, either:

1. Train to a suitable Yorkshire location, overnight then hire a car the following day, or
2. Turn round and go home again immediately. You've taken an overnight flight and crossed at least 5 timezones. Even if you want to risk your own death, we'd rather you did so somehere it'll only be your compatriots you'll take with you.

If flying from Europe, either
1. M56/M60 to eastbound M62 for central and north Yorks, or M56/M60 M57/A57 (Snake Pass) for south Yorks, or
1. Train to a convenient Yorkshire location, then hire a car

Willit is right.

Yorkshire is a large target running north/south. Has a huge bearing on the best route in terms of ease, time, sights etc.

This would be to the Wensleydale area. Is M6 an option and east on A684? Or east instead on smaller roads around Blackburn? This would be Saturday daytime. Thanks a lot.

Well Saturday makes it heaps easier to take lots of different routes. Go anti-clockwise around the Manchester circular motorway (to avoid the crazy shops at Jnct 9 or 10 ) then loads of choices, I'd probably go up the M66, A56, M65, Colne, A59, Ripon etc depending exactly where you want to go.

The only small road bit is Colne to the A59.

What do everyone else think?

Best route is the train route Manchester Airport to York Station.

Bilbo

M60/M66 makes a lot of sense, Wensleydale is a bit of a nightmare to get to from our neck of the woods.

....but should we really be sending international visitors through Dingleland?

Saturday daytime just avoid the west M60 near the Trafford Centre. The east M60 is usually very clear.

Bilbo and belted, If I wanted to go M61 to M6, would you still go counter-clockwise around Manchester because the junctions you refer to are so bad on M60? thanks

Difficult to say, depends on factors that day but check the traffic reports on the day. It can be quicker to go all be way anticlockwise rather than clockwise past the Trafford Centre, it is of course much further anticlockwise.

Just wondering why M61/M6, I can give you some beautiful routes that way but Bilbo's route is the easiest.

I was just thinking of the M6 as the most direct, simplest route since we just want to get to our destination on the first day. I was thinking M6 to A684.

That route works perfectly well.

If you would like lunch en route. You could try M6 turn olff at Preston and lunch at either the Inn at Whitewell, The Three Fishes or The Black Bull (Skipton) which are about the best pubs in the north west for food. Whitewell is a country pub legend.

Then onto Skipton and Wensleydale.

If it is a straight drive, I would say you route is the most scenic.

http://www.innatwhitewell.com/