England: York, the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors and Whitby

York: the walls and the Shambles

Arrive in York, walk the city walls, then the Shambles

• Welcome dinner in York
• Nuit : York

Soir

Down from the walls we walk the Shambles in the early evening, when the day crowds have thinned, a narrow medieval street of overhanging timber-framed houses that was once the butchers' row. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner inside the walls.

Compris

• Welcome meeting with your guide at the York hotel
• Guided walk on the city walls from Bootham Bar to Monk Bar
• The Shambles in the early evening
• Welcome dinner in York

York Minster and the National Railway Museum

A day in York on foot: the Minster, then the National Railway Museum

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : York

Matin

We are at York Minster when it opens to visitors in the morning, before the tour groups arrive. Your guide takes you through the nave, the octagonal chapter house with its carved stone canopies, and the Great East Window, a wall of early 15th-century stained glass about the size of a tennis court. The Minster took more than 250 years to build and was completed in 1472.

Après-midi

If you want the view, climb the central tower, 275 steps, before lunch on your own in the city. In the early afternoon we walk about 15 minutes across the river, past the station, to the National Railway Museum, where entry is free. Your guide shows you the Great Hall's turntable, Mallard, which still holds the world speed record for a steam locomotive, a Japanese bullet train and Queen Victoria's royal saloon. From about 3:30 pm the rest of the day is yours: Jorvik Viking Centre, Clifford's Tower, the river or a ghost walk after dark.

Compris

• York Minster at its morning opening, with your guide: the nave, the chapter house and the Great East Window
• The National Railway Museum with your guide

Activités en option

• York Minster tower climb
• Jorvik Viking Centre
• Clifford's Tower
• A York ghost walk in the evening

Malham Cove and Grassington

York to Malham, then Grassington in Wharfedale

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Grassington
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Matin

We reach Malham mid-morning, before the National Park car park fills. From the village a flat path of about 1.5 km follows Malham Beck through fields to the foot of Malham Cove, a curved limestone cliff about 80 metres high left by the meltwater of the last ice age. A stone staircase of about 400 steps climbs its west side to the limestone pavement on top, a grid of bare grey blocks and deep cracks with a view down the dale.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal at a pub in Malham. In the afternoon we cross the moor road to Grassington, our home for two nights, about half an hour away.

Soir

It is a small market town with a cobbled square and stone houses above the River Wharfe, and the rest of the afternoon and evening are free.

Compris

• Guided walk from Malham village to Malham Cove
• The limestone pavement on top of the cove
• Sit-down pub lunch in Malham
• Grassington's square and lanes

Wensleydale and Ribblehead

Grassington up Wharfedale to Hawes, then Ribblehead Viaduct and back by Ribblesdale

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Grassington
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Après-midi

In Hawes, a market town at the head of the dale, we visit the Wensleydale Creamery, where cheese has been made since the 1890s; you see how it is made and taste the range before a sit-down lunch in the town. In the early afternoon we drive about 20 minutes west to Ribblehead, where the Settle to Carlisle railway crosses the open moor on a viaduct of 24 stone arches, completed in 1874. A level track of about 1 km leads to the arches, with Whernside, the highest of the Three Peaks, behind.

Soir

We come home by Ribblesdale and Settle, and the late afternoon is free in Grassington before dinner together at a Dales inn.

Compris

• Scenic drive up Wharfedale by Kettlewell and Buckden
• Wensleydale Creamery visitor centre with cheese tasting, Hawes
• Sit-down lunch in Hawes
• Walk to Ribblehead Viaduct
• Dinner together at a Dales inn

Activités en option

• The Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes

Rievaulx Abbey and the steam train to Whitby

Grassington to Ripon, Sutton Bank, Rievaulx Abbey and Helmsley, then Pickering by steam train to Whitby

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Whitby
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal in Helmsley, a market town with a ruined castle. In the early afternoon the minibus drops us at Pickering station and takes the bags on to Whitby by road, while we board the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The heritage line runs north for around 90 minutes to 2 hours, with an engine change at Grosmont and the last miles on the national network, through the deep glacial valley of Newtondale and across the open moor, through Goathland, the station used as Hogsmeade in the first Harry Potter film, and down the Esk valley to Whitby.

Soir

We arrive in the late afternoon; the evening is free.

Compris

• Sutton Bank viewpoint
• Rievaulx Abbey with your guide
• Sit-down lunch in Helmsley
• North Yorkshire Moors Railway from Pickering to Whitby
• Bags taken from Pickering to the Whitby hotel by minibus

Whitby Abbey and Robin Hood's Bay

Whitby up the 199 steps to the Abbey, then the cliff path to Robin Hood's Bay

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
• Nuit : Whitby
• Environ 30 min de route

Après-midi

Walkers reach the village in the early afternoon for a late lunch of their choice; the minibus brings everyone back by about 4:30 pm.

Soir

The evening ends with fish and chips together by Whitby harbour.

Compris

• The 199 steps and St Mary's Church
• Whitby Abbey at its morning opening, with your guide
• Cleveland Way cliff walk from Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay with your guide (or the minibus)
• Robin Hood's Bay village and shore
• Minibus back to Whitby
• Farewell fish and chips dinner in Whitby

Activités en option

• The Captain Cook Memorial Museum, Whitby

Whitby to York

Whitby across the North York Moors to York station

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

After breakfast we leave Whitby at about 9 am and drive south across the open top of the North York Moors, past the heather moorland of Fylingdales, down through Pickering and along the edge of the Howardian Hills to York. The drive takes about an hour and a half, and we reach York station by about 11 am, where the trip ends and your guide sees the group onto their trains. From York, direct trains reach London King's Cross in about two hours, and direct trains to Manchester Airport take about two hours. If you are flying home today, book a flight leaving Manchester after about 4 pm, or Heathrow or Gatwick after about 5:30 pm, allowing for the connection across London. If you would rather stay on, we can book extra nights in York, or connect you to our classic England trip, which also passes through York, or to Edinburgh, about two and a half hours north by direct train.

Compris

• Drive across the North York Moors to York
• Drop-off with your bags at York station