Castle Howard
 

We will be staying in York for a day and a half and plan to take a side trip to Castle Howard. We are not renting a car, and are looking into how we can get there. Our choices seem to be either the Yorkshire Coastliner Bus or a train to Malton and from there a taxi ride Castle Howard. What is the fastest way to get to Castle Howard from York? Thank you.

Castle Howard is only about 15 miles from York, so either method wouldn't take that long. I'd go with whichever best fits your schedule and budget.

They also offer organized tours to Castle Howard from the Tourist Information Center in the middle of York. This might be a good choice for you because they also visit Helmsley and some other lovely villages.

But you also might consider renting a car for the day - there is so much to see in the area and driving would be the most efficient way to see much.

Thanks for replying so promptly to my post. I have been online and found that the Yorkshire Coastliner bus leaves for Castle Howard about 1/2 hour before we arrive from London. I then checked the train schedule and found that there are several trains that leave for Maltan. The cost of the train trip was not available!! Do you have any idea how much it might cost? The idea of taking a tour does not appeal to me. I don't like to be tied down to the schedule of an organized tour. ....But I may end up taking that suggestion.

Thanks again for the information.

On <u>www.qjump.co.uk</u> I found the price of a cheap day return was &pound;5.80.

Looks like it's about a 22 minute trip (26 minutes returning.)

The best way to get around that entire area is really to rent a car. I do recommend that you do that if you want to maximize what you see because there is a lot to see.

In Malton, besides Castle Howard, there is also a museum called Eden Camp that is devoted to the World War II home front that is very interesting. Allow 3-4 hours.

Of course, Castle Howard is the premier site near York, but there are many abbey ruins nearby including Fountains and Riveaulx. They are both worthwhile. Fountains is a World Heritage Site, but I actually observed monks sing vespers at Riveaulx, so I am fond of that one.

In York itself there are a couple of interesting museums including one devoted to every day life and the other to trains. Of course, do not miss York Minster.

I did a home exchange in North Yorkshire several years ago and went to Castle Howard three times! First, to see the place. Second, to observe a reenactment of an English Civil War battle complete with pikemen pushing contests. Third, to see a Last Night of the Proms concert on the grounds. Great place!

I took the organized tour out of York years ago. Actually, it was a BritRail daytrip out of London that included train fare to York, and then the bus to C H. The drawback at the time was that we didn't have much time at C H, at least not enough time for me, I felt, to explore a lot of the grounds. But, because that was all combined with the trip from London, perhaps the timing options are better if you just go from York. It's a magnificent place to visit, imo.

Rosalind, at work so no time to respond in detail but I live in Malton and work in York. Car would be best as you'll get the quaint drive up to Castle Howard, past all the peculiar follies built at the sides of the road. Also I think the buses are pretty infrequent on the Castle Howard route.

Does anyone know about how much a taxi would cost from Malton to Castle Howard?

Rosalind, I took the bus that leaves from the train station area to Castle Howard just last month when I was in York. I had asked the tourist bureau there at the train station about the best way to get to Castle Howard as I was going to go by train to Malton also. They told me that I didn't want to do that as the bus was much more direct. It might take a bit longer by bus to get there but the bus leaves you off right by the castle with only a short walk up to the entrance. I would think that a taxi would cost quite a bit. I think that the bus left around 10:00 a.m. or so (could have been earlier) and the bus back was around 3:00 p.m. I believe it was about a 45 minute ride. If you ask at the tourist desk at the train station, they have a schedule for the departure and arrival times of the bus to Castle Howard. Hope this helps. It is a huge place and you could easily spend 1/2 a day there or more looking around. There are some guided tours also throughout the day that last about 30-40 minutes. Enjoy!

I would love to be able to take a bus to Castle Howard, but our train arrives in York too late for us to catch the bus. I was hoping that there would be more than one bus to the castle. I am amazed that there aren't more! We are only going to be in York 1 1/2 days and was hoping to see the castle first, so we would have the entire next day to see York.

Rosalind - with your time limitations you REALLY shou consider renting a car for a day to see castle Howard and the surrounding countryside. You will find that seeing rural areas in England is not always a piece of cake if you have to rely on public transport. Renting a car in York (you of course don't need a car to see York itself) is the easiest way to get where you want to go . . . .