The Dales to the Lakes

Day 1: Rendezvous at 11:00 am at the Manchester Airport, followed by group transfer to our hotel near Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Our base for the next several days will be a comfortable Edwardian country house set amidst old English gardens and offering expansive views of the Valley.

After getting settled into our hotel, we will take a 15-minute walk into the village of Hawes. Located at the upper end of the Wensleydale Valley in the Northern Yorkshire Dales, Hawes is an active market town. Its attractive main street is lined with old stone buildings, cafes, pubs, and shops. The Wensleydale Creamery, famous for its cheese, is located here, as is the Dales Countryside Museum.

After getting a bite to eat for lunch, we will head back to the hotel by way of Hardraw Force, often referred to as England’s largest “single drop” waterfall. Welcome dinner.

Days 2, 3 & 4: Hikes around Hawes
The broad valley of Wensleydale, lying just to the east of the Pennines, is largely agricultural, with idyllic green pastureland checked with endless stone walls. Located at the upper end of the valley and surrounded by fells to the north, west, and south, our hotel offers any number of good walks leading from its doorstep.

Each day we will offer guided walking options geared to the interest and abilities of the group. Group members will also have time to relax at the hotel, explore the shops of Hawes, and visit the Wensleydale Creamery and Dales Countryside Museum.

Hiking options may include:
Whether Fell: A walk through Hawes and past the Wensleydale Creamery will take us up to Wether Fell. Part of our route follows Cam High Road, an old Roman way. Tracing along Whether Fell, with fine views back over Hawes and the valley, we’ll descend back into town and return to the hotel. 

Aysgarth Falls – Carperby – Bolton Castle: Further down the valley, a fine walk will take us through the heart of James Herriot country. From the stepped falls of Aysgarth, we’ll continue through the village of Carperby, where James Herriot, author of All Creature’s Great and Small, spent his honeymoon, and on to Bolton Castle, one of England’s best-preserved medieval castles. Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here after the Battle of Langside. The walk offers wonderful views of Bolton Castle, as well as upper and lower Wensleydale.

Stags Fell: Heading up the north side of the valley from our hotel, we’ll walk through the tiny hamlet of Sedbusk on our way up to Stags Fell. As we cross the fell we’ll have more expansive views down the valley. Dropping down through Shaw Gyll and Shaw Gyll Wood, we’ll return to the Stone House through a series of fields and stone walls dotted by old field barns typical of this area. 

Day 5: After breakfast, we will have a morning transfer to our next hotel in Grasmere, in the heart of the Lake District. A popular hiking and walking center, Grasmere has long attracted artists and writers, most notably, William Wordsworth. A bustling village of shops and galleries, Grasmere is set at the edge of a diminutive lake surrounded by high fells. Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage is located here and he is buried in the cemetery at St. Oswald’s Church.

We'll stay at a traditional English hotel surrounded by fields and fells. After settling in, we’ll have time for lunch in town before walking to the Wordsworth Trust for a tour of Dove Cottage and a visit to the Wordsworth Museum.

Days 6, 7 & 8: Hikes around Grasmere
Once again, there are many great hiking and walking options in and around Grasmere. Each day we will offer guided walking options geared to the interests and abilities of the group, and we will also have time to relax at the hotel and explore the shops and galleries of Grasmere.

Hiking options may include:
Easedale Tarn: The walk up to the mountain lake of Easedale Tarn is a typical Lake District walk. We’ll follow the valley of Easedale, skirting the cascading waters of Sour Milk Gyll, as we climb to the isolated mountain lake, Easedale Tarn, set in a crescent of craggy fells. 

Grasmere to Rydal: Also known as Wordsworth’s Walk, this circular route links two of Wordsworth’s homes, Dove Cottage in Grasmere and Rydal Mount in the village of Rydal, and circumnavigates both Grasmere and Rydal Lakes. First following the old “Coffin Route” on the north side of Rydal Lake, our route passes by Rydal Mount and Rydal Hall before looping back to Grasmere, passing by Loughrigg caves and along the southern shore of Grasmere Lake. 

Keswick – Castlerigg Stone Circle – Derwent Water: A 30-minute van transfer will bring us to the town of Keswick. This old market town is tucked between the north end of idyllic Derwent Water Lake and the Skiddaw Mountains. We’ll have time to poke around before heading off on our walk. Keswick hosts such whimsical attractions as the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum, Bond Museum, and the Pencil Museum.

Our walk will take us first to the impressive Castlerigg Stone Circle, lying on an open plane just east of the village. Erected four or five thousand years ago, it is thought to be one of the oldest stone circles in Britain. From the circle, we’ll head across to Derwent Water, possibly over Walla Crag and down to the dry stone packhorse bridge of Ashness. If our timing is right, we may be able to catch one of the Keswick launches for a boat ride back to Keswick, followed by our return to Grasmere. 

Day 9: Transfer to Manchester Airport
After breakfast, there will be a morning transfer to Manchester Airport, arriving at the airport at around 11:00 am.