Plan a day in Thirsk
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18 places · Travel from Tea Time
1 min walk · 1h visit
Eight charity shops within a minute or two of the square, good enough to be a destination in their own right
Free to browse; bargains from a pound or two
1 min walk · 45 min visit · Dogs welcome
A traditional charter market on the cobbled square outside our door, every Monday and Saturday
Free to browse
- 3
1 min walk · 45 min visit
The square's own chippy, frying since 1982, with a sit-down cafe as well as a takeaway counter
Standard chip-shop prices; the menu is in the window and we have not verified the figures, so read it before you queue
1 min walk · 1h visit
An award-winning independent bookshop over two floors at the head of the square
Free to browse; books priced as you would expect from an independent
2 min walk · 1h visit · Dogs welcome
The stream that made Thirsk, with a flat two to three mile riverside loop you can pick up two minutes from the square
Free
2 min walk · 25 min visit
A family-run gift shop just off the square selling Fairtrade, UK-made, recycled and personalised pieces
Free to browse; gifts from pocket-money prices upwards
3 min walk · 45 min visit
Free volunteer-run museum in the house where Thomas Lord, founder of Lord's Cricket Ground, was born in 1755
Free entry, donations invited
4 min walk · 1h 30m visit
The house at 23 Kirkgate where Alf Wight lived and practised, kept as the Skeldale House of the books
Adults 10, children 5, under-3s free
5 min walk · 2h 30m visit
One of Britain's oldest continuously operating cinemas, run by around 100 volunteers, five minutes from the square
Tickets are sold online through the cinema's own website, which shows the price when you book, and on the door as well
5 min walk · 45 min visit
North Yorkshire's cross-arts centre in the restored Grade II listed Old Courthouse, with a gallery, a shop of independent artists' work and a workshop programme
Free to enter the gallery and shop; workshops and performances are ticketed and prices vary by event
5 min walk · 45 min visit · Dogs welcome
The riverside green on Cod Beck where Thirsk goes to sit on the grass, five minutes from the square
Free
5 min walk · 1h 30m visit
The town pool on Chapel Street, rebuilt for 4 million in 2021, five minutes from the square and the cheapest swim for miles
Adult swim 6, child 4.5, under-4s 1.1, and a family ticket at 17 covering two adults and two children or one and three. The Discount Dip on Friday afternoons in term time is 1.75. Checked 23/08/2026
5 min walk · 20 min visit · Dogs welcome
What is left of a Norman motte and bailey castle, five minutes from the square, on ground that has never once been built on
Free
6 min walk · 30 min visit
The town's 15th-century Perpendicular Gothic parish church at the top of Kirkgate, free to walk into
Free entry, donations welcome
12 min walk · 45 min visit · Dogs welcome
The little wooded path that carries on past the weir, crossing and recrossing a stream on a string of small footbridges
Free
15 min walk · 1h 15m visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
An unnamed run of field paths and old lanes between Thirsk and South Kilvington, hidden behind the hedge from the A19
Free
20 min walk · 1h 30m visit · Dogs welcome
A Victorian lime avenue, an open water meadow and an Anglo-Saxon barrow, all on a flat circuit of two to three miles from the square
Free
20 min walk · 4h 30m visit
Flat racing since 1855 on a left-handed oval at the edge of town, with free parking and under-16s free
Varies by fixture and enclosure, so check the racecourse site; under-16s free; parking free. The 2026 Premier season ticket was 180 for all sixteen fixtures; 2027 tickets, admission and hospitality both, are expected on sale at the start of December 2026
6 min drive · 5h visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
Around forty five acres of coarse fishing lakes at Carlton Miniott, open to anyone with a day ticket and a rod licence
Day tickets for two rods, with a lower concession rate, and night fishing charged per peg. The prices on the fishery site have not changed in years, so ring the tackle shop on 01845 526110 before you set off
6 min drive · 2h visit
A heated indoor pool at Carlton Miniott that locals can use for 7, with a spa in the same building
Swimming is 7 for an adult, 5 for a child aged 3 to 15, free under 3, and 20 for a family of two adults and up to three children. Spa treatments are priced separately and start around 38
10 min drive · 2h 30m visit
The nearest farm attraction to Thirsk, built around animal feeding and play, about ten minutes away by car
Ticketed, with booking through the farm's own website, which the farm says is 3 a head cheaper than paying on the day. For the 2026 Great Yorkshire Pumpkin Festival, farm admission with the pumpkin patch is priced by date, from 10 to 15 per person, and under-1s are 3. A Patch Only ticket, without the rest of the farm, is 6.95. The evening pumpkin nights are 12 online. Every ticket carries a voucher for one small pumpkin. Checked 01/10/2026
15 min drive · 2h 30m visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
The escarpment James Herriot called the finest view in England, with the Kilburn White Horse a mile and a half along the edge
