Need help with 2-3 days in York/Yorkshire in November
 

My daughter and I will be going from the Cotswolds to York then exploring Yorkshire for 2-3 days. First - should we drive or take the train (it seems the trains go back through London but maybe the drive is quicker and scenic?)? Second, can't figure out where to base ourselves in Yorkshire. Maybe one night in York and one or two in a smaller village? Money is definitely an issue. We'll be heading out to Edinburgh after Yorkshire. Thanks for any help.

York is a great city, filled with more than enough to keep you occupied for the 2-3 days you are there. Daytrips out of York are plentiful if you have a car, but even inside York itself, there are things like the Minster, Clifford's Tower, Betty's Tea Rooms, Coppergate shopping area, the city walls, the railroad museum - plenty to do. A decent B&B near town centre would probably be my recommendation. It's a compact area, easily walkable.

Should be able to train through Birmingham from Bristol to York on Virgin I think. Try www.thetrainline.co.uk. The road trip is a motorway while the train lets you talk to other travelers and see backyards etc.

York has a medievel city enclosed by walls so hotels tend to go in price while cars get pushed out. Options 1) Try a B&B in York 2) try a hotel outside but close to a park and ride and take the bus in. Park and ride has large carparks free and low cost buses.

Or could stay at a local village on the trainline and commute!

North Yorkshire villages have little to do so you need to work out what else you want to do. For example stay in Leeds say the Ibis or Comfort hotel (clean but cheap) and then visit York, Saltaire, The Brontes from there.

If that interests surf these threads for Yorkshire as i put a list of useful web sites in a few months ago

Another option would be to drive and stay in a place like Thirsk (that is the village where the real James Herriot had his vetinary office). It is a good base for seeing the Moors, Dales, Fountains Abbey etc. And you can take the train from there into York for a day trip. York is very compact and if you took a morning train you could easily see most of York by dinner time and then take the train back "home".

If you were just visiting York - I'd take the train up since you don't need/want a car in the city itself. But if you also want to explore the countryside you really will need a car.

Assuming you're starting off near one of the Cotswold railheads (Moreton on the Hereford line or Kemble on the Cheltenham one), it's almost always quicker (and more dependable)to go back to London then get a fast train to York than to get the train to Reading or Oxford and hope this is one of the days:
- Virgin's remembered to send a train out, and
- they've put on a train big enough to hold at least some of the passengers.
But check alternative routings (tell the machine you want to go via Birmingham) on natonalrail.co.uk or thetrainline.

Is a car better? It depends what you're going to Yorkshire for. If you want to potter round the rural villages, then a car's essential, and you may as well meander through the countryside just north of the Cotswolds and in Derbyshire on the way up. The straight route's not particularly scenic, but the detours can be nice.

If you want to stay in York, there's no point in a car, so you may as well get the train.

However, you (and only you) know why you've decided on Yorkshire. If pottering was what you wanted to do, there's no point worrying about how dull the drive up is going to be.

Hi, I live near York so hopefully can help you.
York is a good base, and you could take the train to other places if you wish. There's loads to see in York itself but it can be very busy and touristy and I get the impression from your post that you are hoping for something quieter for some of the time?
If you are on a budget then bed and breakfast accommodation is often very reasonable. Many farms offer B and B at very good rates, and Yorkshire has many areas of great scenic beauty if this appeals to you (the Moors or the Dales are both stunning). www.yorkshirenet.co.uk has lots of ideas.
A car would be vital for this, as many farms are very rural. However you wouldn't need a car whilst in York itself.
I often get asked about 'must sees' near where I live. I am not really sure what your interests are, but based in York itself you could easily get to see -
1)Fountains Abbey -
World Heritage site, would need a car to visit
www.fountainsabbey.org.uk/
2) Castle Howard - one of England's great stately homes
www.castlehoward.co.uk
3) The N Yorkshire coast - Whitby/Robin Hoods Bay
4) The Yorkshire Dales (National Park and stunningly beautiful)
5) North Yorks Moors (National Park again)
6) North Yorks Moors Railway
www.nymr.co.uk
I could give you enough suggestions to keep you busy exploring Yorkshire for weeks, but if you let me know your interests I will try and help further.

The reason I didn't include Castle Howard in my original post is because of its quirky opening times in Nov.

It closes for the season on Nov 4. But re-opens for Christmas from late Nov. to the middle of Dec. So IF those dates match w/ your visit it would be a "must" IMHO. But if you are there between Nov 4 and 24 you can't get inside the house.