Yorkshire is England’s largest county. With nearly 5,000 square miles of countryside, cities, and beaches, there is a lot to cover. Luckily, in the modern age, your mobile phone can let you know where you can go and how you can get there. Let’s look at some of the ways in which you can discover Yorkshire in the palm of your hand.
Make Your Way Around
You might want to explore some of Yorkshire’s beautiful countryside or some of its thriving cities. In that case, your mobile phone can help you. The likes of Google Maps and Apple Maps are pretty much standard when it comes to making your phone a SatNav, but there are other options, such as Waze, which lets you share your live location with someone, perfect if you are visiting friends or family. These apps will also factor in live travel information, so you’ll know how best to navigate around famously busy roads, such as the M62. You can also use them easily enough for walking routes, so whether you are out exploring the Dales or nosing around the medieval streets of York, many of which remained unsigned until the 18th century, you’ll know where to turn to.
One other app that might be useful, at least in the latter case, is CityMapper, which also offers some excellent plans for cross-town cycling routes. If, on the other hand, you are driving, then the chances are you will need to pay to park somewhere. This is where the likes of RingGo and PayByPhone come in handy, especially in paid parking bays where there is no ticket machine. And if you can drive but don’t have a car, the likes of Enterprise and EuroCar have their own car hire apps and, if you are visiting Leeds, you could also use ZipCar to rent a vehicle.
Experiencing Entertainment and Testing Your Luck Around The County
Yorkshire is a county that prides itself on its entertainment heritage. With iconic music venues such as the Grade One Listed Piece Hall in Halifax – also a genuinely wonderful heritage site – Brundell’s Social Club in Leeds, and the Sheffield Leadmill, or theatres like Bradford’s Alhambra, York’s Grand Opera House, and the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield, there are plenty of options. Let’s also not forget about the wide range of festivals across the county, from the massive Leeds Festival to more niche events, like Scarborough’s Fortress Festival. And if the arts aren’t your thing, Yorkshire has more than enough sport going on. If you’re into horse racing, there are the great racecourses and York, Doncaster, and Wetherby; its county cricket side is world-renowned, while football fans can choose between eleven teams in the football league alone. And if you want to experience these events, apps such as Ticketmaster, Twickets, and Dice can help you get your tickets.
Meanwhile, there are gambling options in Yorkshire, too. The Opera House Casino in Scarborough offers visitors to the seaside resort the opportunity to take part in weekly Texas Hold ‘Em poker tournaments, as well as try their luck at blackjack, electronic roulette, or slots with prizes of up to £10,000. Meanwhile, the Victoria Gate Casino in Leeds is the North of England’s largest gambling house, featuring 22 live card tables, more than 175 slot machines, and a restaurant. If, on the other hand, you feel like gambling but don’t feel like going out, your mobile is your friend. This is because, with the variety of such apps as Midnite and BetMorph, there are plenty of ways to take part in a range of casino games without having to leave your home.
Trains And Buses
With Yorkshire being as big as it is, you might not fancy driving around. Instead, you might just prefer to use public transport. If that is so, then, again, there are plenty of mobile phone apps that can help you get around. If you want to let the train take the strain, Yorkshire has one of the UK’s busiest railway networks, with more than 150 stations, so getting as much information as you can is really useful. For example, applications like Trainline and National Rail not only let you check timetables, but also serve as a place to buy your tickets and even keep them on your app.
Better yet, you can get live train information, so you can tell in advance whether or not your train is running late. If, on the other hand, you would rather take advantage of buses in Yorkshire, then apps can give you the information you need there, too. For instance, First Bus App covers York, Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield, and Bradford, and lets you buy tickets in advance on your mobile and scan them, so there’s no worrying about having to find the right change for the driver. Similarly, Arriva’s app will let you do the same sort of thing for much of North and East Yorkshire, which can save you time, money, and hassle.
While You’re Out
It’s all very well getting directions around Yorkshire, or taking advantage of the region’s excellent public transport, but what are you going to do once you’re there? In this information age, you’ll be pleased to hear that there are plenty of apps that can really enhance your days and nights out in Yorkshire. The official Visit Yorkshire app offers users information about upcoming attractions, tickets, and even informative and interesting walking routes. If you want to skip the inevitable queues at attractions such as Castle Howard, which has around 250,000 visitors every year, or Fountains Abbey, then other ticketing apps, such as GetMyGuide can also come in handy, while the likes of Eventbrite can get you into local events.
Meanwhile, you can keep yourself informed about the county’s news with the Yorkshire Live app. Lovers of the White Rose County’s renowned landscape can use the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Three Peaks apps to go on hiking routes around the National Park, while apps such as izi.TRAVEL, PocketGuide, and VoiceMap can help create walking routes around the area’s towns and cities. Indeed, some apps, such as Visit East Yorkshire’s What Was Here, give users the chance to see old photographs of where they are now, while visitors to the Great Yorkshire Show can get information about what’s on at the annual agricultural event, as can visitors to Leeds’ PLASA Focus electronics show at the Royal Armouries Museum.