Centre free to enter; parking 3.90 for up to two hours and 6.20 for longer, card or PayByPhone only
15 min drive · 3h visit
Around 100 birds across 50 or more species in a walled garden, built around three free-flight displays a day
Adult 10.95, over-65s 9.95, child 8.95, under-3s free, and a family ticket at 37 for two adults and two children or one adult and three children. Groups of ten or more pay 9.95 each if booked ahead. The Meet the Minnies handling session adds 10 per person on top of admission, and experience days start at 70 for a half day
20 min drive · 45 min visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
The free ruin of one of Britain's largest Cistercian abbeys, with the rose window that inspired York Minster
Free
20 min drive · 1h 45m visit · Illustration
A private house grown out of a 1145 Augustinian priory, opened for a handful of days each spring, with a water garden, a lake and a Cromwell legend
There is a small admission charge on open days, but the 2026 figure is not confirmed here, so check the official site before you travel. The house guidebook is 1.50
22 min drive · 1h 45m visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
The best-preserved Carthusian charterhouse in England, twenty minutes up the A19, with a reconstructed monk's cell, an Arts and Crafts house and a well-known family of stoats
Adults pay 10.79 to 13.85 depending on the day when booked online by midnight the day before, against 12.70 to 16.30 on the day itself; in October 2026 that meant 10.79 online on weekdays and 12.32 at weekends. Children 5 to 17 pay 5.35 to 6.88 online and concessions 10.03 to 13.09. These are the prices without the optional donation. English Heritage members free. National Trust members free too, using code G03ANZ at the online checkout with the card shown on arrival, except on event days, and may be asked to pay for parking
25 min drive · 2h 30m visit
A working Benedictine community above the valley, free to visit, with a 200 year old heritage orchard of 1,500 trees and its own cider mill
Free to visit the abbey church, the grounds, the orchard and the visitor centre. Orchard tours with cider tasting and some seasonal events are ticketed, and the 2026 prices are not confirmed here, so check the abbey's site when you book
25 min drive · 1h 30m visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
A mile and a half circuit round the head of the same beck that runs through Thirsk, at the western start of the Lyke Wake Walk
Free, and the car parks are free too. There is no pay and display and no permit. The nearest paid anything is in Osmotherley village, a mile and a half away
25 min drive · 4h visit · Dogs welcome
A market town with a ruined castle above it, a five acre Georgian walled garden below, and a square of independent shops between the two
Helmsley Walled Garden adults 10 including the 1.50 gift aid, under-16s free, annual pass 16; RHS members free on Wednesdays, Gardeners' World two for one on Fridays, CPRE two for one daily. Helmsley Castle adults pay 10.00 to 12.70 on the day depending on the date, or 8.50 to 10.79 booked online by midnight the day before; EH members free. Long-stay parking at Cleveland Way is about 6 for six hours
28 min drive · 3h visit · Illustration
Three flying displays a day whatever the weather, because one of the three flying areas is indoors
Adults 15, children aged 4 to 16 11.50, under-4s free, over-65s 14 and a family of two adults and two children 45. Season tickets run from 50 to 180 depending on the tier. Hands-on experiences cost extra, with the Hawk Hike at 40 per person for about an hour, and the owl and raptor experiences are 75 for about three hours, both with a minimum age of 10
30 min drive · 2h 30m visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
A 17th century manor on the River Rye with oak panelling, peacocks in the garden and a collection of miniature rooms that steals the show
Adults around 14.30, children aged 5 to 17 around 7.20, under-5s free, gift aid included, and slightly cheaper in February and March. Free to National Trust members. The behind the scenes tour is 4 on top
32 min drive · 1h 30m visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
A privately owned Cistercian ruin left as a wild garden, with wild flowers growing out of the walls and almost no signage
An honesty box at the entrance rather than a ticket desk. The suggested donations are 5 for an adult, 3 for a child, 1 for the car and 5 for the guide book, so a family of four is being asked for about 17 including parking. Cash in the box or a donation through the abbey's website; whether the box takes cards is not confirmed
35 min drive · 1h visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
A free, unstaffed Premonstratensian ruin by the Swale, with a working parish church inside the precinct and rare medieval wall paintings
Free. No ticket, no booking, no membership needed. The car park asks for a voluntary donation of 1 or 2 to St Agatha's Church, which is a separate thing from English Heritage
35 min drive · 5h visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
The largest monastic ruins in Britain set in a Georgian water garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of 800 acres near Ripon
