Yorkshire & The Dales Tour

Yorkshire is so beautiful that it’s often referred to as ‘God’s own county’. There are wild moors, national parks, coastal towns… and some of the best beaches in Britain. Yorkshire also has a rich cultural heritage. We usually offer this tour as a three day package, starting from London with popular stop-offs on the way including Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon and the university town of Cambridge. Spend a night as there's lots to see and do at both locations.

York was established by the Romans in the 1st century and has over 3 miles of medieval walls and a series of quaint little streets called 'The Shambles'. It’s a lovely place to shop and have a traditional cuppa. The 14th century cathedral, York Minster, is the largest medieval church in England.

Travelling North West, the Yorkshire Dales is an area of outstanding natural beauty, with spectacular waterfalls, craggy peaks and mysterious caves. We’ll take you to places including the incredible Ribblehead viaduct, the ruins of Bolton Abbey, and the town of Howarth where the Brontë Sisters lived. Explore the traditional Dales way of life at the Dales Countryside Museum or walk the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail if you can muster the energy. It's a five mile circular route so it gives us the opportunity for a quick forty winks while we await your return!

A worthwhile visit is to Thirsk - the home of veterinary surgeon and author James Herriot. Herriot wrote the All Creatures Great and Small books and filming for the popular TV show took place in Thirsk and the surrounding Dales. We can even take you to the 'World of James Herriot' visitor attraction, which is located in a 1940s period house with veterinary science exhibits.

Step back in time with a short trip on the Embassy & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. We'll drop you at Pickering where you'll alight, then we'll race the train in true Top Gear fashion and pick you up at Goathland. Hogsmeade railway station in the Harry Potter movies was filmed at Goathland and the village was also the setting for the TV series Heartbeat.

A drive westwards through the peaceful beauty of the North York Moors brings us to the beautiful seaside town of Whitby, which quite frankly has it all - beaches, cliffs, dinosaurs and Dracula!

Whitby has a rich nautical heritage - it's where the famous British explorer Captain James Cook learned seamanship. There's even a museum dedicated to him as well the eclectic Whitby Museum and the Museum of Victorian Science. The town forms part of a stretch of coastline known as the 'Dinosaur Coast' or the 'Fossil Coast'. You can even see dinosaur footprints on the beach!

Looming ominously atop the cliffs above the town is the 7th century Whitby Abbey, which along with the town itself has a strong literary history. The earliest English literature was written at the abbey. Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins and Lewis Carroll visited, but most famously, Bram Stoker set the site of Whitby for Count Dracula's first appearance. This is clearly the inspiration for the town's yearly Goth music festival. You can really sink your teeth into this tour!