Ripon

Ripon is small for a cathedral city, which is part of its charm, and three separate things make the trip worth it. The cathedral has an Anglo-Saxon crypt built by St Wilfrid in 672, a low stone chamber under the floor that the cathedral's own heritage page describes as the oldest built structure still in use in any English cathedral. You go down steps into it and the noise of the church above disappears. Upstairs, the misericords and carvings are the ones said to have inspired Alice in Wonderland. A short walk away, the Workhouse Museum reopened in July 2026 after a redevelopment costing 2.8 million and is one of the most complete Victorian workhouses left standing in Britain. And on a Thursday the market fills the square, as it has in some form since the eleventh century, opened at eleven o'clock by the Ripon Bellman. Three very different hours of history in one small city.

From Tea Time Cafe at 87 Market Place, take the A61 southwest and you are in Ripon in 25 to 30 minutes. Park at St Marygate or in the cathedral car park behind Sainsbury's, both about 150 yards from the west front. On a Thursday the car parks fill early, so give yourself extra time or leave the car at home.

Ripon is one of the few big days out from Thirsk that works without a car. The 70/X70 Hodgsons bus runs Thirsk to Ripon around five times a day, Monday to Saturday, calling at Thirsk Market Place, the racecourse and the railway station before terminating at Ripon Bus Station in the middle of town. Everything below is walkable from there. Check the return times when you board, since the last bus back is earlier than most people assume.

Start at the cathedral. Go straight down to the crypt before the rest of it distracts you, then come back up for the misericords, the carvings and the quire. Guided tours run and are worth joining if the timing suits. From there walk to the Workhouse Museum on Allhallowgate, where the route takes you from the Gatehouse through the receiving wards and on to the vagrants' cells, with the 1860s kitchen garden restored outside. Your ticket also covers the other two Ripon museums and lasts a year, so keep it. If it is Thursday, do the market between the two: produce, cheese, clothing and the usual market-day noise, with the Bellman opening proceedings at eleven.

The crypt is the one people remember, a low stone room that has been under that floor since 672. The Workhouse is the surprise, particularly since the redevelopment, and the honest, uncomfortable detail of it lands hard with older children. The market gives the city a different character altogether on a Thursday. All three sit within walking distance of the square, which makes this a rare heritage day with almost no driving between stops.

Come on a Thursday if you want the full market, and accept that parking will be tighter for it. The crypt is down stairs and cannot be reached with a wheelchair, though the main cathedral has a level entrance with automatic doors. Photography inside the cathedral needs a permit, which costs a small amount at the desk. Check the Workhouse Museum's opening days before you travel, since it reopened only in July 2026 and the pattern is still settling, and check the current adult admission price on the museums' own site because we have not been able to confirm the 2026 figure from a primary source. Fountains Abbey and Brimham Rocks are both a short run on from here, so Ripon slots neatly into the front or back half of a bigger day.