We booked a private tour with a local driver while on a family holiday in Croatia, and it completely changed the way I saw the place.
It was not rushed. It was not crowded. It did not feel like being pushed through somebody else's timetable.
We were picked up, driven through places we would probably never have found on our own, told stories that made the landscape mean something and given time to stop, look around, ask questions, take photographs and enjoy the day properly.
Yorkshire beyond the obvious
York is one of the great historic cities, but some of the places that make Yorkshire special sit well beyond the city itself.
There are ruined abbeys, small market towns, moorland roads, coastal villages, castles, literary landscapes and places that are straightforward to reach if you know the roads, but much less straightforward if you are visiting without a car.
I kept coming back to the same idea. A visitor could stay in York, spend a day with somebody local and see a completely different side of Yorkshire without having to turn the day into a transport exercise.
Why private driven tours?
I built Highwayman Tours around the sort of day I would want myself.
There should be a proper route and enough planning behind it that the day works. But it should not feel like every minute has been decided before you arrive.
If a place is better than expected, stay a little longer. If the weather changes, adapt. If somebody needs a gentler pace, build the day around that rather than making them feel like they are holding up a group.
- Your booked group has the vehicle to itself.
- York-area pick-up and return keep the day simple.
- The route is planned before you set off.
- There is room for sensible changes around weather and pace.
- You are travelling with a local driver-guide rather than joining a coach group.
If you want the practical side rather than the story behind it, see Private Yorkshire Tours From York: What to Expect .
The human side of the business
Highwayman Tours is a small local business.
It is not a large operator with a call centre and a fleet of coaches. The route planning, enquiries, timings, driving and guiding are all connected parts of the same service.
A lot of the work happens before the tour even begins: working out whether a route makes sense, checking timings, thinking about lunch stops and making sure the day is realistic rather than simply squeezing as many pins as possible onto a map.
Seeing more of Yorkshire in one day
A lot of people who visit York are only here for a short time. They might have two nights, perhaps three. They want to see the city, but they also want to understand what sits around it.
The problem is that Yorkshire is big and many of its best places are not particularly simple to connect without a car.
That is one of the main reasons Highwayman Tours exists.
One day might take you to the Yorkshire Dales. Another might be built around Whitby and the coast. It could be Haworth and Brontë Country, abbeys and ruins, historic villages or something more bespoke.
The route changes. The basic idea does not.
Why not just hire a car?
For some visitors, hiring a car is absolutely the right answer. If you enjoy driving and want complete independence, it can work brilliantly.
Other people simply want to see more of the county without thinking about parking, navigation, unfamiliar roads or how to connect several rural places in one day.
A private driver-guided tour is not the cheapest way to travel around Yorkshire. Its value is in making a multi-stop day simpler and more personal.
I have gone into that in more detail in Private Driver-Guided Tours From York: Are They Worth It? .
Why Highwayman Tours?
Because it is personal.
I never wanted Highwayman Tours to feel like a standard sightseeing product.
I wanted it to feel like being shown around Yorkshire by somebody who genuinely cares where he is taking you. Somebody who knows York, knows the roads, understands what fits sensibly into a day and wants you to leave feeling like you have seen more than the obvious.
That might mean the coast. It might mean abbeys and ruins. It might mean the Dales, Brontë Country, castles, villages or something completely bespoke.
Whatever the route, the idea is the same.
Frequently asked questions
Who runs Highwayman Tours?
Highwayman Tours is a small York-based business run by Kes, who plans,
drives and guides the private tours.
Are Highwayman Tours private?
Yes. Standard tours are private to your booked group rather than shared
with strangers.
Where do the tours start?
Standard private driven tours include York-area collection and return.
What parts of Yorkshire can you visit?
Current routes include the Yorkshire Dales, Whitby and the coast,
Brontë Country, abbeys and historic North Yorkshire, with bespoke
enquiries possible where the route is realistic.
Highwayman Tours
- Based in: York, Yorkshire.
- Tour style: private driven tours from York.
- Group size: up to 4 guests on standard tours.
- Pick-up: York-area collection and return.
- Driver-guide: Kes, founder of Highwayman Tours.
Highwayman Tours
Private Yorkshire, properly explored.
Private driven tours from York for your own small group, with routes through the coast, Dales, Brontë Country, abbeys, historic villages and more.
No coach. No car hire required. Just your group, your route and a local driver-guide.