Hiking the Best trails of An Historic and Literary Landscape

England’s Lake District & Yorkshire Dales

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"Can’t say enough about the trip or the Trip Leaders. Absolutely wonderful. They made the trip enlightening and fun." Karen Nelson, Carlsborg WA

The sublime beauty of the English countryside is best experienced on foot. On this spirited hiking adventure, we tread the wild, open fells, follow traditional paths across heather-covered moorlands, and climb emerald mountains in spectacular historic and literary landscapes. Our journey begins in the impossibly romantic Lake District National Park, a paradise for hikers, still as bucolic as it was when it provided inspiration for Wordsworth and Coleridge. Further east, we discover Yorkshire Dales National Park, with its rich mosaic of moors and stone-built villages that preserve centuries of history. The good cheer of village life and rural pubs where we sip a pint with fellow hikers adds to the charm of our rambles in the English countryside.

Below is an Itinerary-in-Brief. To view a complete Detailed Itinerary, Download Full Itinerary or Email our Area Specialist

Itinerary-in-Brief

Days 1-2
Eskdale / Ravenglass

From Manchester we head to our hotel in the pretty village of Eskdale and warm up with an afternoon hike. The next day, we head to Ravenglass, the only seaside village in Lake District National Park, for a visit to the 16th century watermill at the charming stone village of Boot. After a pub lunch, our return to Eskdale is on a delightful steam-powered miniature railway.

Days 3-6
Lake District National Park

In the famed Lake District of the northwestern county of Cumbria, sixteen deep lakes are cradled between the steep faces of England’s highest mountains, creating an almost alpine landscape. Momentous vistas and small details of beauty make our hikes on the trails of the Lake District glorious: stone walls overhung with berry bush, glistening green fields where white sheep graze, and still, blue tarns reflecting craggy peaks. At the picturesque village of Grasmere, we visit Dove Cottage, home of the poet William Wordsworth, who lived much of his life in the Lake District. Wordsworth, together with his friends Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey, became known as The Lake Poets. Our hotel is in Borrowdale, a magnificent steep-sided glacial valley at the head of a lake with England’s highest peak, Scafell Pike (3,200'), as a breathtaking backdrop.

Days 7-10
Yorkshire Dales National Park

Yorkshire Dales National Park straddles the Pennines, the backbone of England. We hike the wild limestone hills of the park, whose “dales” are broad valleys scooped out by glaciers in the Ice Age. Although a national park, this is a living landscape of whitewashed cottages, miles of hand-built stone walls, and cozy hamlets. Our hikes bring us through Littondale’s flower-filled meadows dotted with stone barns and curly horned sheep, and across Wharfedale, a U-shaped valley with steep sides cloaked in ancient woodlands. Spectacular views are with us all the way. At hikes’ end, we can stop in at welcoming rural pubs where the beer is often brewed just up the road. Our hotel is in the picture-postcard village of Arncliffe, where Wordsworth found inspiration for his poem White Doe of Rylestone. Depart on Day 10 via Manchester.

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Tour Costs $4195 (11-12 members) $4395 (8-10 members) $4695 (6-7 members) Single supplement: $395 *Prices are for 2008 dates only **Airfare is not included in Tour Cost unless indicated

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