Plan a day in Thirsk · 6 places
The great abbey ruins near Thirsk
Six monastic ruins within an hour or so of the market square, and no two of them run the same way. One is free and unstaffed, one takes an honesty box, one charges by the car rather than the head. The differences matter more than the stonework when you are deciding which to do on a given day.
Heritage illustration1Rievaulx Abbey
40 min drive · Short drive
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... · allow about 2 hours
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Byland Abbey
20 min drive · Short drive
The free ruin of one of Britain's largest Cistercian abbeys, with the rose window that inspired York Minster
Free · allow about 45 minutes
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Jervaulx Abbey
32 min drive · Short drive
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 · allow about 1.5 hours
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Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal
35 min drive · Short drive
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... · allow about 5 hours
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Easby Abbey
35 min drive · Short drive
A free, unstaffed Premonstratensian ruin by the Swale, with a working parish church inside the precinct and rare medieval wall paintings
Free · allow about 1 hours
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Bolton Abbey
51 min drive · Worth the day
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 · allow about 5 hours
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Other ways to spend the day
Walks from Thirsk market square
Flat riverside loops you can do in an hour, a lime avenue out to Sowerby, and the cliff-top paths above Sutton Bank when you want a view.
Things to do near Thirsk with children
Animals to feed, a vet's surgery children can play in, birds of prey flying twice a day, and enough open grass to let everyone off the lead.
Historic places near Thirsk
Two of the finest ruined abbeys in the country are within half an hour, and the town itself holds a 1940s vet's surgery, a Perpendicular church begun around 1430 and the birthplace of the man Lord's cricket ground is named after..
What to do in Thirsk when it rains
Yorkshire being Yorkshire, this is the list people actually need.
Dog-friendly days out from Thirsk
Riverside walks, market-square mornings and a ride on the moors railway, where dogs travel for 3 pounds.
Every one of these starts or finishes well at Tea Time Cafe, 87 Market Place. Build a plan with walk times and print it for the day.