Brief Itinerary Included Meals: B = Breakfast, L = Packed lunch, D = Evening meal Day 1. Rendezvous at Manchester Airport. Transfer to Malhamdale. This will be the base for our explorations in the Yorkshire Dales. After checking into our accommodation, we take a short walk out of the village to visit the impressive Malham Cove. Standing some 260 feet high and almost a thousand feet in length, this curving cliff of limestone was formed at the close of the last ice age when millions of gallons of melt-water would have produced a waterfall bigger than Niagara. Day 2. Hike: We visit janet's Foss and climb through the limetone gorge of Goredale Scar to reach Malham Tarn. From here we follow the outlet river to a 'sinkhole' and then cross the Limestone Pavement to the top of Malham Cove. A series of steps takes us back down to the valley to complete acircular tour. (B,L) Day 3. A walk through Bronte Country. Today we visit a very different landscape of wild moorland and outcrops of millstone grit. After visiting the picturesque village of Haworth, home to the Bronte sisters, we take a walk following the river's cascades up onto the moors which were the setting for emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. We visit the desolute ruin of Top Withins (Wuthering Heights) Farmhouse before completeing our circuit walk to Haworth. We then return to Malhamdale. (B,L) Day 4. Today we make an ascent of one of the famous Yorkshire ‘Three Peaks’. This will be a circular walk and at the finish we drive back to Malhamdale to enjoy our final evening in our Yorkshire Dales base. (B,L) Day 5. We move our base travelling north west to the Lake District, England’s premier National Park. We travel first to Lake Windermere the longest of England’s Lakes where we spend some time to explore the lakeside town of Bowness. From here we take a ferry across the lake and continue our drive to the village of Hawkshead which was home to Beatrix Potter. We check into our comfortable hotel close to the village. (B) Day 6 . This morning starts with a scenic drive through Grizedale Forest to the start of the day's walk.. We follow a section of the Cumbria Way through the Crake Valley and to Coniston Water. We then follow the shoreline to reach Coniston Village at the foot of the ‘Old Man’. After looking around the village we have a short transfer back to our hotel base. (B,L). Day 7. After a visit to Hill Top Farmhouse where Beatrix Potter wrote many of her children's stories, we then make an ascent of one of the Coniston Fells for a splendid panorama of lakes, mountains and coast. There are several options for hikes of around 6 or 7 miles up to 2,600 feet above the Village including the ‘Old Man of Coniston’. (B,L). Day 8. We move across to the East of England today to the third of our areas of outstanding natural beauty visited on this trip, the Northumbria Coast. Our base for this part of the trip is the historic town of Berwick situated at the mouth of the River Tweed and on the border between Scotland and England. (B). Day 9. A little way south of Berwick lies Alnwick Castle which was used in the filming of Harry Potter to represent Hogwarts school. After a tour of the castle we drive to the North Sea for a delightful coastal walk of around 10 miles. The path traverses cliff tops, crosses sandy beaches and passes the ruin of Dunstanburgh Castle to reach Beadnell Bay. (B,L). Day 10. Today we visit another of the area's spectacular castles at Bamburgh. We then catch a boat for a cruise around the Farne Islands and their seal colonies and continue up the coast to visit to Lindisfarne (Holy Island). We spend 2 hours on the island, visiting the monastery and castle before making the return cruise and the short transfer back to Berwick.(B) Day 11. We return to the hills for the day, travelling inland to the village of Wooler a small, attractive stone-built town, perched high above the Wooler Water, and the natural gateway to the Cheviot Hills and the Northumberland National Park. From here we make an ascent of the mountain known simply as 'the Cheviot' at 2675ft. Return to Berwick. (B,L) Day 12. Edingburgh, Scotland's capital city is an hour's scenic drive north of Berwick and no castles tour in this part of the world would be complete without a visit to the castle that stands on a volcanic hill above this attractive city. We have a morning tour of Edinburgh castle and the afternoon is free for shopping or independent sightseeing. In the evening we have a 'farewell dinner' in one of the city's excellent restaurants. Return to Berwick. (B,D) Day 13. There is complimentary group transfer to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, timed to leave after breakfast. This transfer takes approximately 1 hour. Newcastle has excellent rail links to Manchester Airport and to London (either journey will take approximately 3 hours and trains depart every hour ). Newcastle is also served by an international airport.
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The price includes: The services of an experienced Wandering Aengus Treks walk guide and a PCV qualified driver The price does not include: Flights or rail journeys to/from start and end points |