Free to National Trust members, English Heritage members and under-5s, with EH cards valid for free admission and parking as well, though you need the physical card and EH-associated memberships such as CADW, Historic Scotland and CSSC are not accepted, nor are EH free-entry vouchers. Non-members pay 21 for an adult, 10.50 for a child aged 5 to 17 and 52.50 for a family of two adults and up to three children, or 23.10, 11.60 and 57.80 with Gift Aid. Parking is free at the Visitor Centre and West Gate; the Studley Royal car park is pay and display at 7 for four hours or 10 for the day, free to NT members
40 min drive · 2h visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
The most complete of England's abbey ruins, standing in a wooded valley where 600 Cistercian monks once lived
On the gate, adults pay 12.70 to 16.30 depending on the date, concessions and students 11.80 to 15.40 and children aged 5 to 17 6.30 to 8.10, with weekdays the cheapest in October 2026. Booking online by midnight the day before takes 15 per cent off. Free to English Heritage members. National Trust members go free using code G03ANZ at the online checkout, with the NT card shown on arrival
28 min drive · 5h visit
A small cathedral city half an hour down the A61, with an Anglo-Saxon crypt of 672 under the cathedral floor, a rebuilt Victorian workhouse museum and a market square that has been trading since the eleventh century
Cathedral free to enter with donations welcome, and a small fee for a photography permit. Market free to browse. One Workhouse Museum ticket admits all three Ripon museums and stays valid for twelve months, though the 2026 adult price is best checked on the museums' own site before you go
30 min drive · 2h visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
A restored two-mile canal to the northern edge of England's connected waterways, with a walk-up trip boat and a bittern reserve on the bank
Free to walk the towpath, and parking at the basin is free, which is unusual for Ripon. A 30-minute canal cruise is 7 for an adult and 4 for a child aged 5 and over, with under-5s free and no need to book. Cream tea cruises are 10.95 and afternoon tea cruises 15.95, both booked ahead. Private hire from 110 for an hour
35 min drive · 5h visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
The Vanbrugh and Hawksmoor house of Brideshead Revisited and Bridgerton, set in a thousand acres of parkland with temples, a mausoleum, a walled garden and a lake
House and Gardens was 27 for an adult and 13.50 for a child aged 4 to 15 booked online for a weekday in October 2026, with family tickets at 43.50 for one adult and three children or 67.50 for two adults and three children; Gardens only was 17 for an adult and 8.50 for a child. Online tickets are cheaper than the ticket office, and the price moves with the date you pick. Under-4s free. Historic Houses membership is not accepted. National Art Pass gets 50 per cent off House and Gardens, students get a reduced ticket, Max Card and Universal Credit holders pay 4 online or 4.50 at the ticket office, and carers go free. Parking free, site cashless
40 min drive · 4h visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
A Grade I listed Baroque hall of 1716 near York with a National Portrait Gallery partnership, eight acres of garden and an Andy Sturgeon Mediterranean garden
Adult 16, or 17.60 with Gift Aid; child aged 5 to 17 is 8 (8.80); a family of two adults and three children 40 (44); one-adult family 24 (26.40); group adult 15.20. Under-5s and National Trust members free. RHS, Yorkshire's Great Houses, Max Card and Visit York Pass are accepted.
40 min drive · 2h 30m visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
Millstone grit weathered into stacks, arches and balancing boulders across 400 acres of open moorland above Nidderdale. Free to walk, with parking the only charge
Free to get in. Parking for non-members is 7 for four hours or 10 for the day, motorcycles 3, motorhomes 12, minibuses 12 and coaches 20, with the last two booked ahead. National Trust members and Blue Badge holders park free
40 min drive · 2h visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
Formerly the Yorkshire Arboretum, 120 acres of trees from around the world opposite Castle Howard, with red squirrels
Booked online for a date in October 2026, adult entry was 14.25 with the voluntary donation or 12.75 without, and a child aged 4 to 15 was 7.25 or 6.50; under-4s free. Family tickets were 35.75 (32.00) for two adults and three children and 21.50 (19.25) for one adult and three children, and Max Card and Universal Credit holders pay 4 (3.50). Tickets are sold through Castle Howard's booking site. The guided tours and squirrel talks are free with admission, and a Castle Howard Bronze membership covers the arboretum along with the Castle Howard grounds and gardens. Reviewers do argue about whether the price is fair for what is often a walk of an hour or two
40 min drive · 8h visit
A 375-acre theme park and zoo near Malton where one ticket covers both the coasters and the animals, including the ten-inversion Sik
