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Yorkshire and Northumberland

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4.2 stars(131 reviews)
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Soak up the natural beauty of Yorkshire and Northumbria

You are viewing the 2023 itinerary. Select your departure year
20232024
7 days From £945 £895 per person
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2023 Tour code: YNS23

About the tour

Scenic rail journeys bring to life the history and natural beauty of Yorkshire and Northumbria. Follow in Viking and Roman footsteps with a visit to historic York, discover the rugged castles and elegant gardens of Northumberland, and bask in the verdant hills of the Yorkshire Dales.

Highlights

What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 - Harrogate

Our holiday begins in Harrogate, at the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. One of England's most attractive towns, Harrogate retains many Georgian and Victorian features, including original spa buildings. After time to explore, and maybe visit Betty's Tea Rooms, we meet for dinner in the hotel.

Please Note: For departure 08/06/23 you will stay at the White Hart Hotel in Harrogate.

Includes
  • Dinner
Day 2 - RHS Harlow Carr and York

We visit the beautiful gardens of RHS Harlow Carr. Stroll along the tranquil Woodland or Streamside Walk, or take in the perfumed flora of the Scented Garden. We continue to York for a guided tour that includes the medieval Shambles, which has remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages. Our tour ends at the glorious Minster - one of Europe's largest Gothic cathedrals - where entrance is included. The rest of your day is free, and you could choose to visit the National Railway Museum. Return to the hotel in time for dinner.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 - Whitby and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway

We visit the seaside resort of Whitby, where we discover the brooding Abbey ruins. Overlooking the North Sea, the clifftop structure was a 7th-century Christian monastery that later became a Benedictine abbey, and is fascinating to explore. We continue with an insight into the town's coastal heritage at the RNLI Lifeboat Station. The station is one of the RNLI's oldest, and we are given a presentation followed by time to look around. You also have free time in the town, possibly to take a stroll on the beach with some fish and chips. We join the scenic North Yorkshire Moors Railway, making the return journey by steam train. Dinner is a delicious Yorkshire-themed meal at our hotel.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 4 - The Settle-Carlisle Railway

Leaving Harrogate behind, we travel on the famous Settle-Carlisle Railway, a 72-mile route regularly voted one of the world's top rail journeys. It's easy to see why as we cross the Ribblehead Viaduct, a striking bridge that cuts through the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, and skirt the North Pennines, a designated Area of Natural Beauty. In Carlisle, we transfer by rail to the Northumbrian town of Hexham, and continue by coach to our hotel in Alnwick.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 5 – Alnwick Castle

We visit historic Alnwick Castle, where we're immersed in beauty on a guided tour of its impressive state rooms and landscaped gardens. The castle has an illustrious history spanning over 950 years. Today, it's a Grade I listed building and its state rooms are a wonder to see, with palatial, Italian Renaissance style decorating. The gardens are no less spectacular. From elegant displays that wouldn't look out of place at Versailles to pretty walled gardens that exude a calm beauty, they're a feast for the senses.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 6 - Bamburgh Castle and Lindisfarne

We cross the wild Northumberland countryside to Bamburgh, a town dominated by its castle, overlooking the sandy coast. We enjoy a private 'behind the scenes' tour of Bamburgh Castle before it opens to the public, discovering the extraordinary Grade I listed castle. We continue to the famous island of Lindisfarne. Known as the 'Holy Island', this remote spot has been inhabited since the 6th century. We're treated to a tasting of local mead and fudge, made by the monks who've lived here for centuries, before returning to our hotel.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 7 – York and home

We take the train to York, where your holiday comes to an end.

Includes
  • Breakfast

Additional information

Please note

Please note that while every departure of this tour will feature the same excursions, the order may differ from that shown above.

Departure times

Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular holiday with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotels

White Swan Hotel, Alnwick

White Swan Hotel, Alnwick

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Harrogate Inn, Harrogate

Harrogate Inn, Harrogate

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DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel & Spa Harrogate

DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel & Spa, Harrogate

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White Hart Hotel, Harrogate

White Hart Hotel, Harrogate

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Trains

North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Settle-Carlisle Railway

Enhance your holiday

Upgrades

UK rail connections

Reviews

4.2 stars4.2 / 5 · 131 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (56)
  2. 4 stars
    (52)
  3. 3 stars
    (15)
  4. 2 stars
    (5)
  5. 1 star
    (3)

D Barker

5 stars

Submitted 2/Jun

Brilliant trip & an excellent tour guide

Collected by Trustpilot

V Johnson

3 stars

Submitted 22/May

Not your fault home journey was horrendous. Also hotel in Alnwick was less than par.

Collected by Trustpilot

David Cockburn

5 stars

Submitted 17/May

A very caring, experienced and approachable

Collected by Trustpilot

Nicholas Brooks

5 stars

Submitted 17/May

A very enjoyable holiday from beginning to end. Well paced, good hotels and great tour manager

Collected by Trustpilot

Janet Wright

4 stars

Submitted 07 Nov 2022

Good holiday although a couple of alterations would be advantageous e.g visit Harlow Carr in the afternoon instead of morning and catch an earlier N Yorks Moors train as the last part of our journey was in the dark and we returned very late to the hotel. It was well organised, both hotels were satisfactory and the food in the Crowne Plaza in Harrogate was excellent especially the choice at breakfast. There were some very nice excursions with enthusiastic local guides

Collected by Trustpilot

Judith Collymore

4 stars

Submitted 03 Nov 2022

Beautiful parts of the country. The trips were well organised and the RNLI talk at Whitby was much better than I had anticipated. The 2 hotels were clean and comfortable. Loved Lindisfarne and Bamburgh. Will definitely go back to these areas to explore more. Our tour guide was brilliant. He told us our itinerary each evening. He also worked very hard to sort out our itinerary for the day we should have been on Settle to Carlisle railway. There had been a derailment so he had to sort out alternative transport but we still visited Carlisle.

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UK by Rail 2023

UK by Rail 2023

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