The best northern city escape is not really one destination. It is a decent bed, a station within walking distance and a bus stop that goes somewhere worth going. Base yourself in York, Leeds, Newcastle or Chester for a week, unpack once, and let day trips do the heavy lifting. You keep the main luggage in the wardrobe and carry a small rucksack instead.

Pick a base with a station, a bus interchange and a market

York suits this sort of holiday almost perfectly. There are two railway stations, the bus interchange is a ten-minute stroll from the Minster, and lines radiate north to the moors, east to the coast and west into spa country. Leeds works well too if you want a bigger city with Wharfedale and the Dales on the doorstep. Newcastle gives you the Tyne valley and the Northumberland coast.

Pack a day bag the night before: waterproof jacket, warm layer, water, a charger, and cash in case a rural bus driver is having a bad day with the card reader. Buy an off-peak return at the station, or ask for a day ranger ticket if you plan to hop on and off. Many destinations sell an add-on bus ticket for a couple of pounds with your rail fare, which is far cheaper than buying separately.

The moors by heritage railway and village bus

From York, take the train to Malton and pick up the bus to Pickering, or ride the direct bus along the A169. At Pickering you can join the heritage steam line that climbs through Newtondale to Grosmont, a genuinely lovely hour of woodland and heather. At Grosmont, step onto the Esk Valley train for Whitby and you have crossed the moors without touching a car.

If you prefer walking, the same main road stops at Saltergate, right beside the Hole of Horcum, a vast natural amphitheatre with paths down to Levisham and back up to the road. Goathland has wide moorland views, a station and a couple of tea rooms. There are long stretches with no shelter, so check the forecast and carry water.

Market towns of the Vale of York

• Malton - a proper food town, with a Saturday market and a monthly food festival that fills the streets.
• Thirsk - markets on Tuesdays and Saturdays, a cobbled square and a small museum devoted to the vet whose books made this corner of Yorkshire famous.
• Northallerton - a long, handsome high street, Wednesday market and good independent shops for a rainy hour.
• Ripon - Thursday market, a cathedral, and a hornblower who sounds the watch at nine each evening beside the obelisk. It is a charmingly old-fashioned thing to build an evening around.

Buses link these towns reasonably well, though timings are shaped around commuters rather than sightseers. Travel mid-morning and come back on the late afternoon service, and you will have four or five unhurried hours.

Spa towns and limestone country to the west

Harrogate and Knaresborough are twenty to forty minutes by train depending on where you start. Knaresborough is the postcard: a viaduct over the Nidd, a ruined castle on the cliff, rowing boats and a riverside walk. Harrogate has the Stray, the Valley Gardens and a pump room museum that explains why everyone came here with a glass and a hopeful expression. Book ahead for the spa baths and the famous tea room if you want the full ritual.

Push further west from Leeds for Ilkley, with the moor rising straight off the end of the high street, and Skipton, where a castle, a canal basin and a bustling market sit within a few minutes of each other. Wharfedale's priory ruins and riverside paths are an easy bus ride beyond.

Coast and cliffs: Whitby, Scarborough and the bays

Whitby repays a whole day. Climb the 199 steps to the abbey ruins, look out over the harbour mouth, then wander the old town for smoked kippers and a pint in a quayside corner. The Esk Valley line from Middlesbrough is one of the prettiest railway journeys in England, and the bus from York takes about two hours with a stop at the moors viewpoint.

Scarborough offers two bays, a castle on the headland and a spa building that has been reinvented as a music venue. Filey is quieter, with a wide sands and a chalk headland. Robin Hood's Bay can be reached on foot along the cliff path or the old railway trackbed, though it is a steep, cobbled drop into the village and a stiff climb back out. Watch the tides and the sea fret; both arrive faster than you expect.

Making the day work

• Check Sunday and bank holiday timetables the day before - rural services thin out dramatically.
• Note the last bus or train back, then set an alarm for an hour earlier than you think you need.
• Buy your return ticket in the morning; queues at small stations can be slow after a sunny afternoon.
• Take a picnic for moorland days, where the nearest cafe may be a forty-minute walk away.
• Keep the main suitcase packed and out of sight, and travel with one small bag so you can move quickly between bus and platform.

Do that, and a week in one northern city starts to feel like six holidays, with none of the packing.