Knaresborough
Sandwiched between York and Harrogate, this is (imo) the most beautiful place in Yorkshire, it’s just a 20+ minute train ride from York for just £4. Once you exit the rail station, start climbing stairs down to get onto a quiet path towards the left of the railway and continue to descend down the narrow steps to get a great view of the lake and the bridge where the trains pass by. This place is definitely for views and not really for shopping. Small town, few people, beautiful scenary from the top of the hills. I love it! I’ve been there three times already and will continue to visit when I need that escape.
Harrogate
I usually just purchase an open return ticket from York to Harrogate for £5.60 and erm, drop off at Knaresborough for a quick look before jumping onto the next train to Harrogate 😀 tbh they don’t check your tickets when the train passes by small towns like these so yup you can just do that but don’t go around telling people that I’m the one who shared this info *inserts black moon emoji*
Harrogate is the place to go for when you’re SICK of queueing for an hour or more at Betty’s at York because LISTEN TO ME, the Betty’s Tea Room at Harrogate is the best, the absolute best. You can score a window seat with a nice view and they have three (yes THREE) levels in the cafe for you to pick where to sit. Usually if you’re just having tea and the afternoon tea set, they’ll seat you near the main entrance where the cake counter is 🙂 Get the fresh fruit tart and the China Rose Petal tea. My afternoon favourites. I love walking around Harrogate too, it’s peaceful and you know it’s a rich people city just by looking at how they dress, how they walk, the design of their houses etc. The inhabitants are très relaxed, usually very elderly, and they live in little fashionable houses with properly maintained gardens. I would kill to retire here.
Leeds
I’m not really sure how I would describe this city. It’s not really a place to sightsee but for the food, I’d come here every weekend. Train tickets can be as cheap as £2.20 (YES) and it’s only a 25min ride. I like to pop by for bubble tea (there aren’t any in York, sad, I know). But don’t expect Gong Cha or Koi quality. Their bubble tea is more like… Sweet Talk or Chatime. Thai food here is blissful, I recommend heading to Thai Aroy Dee, or the one opposite it (with neon lights and tuktuks in the restaurant). But Thai Aroy Dee is the most authentic one I’ve eaten in the UK, even though they don’t decorate the place that well. I digress, but there are lots of asian supermarkets around this area, or you can just try hunting in “Chi Yip Supermarket” or “Oriental Express” in York for the thai tea powder (it’s a red and white packet) you add condensed milk/evaporated milk and ice and sugar to your liking to make your very own thai iced tea for cheap 🙂
Another place you can visit in Leeds is the O2 Arena where they regularly hold mini concerts, such as for Post-modern Jukebox (which I went for) and Dua Lipa (which I’m going for in October, heh). Just google Leeds O2 Arena for lots and lots of gigs to attend with friends and your fave artist might just be there! It’s not a big arena so I prefer it (for safety reasons) and you can watch lots of indie artists perform there for just £20 a ticket.
Manchester
S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G. While I don’t really do much shopping anymore, this is definitely the city to go shopping in. Skip London! Head over to their Alice in Wonderland themed cafe to celebrate a friend’s birthday or just for the experience, it’s called “Richmond Tea Rooms” and it’s hidden in an alleyway behind a large multi-storey carpark so don’t get flustered if you find Google Maps leading you towards a strange, dingy road.
I’ve chosen these places based on my personal experiences and I really enjoyed visiting and re-visiting these towns and cities over time. You don’t have to stay within the Yorkshire region, I honestly recommend that you get the “Trainline” app on your mobile and get a 16-25 Railcard to grab cheap tickets. I once scored tickets to London from York for just £9.90!!
Also, plane tickets from Manchester Airport to other European cities are really cheap, it’s best to go during your Easter break where you don’t really have to prepare for exams yet or deal with the winter cold. Or maybe just for a long weekend? Hit me up on the Facebook group if you want recommendations for places to go to in France 🙂 (French enthusiast here who studied in France, with parents who lived, studied and worked in France, whose birthday is even on France’s national day, yes i’m a freak; Also, I can teach you some emergency phrases, or, you can always just use google translate if you need to!)
Enjoy your time in York and don’t hesitate to ask us for help!
X,
Kan Ming, your friendly neighbourhood treasurer
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