Public transportation options are available nearby
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Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
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For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
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Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
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If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
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This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
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Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
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This is a private driven tour from York, designed for guests who want to experience more of Yorkshire without joining a coach tour, hiring a car, or navigating unfamiliar country roads.
Travel with your own independent local driver-guide through abbey ruins, historic villages, scenic viewpoints and peaceful countryside. It’s a comfortable way to see historic England beyond the city, with the route planned for you and commentary throughout the journey . The route includes York Minster, Byland Abbey, Coxwold, the Kilburn White Horse, Rievaulx Abbey, Helmsley, St Oswald’s Church and Clifford’s Tower. Along the way, you’ll hear stories of medieval faith, monastic power, village life, royal auth...
Highlights
6 hours
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
6 hours
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
What's Included
Private transportation
Commentary and storytelling throughout the route
Pickup from the agreed meeting point or approved central York pickup location
Air-conditioned vehicle
Fuel and parking costs during the tour
Route planning and scenic stops
Local independent driver-guide
Food and drink
Gratuities
Out-of-area pickup unless agreed in advance
Paid entry is optional. The stop can still be enjoyed from outside, with excellent views and guiding
Meeting Points
Departure
The Cross Keys
Meeting point: outside The Cross Keys pub, 34 Goodramgate, York, YO1 7LF. The pub is on Goodramgate in York city centre, a short walk from York Minster.
Please wait outside the pub entrance, not inside the pub. Look for the Cross Keys signage on Goodramgate.
Return
Abbeys Ruins and Reformation
York
About
This is a private driven tour from York, designed for guests who want to experience more of Yorkshire without joining a coach tour, hiring a car, or navigating unfamiliar country roads.
Travel with your own independent local driver-guide through abbey ruins, historic villages, scenic viewpoints and peaceful countryside. It’s a comfortable way to see historic England beyond the city, with the route planned for you and commentary throughout the journey . The route includes York Minster, Byland Abbey, Coxwold, the Kilburn White Horse, Rievaulx Abbey, Helmsley, St Oswald’s Church and Clifford’s Tower. Along the way, you’ll hear stories of medieval faith, monastic power, village life, royal auth...
Highlights
6 hours
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
6 hours
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
What's Included
Private transportation
Commentary and storytelling throughout the route
Pickup from the agreed meeting point or approved central York pickup location
Air-conditioned vehicle
Fuel and parking costs during the tour
Route planning and scenic stops
Local independent driver-guide
Food and drink
Gratuities
Out-of-area pickup unless agreed in advance
Paid entry is optional. The stop can still be enjoyed from outside, with excellent views and guiding
Meeting Points
Departure
The Cross Keys
Meeting point: outside The Cross Keys pub, 34 Goodramgate, York, YO1 7LF. The pub is on Goodramgate in York city centre, a short walk from York Minster.
Please wait outside the pub entrance, not inside the pub. Look for the Cross Keys signage on Goodramgate.
Begin beside York Minster, one of the great cathedrals of northern Europe. This short opening stop sets the scene for the tour: medieval religion, power, wealth, pilgrimage, architecture and the religious upheaval that later reshaped England. Admission tickets are not included. Any paid entry is optional and payable directly to the attraction, either on-site or in advance. Entry is not required to enjoy the tour, as all sites can be viewed and experienced from the exterior. Admission prices are set by the attractions and may vary.
15 minutes
2
Byland Abbey
Visit the atmospheric ruins of Byland Abbey, once one of Yorkshire’s great Cistercian monasteries. Its scale, setting and surviving architecture show how powerful these religious houses became before the Reformation changed everything.
45 minutes
3
A beautiful historic village with strong connections to the surrounding abbeys, estates and landscapes of North Yorkshire. This stop gives guests a quieter look at village life, local heritage and the world that grew around Yorkshire’s great religious houses.
25 minutes
4
White Horse of Kilburn
Visit one of Yorkshire’s most striking landmarks: the huge white horse carved into the hillside above Kilburn. This scenic stop gives guests sweeping views across the Vale of York and a sense of the landscape that connected abbeys, villages, estates and old routes across North Yorkshire.
25 minutes
5
Visit one of England’s most atmospheric ruined abbeys, hidden in a quiet valley beneath wooded hills. Rievaulx was once one of the most powerful Cistercian monasteries in the country, and its ruins tell the story of faith, wealth, landscape and the dramatic destruction brought by the Reformation.
Guests can choose to enter the abbey, or enjoy views of the ruins and surrounding valley from outside. Admission tickets are not included. Any paid entry is optional and payable directly to the attraction, either on-site or in advance. Entry is not required to enjoy the tour, as all sites can be viewed and experienced from the exterior. Admission prices are set by the attractions and may vary.
45 minutes
6
Stop in the historic market town of Helmsley, one of the most attractive towns on the edge of the North York Moors. This is a good chance for guests to stretch their legs, enjoy refreshments, take photos, and see how Yorkshire’s abbeys, castles, villages and market towns all connected across the landscape.
1 hour
7
A quiet historic church stop in the village of Oswaldkirk, giving guests a more intimate glimpse of Yorkshire’s religious landscape beyond the great abbeys. This is a short atmospheric stop, useful for linking the grand monastic sites with the smaller parish churches and villages that shaped everyday medieval life.
15 minutes
8
Clifford's Tower
End the tour at Clifford’s Tower, one of York’s most recognisable historic landmarks. This final stop brings the story back to the city, linking York’s religious importance with royal power, medieval conflict and the darker layers of its past. Admission tickets are not included. Any paid entry is optional and payable directly to the attraction, either on-site or in advance. Entry is not required to enjoy the tour, as all sites can be viewed and experienced from the exterior. Admission prices are set by the attractions and may vary.
