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

1. Day 1: York: the walls and the Shambles

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

   • Welcome dinner in York
   • Stay in York
   Day 1 details

   Make your own way to York: direct trains take about two hours from London King's Cross or from Manchester Airport. We meet your See Sight Tours guide at the hotel at about 2 pm (the exact time and place come with your final itinerary). After a short welcome, your guide takes the group up onto the city walls at Bootham Bar, the old gate on the road north, and along the stretch to Monk Bar, with the towers of the Minster above the rooftops and the Dean's Park gardens below. The walls are mostly medieval, built on Roman and Viking lines, and they still run round much of the old city. 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.

   Included

   • 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

   Easier option: Walk the Shambles and the streets below the walls and skip the wall steps.

   Free time: Arrive in York at your own pace before the 2 pm meeting

   Activity: About 2 hours on foot, with steps up to the walls and a narrow wall path with a parapet on one side.

   

2. Day 2: York Minster and the National Railway Museum

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

   • Breakfast
   • Stay in York
   Day 2 details

   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. 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.

   Included

   • 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

   Optional experiences

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

   Easier option: Ride a taxi between the Minster and the railway museum, and rest on the benches in the Great Hall.

   More active option: Climb the Minster's central tower, 275 steps, and walk the rest of the walls circuit in the late afternoon.

   Free time: Lunch on your own; late afternoon and evening free in York

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot on level pavements and museum floors. The tower climb is optional, narrow and steep. On Sundays the Minster opens to visitors after services, so we swap the order of the day.

   

3. Day 3: Malham Cove and Grassington

   York to Malham, then Grassington in Wharfedale

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Grassington
   Day 3 details

   We check out at 8:30 and drive west through Harrogate and Skipton into the Yorkshire Dales National Park, about two hours with a coffee stop. 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. 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. 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.

   Included

   • 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

   Easier option: Walk the level path to the foot of the cove and back, about 3 km, and skip the steps.

   More active option: Before lunch, add the woodland path to the waterfall at Janet's Foss and the gorge of Gordale Scar, about 5 km there and back from Malham.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Grassington

   Activity: About 2.5 hours of driving in two legs, broken by a coffee stop and Malham. About 3 km on foot plus about 400 uneven stone steps if you climb the cove; the limestone pavement is uneven and slippery when wet.

   

4. Day 4: Wensleydale and Ribblehead

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

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Grassington
   Day 4 details

   We leave Grassington at about 9 am and drive up Wharfedale past Kettlewell and Buckden, then over the high moor road at Fleet Moss and down into Wensleydale; if our vehicle partner rules out that steep, narrow pass for the minibus, we take the lower road from Buckden through Bishopdale and Aysgarth instead. 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. We come home by Ribblesdale and Settle, and the late afternoon is free in Grassington before dinner together at a Dales inn.

   Included

   • 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

   Optional experiences

   • The Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes

   Easier option: See the viaduct from the roadside near the old station and stay with the minibus.

   More active option: Walk on beside the line from the viaduct towards Blea Moor, about 5 km there and back on a stony track.

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Grassington

   Activity: About 2.5 hours of driving in three legs, broken by Hawes and Ribblehead. About 2 km on foot on a level stony track; Ribblehead is exposed and windy, so bring a warm layer.

   

5. Day 5: Rievaulx Abbey and the steam train to Whitby

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

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Whitby
   Day 5 details

   We check out at 8:30 and cross east by Pateley Bridge, Ripon and Thirsk, then climb the steep road up Sutton Bank onto the North York Moors, stopping at the top for the view west across the Vale of York to the Dales we have left. Rievaulx Abbey lies in a wooded valley a few minutes on, founded by Cistercian monks in 1132; your guide walks you through the tall ruined church and the monks' quarters. 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. We arrive in the late afternoon; the evening is free.

   Included

   • 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

   Easier option: Stay in the abbey's museum and café at Rievaulx while the group walks the far end of the ruins.

   More active option: Walk the Cleveland Way along the escarpment from Sutton Bank to the White Horse of Kilburn viewpoint and back, about 3 km, while the group takes in the view.

   Free time: Evening free in Whitby

   Activity: About 2.25 hours of driving in short legs, broken by Sutton Bank, Rievaulx and lunch, then the train. About 1.5 hours on foot on grass and gravel. On days when the steam train does not run through to Whitby, we change at Grosmont or the minibus completes the journey; we confirm this with your final itinerary.

   

6. Day 6: Whitby Abbey and Robin Hood's Bay

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

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Whitby
   Day 6 details

   We cross the swing bridge to the old town and climb the 199 steps to St Mary's Church and Whitby Abbey, arriving as the abbey opens at about 10 am, for an hour there. St Hilda founded a monastery here in 657, and the Synod of Whitby met here in 664; the tall ruin you see is the 13th-century church of the Benedictine abbey that followed. Bram Stoker set part of Dracula in Whitby after staying in the town, and your guide shows you the spots he used. From the abbey, walkers follow the Cleveland Way south along the cliff tops with your guide, about 11 km past old fog signals and fishing coves, and drop into Robin Hood's Bay, a village of red-roofed fishermen's cottages packed into a ravine. The rest of the group rides the minibus there and walks down the steep main street to the shore. 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. The evening ends with fish and chips together by Whitby harbour.

   Included

   • 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

   Optional experiences

   • The Captain Cook Memorial Museum, Whitby

   Easier option: Ride the minibus to the top of Robin Hood's Bay and walk down the main street to the slipway and the beach, about 1 km, steep but paved.

   More active option: Walk the Cleveland Way from Whitby Abbey to Robin Hood's Bay, about 11 km and 3 to 3.5 hours, with short climbs in and out of the coves.

   Free time: Lunch on your own in Robin Hood's Bay; late afternoon free in Whitby

   Activity: The 199 steps are wide but steep. The cliff path is uneven and exposed, with steps in and out of the coves, and closes in places after cliff falls; your guide picks the route on the day. Robin Hood's Bay's main street is very steep.

   

7. Day 7: Whitby to York

   Whitby across the North York Moors to York station

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 7 details

   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.

   Included

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

   Activity: Book a flight from Manchester leaving after about 4 pm, or from Heathrow or Gatwick after about 5:30 pm.

Wildlife and weather: May and June bring lambs in the Dales, long light evenings and nesting seabirds on the coast; July and August are warmest and busiest; in August and early September the heather on the North York Moors turns purple; September and October are quieter and cooler. Rain is likely at some point in any month, so each day has an indoor alternative.

• York2 nights
• Grassington2 nights
• Whitby2 nights