If anyone is reading and remembers me from my Cotswolds planning, I would like to say a huge thank you for your invaluable help! We had an amazing trip in March (however, we ended up being in Somerset, only setting a toe 'in' the Cotswolds). I am so grateful for all of the suggestions and advice I received here. I didn't write a trip report, but I did blog about it if anyone is interested (not sure if you're allowed to mention blogs in Fodors Forums-- I don't wanna be a rule breaker!).

We are in the preliminary planning stage for another UK trip sometime in March/April (timing to coincide with my kids' spring break), so right now we are airfare-watching before locking in the exact dates. This will be a two week trip. We've decided to visit the north with Yorkshire striking our fancy as a base. My questions:

1) How is the public transportation for the area? Although we were advised to rent a car for our March trip, we did not and had great luck with public transportation. Certainly it limited us to a degree, but we were able to get almost everywhere we wanted, only supplementing with a hired car on a few occasions. I think we are very atypical travelers because even the owners of our cottage were impressed with how we managed with buses.

2) Any suggestions for lesser known sights in the area?

3) If you were to take a side trip for a few nights away from Yorkshire, where would you go? I'm sure there could be many suggestions to this question, but I just wanted to throw it out there for a feel of what is accessible.

Thanks in advance!

Yorkshire is a large county so you probably need to narrow things down. Cities, towns, countryside e.g. the Yorkshire Dales or Moors or the coast e.g. Scarborough, Whitby etc. Then I'm sure there'll be lots of suggestions.orSide trips away from Yorkshire might include Lake District or Northumberland, or Scottish borders. Trains and buses could work well without the need for a car althoughvisiting some out of the way places could be problematic.

if you click on my screen name, you'll find my TR from our spring-time trip to the Dales.

we stayed in Grassington, and it was terrific. One couple we talked to over supper in the pub had rented an apartment/house there that they said was lovely. there were buses [we had our own car so weren't too bothered] and Grassington os a very good centre for walking.

certainly worth looking at for a base, at least for one week.

I'll definitely read your TR, annhig. Thank you both! I have found some really good tips and trip reports (I guess I should've looked more thoroughly before posting!) that have been very helpful. Compared to some places, it seems like there is a lot of readily available info online about the Yorkshire area. Yay! Thanks again!

Hi, just seen this post as I've been away on my hols.
I'm a North Yorkshire 'local' - are you now sorted with your trip or are you still looking for suggestions?? You've probably seen various stuff I've written on here if you've been looking at old posts, but I'd be happy to try and help further if you have any specific questions.
When people say they are visiting 'Yorkshire' they normally mean North Yorkshire, although other areas have their attractions (especially West Yorkshire and the Bronte link). 'Yorkshire' covers a very large swathe of Northern England.
I'm afraid public transport isn't good up here in the rural areas - it does exist but it's very patchy (and slow. The village I live in has two buses a day!
Whereas York is very compact and walkable and a car isn't needed.
If you had a hire car I could suggest some fantastic days out in the Dales or Moors (or lesser known but equally as beautiful areas such as the Howardian Hills or the Wolds) but doing the some trip on a bus would be impossible and you'd be tied to what you could see.