We will be staying in York without an auto and would like a day trip to Castle Howard - without other sites. How convenient (and cost) is a taxi or public transport?

The default is to get a train from York to Malton (www.nationalrail.co.uk) where there's a taxi rank. It's six miles (£10 or a bit more) to the "castle": probably best to arrange with the driver a time to collect you.

There are seasonal buses from Malton to the "castle", and a seasonal tour bus from York (www.castlehoward.co.uk/metadot/index.pl?iid=4331), but the information on the relevant sites looks dodgy to me. Phone the operators to see what they're doing on the day you're planning to travel

You can take the Coastliner #843 to Malton and then change to the #194 Stephenson bus to Castle Howard. Both will work for you.

Thank you very much. It looks very doable.

www.transportdirect.info shows hourly connections by bus, with a journey time of an hour and a half, using the route suggested by Rogeruktm.

Follow the advice on the Castle Howard website

http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/metado...ry&op=show