Standard Admission is 46 to 58 on main-season dates, the same for adults and children aged 4 and over, priced by date and by how far ahead you book. On those dates it is 46 booked more than seven days ahead, 51.50 two to seven days ahead and 58 within two days of your visit. The park's own calendar prices some quieter dates lower (early October 2026 weekdays were 30, 33.50 and 38.50), and every date from 10 October to 1 November 2026 is main season. A family ticket for up to four people aged 4 and over is 168, 194 or 224 on main-season dates, and over-65s pay 36.75 to 45.25. Under-4s are free and parking is free with every ticket
40 min drive · 3h visit
The national collection of rail, free to walk into, twenty minutes by train from Thirsk and a few minutes on foot from York station
Free. Admission costs nothing, you can walk up or book a free timed ticket online for busy days, and donations are invited rather than charged. Parking is the only unavoidable cost if you drive, at 10 a day in the museum car park, free for Blue Badge holders. Wonderlab and some special experiences are ticketed separately
40 min drive · 2h 45m visit
The only working Victorian Turkish baths in England built in Victoria's reign, still doing the job it was built for in 1897
A mixed session is 29 Monday to Thursday and 39 Friday to Sunday. The two single-sex sessions, ladies only on Tuesday evening and gentlemen only on Wednesday evening, are both 29. A 45-minute guided heritage tour on Wednesday mornings is 4 per person and is much the cheapest way to see the inside. A sound bath in the Frigidarium is 35
40 min drive · 8h visit · Dogs welcome
A car-free day in one of the great historic cities of England, 16 to 23 minutes by train from Thirsk with everything walkable from the station
Rail fares from around 8 if you book in advance, more if you walk up on the day. Attractions are priced separately. The National Railway Museum is free and the city walls are free to walk; York Minster, JORVIK, the Castle Museum and Clifford's Tower each charge
50 min drive · 1h 15m visit · Illustration
The Neville stronghold in Wensleydale where Richard III spent much of his childhood, built around one of the largest Norman keeps in England
Adults pay 7.65 to 9.26 depending on the day when booked online by midnight the day before, against 9.00 to 10.90 on the day itself; in October 2026 that meant 7.65 online on weekdays and 8.50 at weekends. Children 5 to 17 pay 3.82 to 4.59 online and concessions 6.88 to 8.50. These are the prices without the optional donation. English Heritage members free. National Trust and Historic Houses cards are not accepted. Booking online in advance is always the cheapest way in
50 min drive · 6h visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
A 24-mile heritage line running steam and heritage diesel from Pickering through Newtondale to Levisham, Goathland and Grosmont, deep inside the North York Moors National Park
Day Rover adults 48.95 at the regular rate or 38.50 on the school-holiday saver, children 4 to 15 12.00 or 9.50, under-4s free on an adult's lap. In 2026 one child aged 4 to 15 travels free with each fare-paying adult. Shorter one, two and three-stop returns from 14.95 for adults at the regular rate, or 11.95 on the saver, which covers the October half term, 24 October to 1 November 2026. Dogs 3. Online booking fee 1.50, with 10 per cent off a Day Rover booked online more than four days ahead. No National Trust or English Heritage admission
51 min drive · 5h visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
A working parish church inside a ruined priory, 62 stepping stones across the Wharfe, and one price for the whole car
The charge is per vehicle, not per person. Car parking is 12.50 and that one ticket lets you move between the Village, Riverside and Strid Wood car parks all day. Minibus 20, coach 30, season ticket 150. Blue Badge holders pay the standard fee. Five people in one car therefore pay 12.50 between them
55 min drive · 3h visit
A four-acre labyrinth of tunnels, follies and water tricks on the Tupgill Park Estate above Middleham. Admission is by pre-booked ticket only, so buy before you set off
Adults 19, over-60s 18, children 4 to 15 17, under-4s free, family of two adults and two children 66. Admission is by pre-booked ticket only. No National Trust, English Heritage or Historic Houses admission
60 min drive · 2h visit · Dogs welcome · Illustration
A three-tiered limestone waterfall on the River Ure in Wensleydale, free to visit and best after heavy rain
Nothing to pay to see the falls, at any hour of any day. You pay to park. The Yorkshire Dales National Park car parks charge 3 for up to two hours and 5 for longer, with an annual pass at 62. The full 2026 tariff beyond those figures is not confirmed, so check the sign at the machine
70 min drive · 2h visit
The home of PGI-protected Yorkshire Wensleydale at Hawes, with a cheese-making demonstration, a tasting room and a viewing gallery over the vats
The Cheese Experience is 5.95 for an adult, 3.50 for a child aged 5 to 16 and 14.95 for a family of two adults and two children; under-5s free. Children under 16 go in free at weekends and during school holidays, bank holidays excepted. The cheese and gift shop, the coffee shop and Calvert's Restaurant are free to walk into without buying the experience
Tea Time is T. Your added places turn gold. Thirsk on foot Short drive Big day out
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