Rowan Tree Travel invites you on a journey of exploration across the north of England. 

We’re delighted to lead you through the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District and into Northumberland, exploring old woolen mills and meeting contemporary makers as we go. The fiber community is alive and well in these handsome lands, and we’ll spend time with feisty women championing British wool. Expect great knitwear design, covetable yarns, quirky accommodation, gentle walks, good food, historic treasures and more than likely a sticky toffee pudding or two along the way.

To Register 

A Registration Form and a non-refundable $1000 deposit are required to join the trip. Once you submit your online registration and deposit payment is received, your spot on the tour is secure. See our Terms & Conditions HERE.

Have questions? Please contact us at info@rowantreetravel.com

This tour has been announced an official "Go!"

Unless otherwise stated, our regular Terms and Conditions apply to this trip and for any cancellations (click here to see our Terms and Conditions).

Tour Activity Level 

We would describe this trip as a Woolly Wander.

Mobility Comfort Level = Mobility Level 3+

Walks with uneven terrain or cobbles; limited ground floor accommodation; stairs across multiple venues.

Review our Tour Activity and Mobility Comfort Levels here.

Travel Insurance Rowan Tree Travel highly recommends purchasing travel insurance. You may purchase through our preferred partner Arch RoamRight by clicking here or through your own provider.

Arranging Your Flights In order to gather easily for the tour, we provide an arrival and departure "window" at a major transportation hub - typically an international airport at your destination country. Flights scheduled outside the provided windows may result in additional transportation costs and missed tour activities. For this reason, we greatly appreciate your cooperation in booking travel that accommodates our specifications. Please do not purchase airfare until the tour is guaranteed by RTTF to go forward.

Please Note the Following Rowan Tree Travel reserves the right to alter any part of this itinerary in order to address weather conditions, unforeseen circumstances or to improve the participant experience.

Yorkshire
Welcome to Yorkshire! 

As soon as we are all on board our coach at Manchester airport, we’ll head for some fresh air and a garden stroll before our first taste of the textile history of the north at, the Piece Hall in Halifax. A relaxing late afternoon and evening is then in order, in our Jacobean manor hotel. 

Refreshed and ready to explore, next morning will find us learning about a Victorian mill owner’s grand designs (with bonus David Hockney paintings) before spending time in Brontë  country. We’ll round off the day over dinner with The Woolist!

Cotton and Color

Today starts with a step back to when cotton was king, a fascinating insight into the working lives of those whose days were filled with cotton dust and the unremitting noise of so many looms. 

A short drive north, and a great leap in time, will see us spending the afternoon dyeing our own colorful yarns before driving into the sunset! A glorious journey through rolling countryside will bring us to our quirky hotel in the Lake District, England’s largest National Park.

Sedbergh

We’re off to a Victorian woolen mill but this one is a community hub for art and craft. Farfield Mill retains much of its original architecture but on each floor of the building we'll find makers in their own studio spaces.

The afternoon finds us teaming up with a knitting expert who’ll guide us around the little village of Dent where ‘the terrible knitters’ were renowned for their speedy knitting.

The Lake District

A short hop from our Windermere hotel and we will be in colorwork territory, as we spend the morning with the renowned designer Susan Crawford, surrounded by vintage charm in knitted form in her riverside studio. Will anyone leave empty handed? 

We’ll drive on to Grasmere for the afternoon, home of the famous Gingerbread as well as stylish new Grasmere Gather which showcases local artisan-made goods. William Wordsworth called this place ‘the loveliest spot that man hath ever found’ and you can explore Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum while in the village.

The Lake District

A day topped and tailed with fiber appreciation - on the hoof! We’re off to visit an award-winning social enterprise involving alpacas and llamas before visiting the Wool Clip. This is a long-established co-operative of local wool workers, who focus on color and creativity in all things woolen. And we’ll follow one of the members home to meet her flock (yay!) before driving on to dine in our castle-for-the-night in Northumberland.

Northumberland

Judith describes herself as ‘a small independent yarn retailer obsessed with all things wooly’. Sounds just right for us so we’ll drive through the bonny Northumberland countryside to enjoy her shop full of British and Fair Trade yarns. We’ll have a lovely big space (complete with Judith’s home baking) to knit in, possibly other makers in the building to visit, and a whole gallery downstairs to explore. Dangerous? 

A few hours’ drive south will bring us back to Yorkshire, with time on the way to stretch our legs at Fountains Abbey. The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 monks who’d grown tired of the rowdy way monks lived in the city of York!

Yorkshire

We’ll make the most of our last day. Modern-day explorations in the morning, followed by the inspired combination of a knitting workshop and afternoon tea in our hotel! Plenty of time to pack your bags in the evening.

Departure Day

Wake up refreshed, climb on the coach with yarns, souvenirs and memories of this textile-rich region and we'll whisk you off to Manchester airport for onward travels.

Lindsay Roberts, aka  “The Border Tart”, is a dyer, stitcher, maker and a lover of words. Inspired by color and pattern, passionate about Indian artisans and textiles, she values most highly all things made by hand. She’s a proponent of mindful stitching and hand work of all kinds. In her words, “Making with your own hands brings pleasure, calms the heart rate and imbues each piece with love.” Peruse her small edition stitching kits here. You’ll also find her images, thoughts and adventures on Instagram at @bordertart. We’re so pleased to collaborate with this wonderful Scottish artisan and teacher. 

Helen’s love of fiber started early, back when her grandfather taught her to make tiny woolen dolls complete with miniature sweaters knitted on toothpicks. It’s fair to say she’s been wool-obsessed ever since, and life on a croft in the Shetland Islands has only encouraged the habit. With a flock of native Shetland sheep in every natural color imaginable, she’s never short of inspiration… or fleece.

On any given day you might catch Helen spinning, knitting, weaving, felting, crocheting - or occasionally all of the above when she’s meant to be doing something sensible. She’s equally passionate about the Viking period and ancient textile skills, especially nalbinding, which she teaches at Shetland Wool Week. When she’s not tending sheep or playing with wool, you’ll find her out on foot, roaming Shetland’s rugged moorland and wild coastal paths: the remote landscape that inspires her craft and that she loves to share with visitors.

If you’d like to discover more out more about Helen’s life amongst the peat smoke, sea winds, and sublime beauty of the Shetland landscape, you can find her on Facebook and Instagram as Hart of Shetland.