Seeing Thirsk? Begin at The World of James Herriot
Museums or galleries make up 4 of the 7 places on the list. The built-up area itself has 4 places on our list; 3 others are within 5 km of its edge. Walking distance covers 4 of them, all within 1 km of the middle. A day out reaches Fountains Abbey, 21 km away.
Best known, in and near Thirsk
The rest of the best known are 2 museums, an art gallery and a historic house.
MuseumThe World of James Herriotin townArt galleryArt galleryZillah Bell Contemporary Artin townMuseumMuseumThirsk Hall Sculpture Parkin town
MuseumThirsk Museumin town
Historic houseSion Hill Hall And Attached Courtyard Wall4.5 km outside town, to the westZooZooThirsk Birds of Prey Centre4.4 km outside town, to the westEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
Map of the places
The 3 outside town cluster to the west.
The dashed line is Thirsk’s built-up area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · ONS built-up area 2022
What is on offer
Count 4 museums or galleries and 2 zoos, theme parks or other days out.
Green: inside Thirsk. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
All of them, one by one
4 in town lead, with 3 more within 5 km of its edge after them.
Thirsk Hall Sculpture Park
Sculpture park in Thirsk, Hambleton, England, UK.
Sion Hill Hall And Attached Courtyard Wall
Architectural structure in Kirby Wiske, Hambleton, England, UK.
The 4 inside Thirsk come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.
57 listed buildings and 2 scheduled monuments are on Thirsk’s History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Thirsk →
Big names nearby
Out of town, Fountains Abbey (21 km) leads 12 names to know.
Abbey or priory · English HeritageFountains Abbey21 km southwest
Garden · National TrustStudley Royal Park20 km southwest
ChurchYork Minster35 km southeastMuseumBig drawMuseumNational Railway Museum34 km southeast · 808K visitors a year
Historic houseCastle Howard31 km southeast
CathedralRipon Cathedral16 km southwest
Abbey or priory · English HeritageRievaulx Abbey Museum15 km east
Castle · English HeritageClifford's Tower35 km southeast
MuseumYorkshire Museum35 km southeast · 164K visitors a year (2019)
Abbey or priory · English HeritageByland Abbey12 km eastCastleCastle · English HeritageMiddleham Castle31 km west
Historic houseHarewood House40 km southPlaces well known beyond Thirsk (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a National Trust, English Heritage or Cadw property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Visiting Thirsk: questions
What are the main attractions in Thirsk?
The best known inside Thirsk’s built-up area are The World of James Herriot, Zillah Bell Contemporary Art, Thirsk Hall Sculpture Park and Thirsk Museum. In all, 4 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 3 more within 5 km.
Does Thirsk have a museum?
4 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Thirsk: The World of James Herriot, Zillah Bell Contemporary Art, Thirsk Hall Sculpture Park and Thirsk Museum.
Is there a National Trust or English Heritage property near Thirsk?
None within 5 km. The nearest well-known one on our list is Fountains Abbey (English Heritage), 21 km southwest.
What are the best-known days out near Thirsk?
Within 40 km: Fountains Abbey (21 km), Studley Royal Park (20 km), York Minster (35 km), National Railway Museum (34 km).
Where are Thirsk’s historic buildings listed?
Thirsk has 57 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I. They are on its History page, from Historic England’s list, not repeated here.
How is this list made?
From OpenStreetMap (museums, galleries, zoos, theme parks and attractions, castles, forts and abbeys, and historic houses and gardens that are open to visitors) and Wikidata (what each place is, who runs it, its website and visitor counts). A place counts for Thirsk when it is inside the ONS 2022 built-up area, and as nearby within 5 km of its edge. Opening times and prices are not shown: check the official site.
Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (13)
- The World of James Herriot: Peter K Burian, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thirsk Museum: Stephen Armstrong, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sion Hill Hall And Attached Courtyard Wall: Matthew Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Fountains Abbey: User:Klaus with K, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Studley Royal Park: silver_doctor. Iain Gilmour - www.silverexpressions.co.uk, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- York Minster: MatzeTrier, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Castle Howard: Pwojdacz. Original uploader was Pwojdacz at en.wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ripon Cathedral: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rievaulx Abbey Museum: Tilman2007/Dr. Volkmar Rudolf, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Clifford's Tower: Francis Place (1647-1728), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Yorkshire Museum: Tim Green from Bradford, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Byland Abbey: Antony McCallum, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Harewood House: Sirenuk, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
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