Completely private
No strangers and no group timetable. It is your vehicle, your driver-guide and your day, for up to four guests.
About Highwayman Tours
Yorkshire is better
when the day is yours.
Private tours from York for people who want to see more of Yorkshire, without hiring a car, following a coach timetable or spending the day on somebody else's schedule.
Completely private
Up to 4 guests
York pick-up & return
Local driver-guide
Why Highwayman exists
Yorkshire is easy to reach.
The best of Yorkshire isn't.
Visitors arrive in York surrounded by great places, then discover that seeing them together can be surprisingly awkward without a car. The ruined abbeys, moors, coast, market towns and quieter places are spread across a big county.
Highwayman Tours makes that simple. We collect you, do the driving and help you plan a private day around the Yorkshire you actually came to see.
No coach. No car hire. No transport puzzle.
How we tour Yorkshire
Private, flexible and built around your group.
We do more than drive you from place to place. We make the whole day easier, more personal and more enjoyable.
Door-to-door from York
We collect you and bring you back. You do not need to work out trains, buses, parking or where a coach is leaving from.
Local knowledge
Famous places matter, but so do the roads, villages, viewpoints and smaller stops in between. They are often what make the day feel properly Yorkshire.
Flexible on the day
Want longer somewhere? Need a comfort break? See something worth stopping for? A private day can adapt instead of forcing you back onto a timetable.
Why only four guests?
Because smaller changes the whole day.
With a private group of up to four, the route does not have to be built around a coach. We can use smaller roads, stop more easily and give the places you care about the time they deserve.
If Whitby is the highlight, stay longer. If a ruined abbey captures your imagination, do not rush it. If the weather changes the plan, we can change with it.
- No waiting for a coachload of people
- No fixed lunch stop because everyone else has one
- No pressure to enjoy every stop equally
- No need to make the day work for anybody except your group
The Yorkshire we want to show you
Famous places.
Quieter corners.
Usually a bit of both.
Some guests want Whitby Abbey, Haworth, the North York Moors and Yorkshire's great ruined abbeys. Others are happiest when the road turns quieter and we stop somewhere they would never have found on their own.
Usually, the best days include both. Before your tour, we can talk through the options. On the day, we can adapt if something catches your eye or Yorkshire's weather has other ideas.
Ancient & mysterious places
Coast & classic seaside
Literary Yorkshire
History & ruins
Haunted Yorkshire
Scenery, villages & great food
“Yorkshire in the rain is the best version of Yorkshire, in my opinion.”
How Highwayman started
Making more of Yorkshire possible.
My family and I have always loved travelling. At the same time, I saw so many visitors arrive in York and miss the rest of Yorkshire, not because they did not want to see it, but because transport, time and planning can make it difficult.
Highwayman Tours was built to change that. It is for visitors who want the freedom to get beyond the city walls without hiring a car or following a rigid group schedule.
The idea is simple: make Yorkshire easier to see, give people honest local advice, and plan a day that feels relaxed rather than rushed.
The person behind Highwayman
Meet Kes.
Owner & Driver-Guide
I'm Kes, a born-and-bred Yorkshireman who loves travelling and showing people the places that make this part of the world so special.
I was born just down the road from York and have spent years getting to know the city, North Yorkshire and the quieter places away from the obvious sights.
I am friendly, easy-going and happy to have a proper chat. I will also tell you when a wish-list means too much time in the car. A brilliant day matters more than promising the impossible.
My part
Local knowledge, options and the driving.
Your part
Deciding what your Yorkshire day becomes.
Go beyond York.
York is only the starting point.
Take the smaller road.
Some of the best places are found between the famous ones.
Never rush a good stop.
If somewhere is worth more time, take it.
Make the day yours.
Your interests and your pace come first.
Why “Highwayman”?
Because I'm the one behind the wheel.
I wanted a name connected to the road, the journey and the person doing the driving. I am the Highwayman, just without the daylight robbery.
See Yorkshire your way
Ready to get beyond the city walls?
Browse our private day tours, or ask us if you are not sure which one is right for you.