Cities close to the National Park include York, Harrogate, Bradford and Leeds in the south, Lancaster and Preston to the west and Darlington and Middlesbrough to the north-east. All these cities are well-linked for national and international travel including bus, rail and air.
Bus and coach links to the Dales are excellent. Nearby towns such as Lancaster, Skipton, Leeds, Harrogate, York, Ripon, Northallerton and Darlington are well served by National Express or Megabus coaches, and a range of local bus services.
There are many bus services within the National Park which run throughout the year. They link main towns and villages and the surrounding area. There are extra services during the summer period, which mainly operate on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Full details are available on the Dalesbus website.
The two National Rail services covering the Yorkshire Dales area are the Leeds-Morecambe line and the famous Leeds-Settle-Carlisle line. Other local stations not on these lines include Darlington, Northallerton, Ilkley and Oxenholme. See National Rail Enquiries to plan your journey.