If you close your eyes and allow your mind to the travel to the heart of England’s revered Yorkshire Dales, what do you see? Is it rolling green hills and windswept moorland intersected with limestone walls as far as the eye can see? Perhaps you can see impossibly picturesque stone-built villages and ancient country inns? Stop and listen a while, and above the gushing of waterfalls and the cry of the curlew, you are never far from the calls of the yows (old yorkshire dialect for ewes) as they call out to their flock. For this is a landscape defined by sheep - distinctive, hardy, Dales bred sheep - and their wool, upon which the rich cultural heritage of this region has been built.

On this trip, we will share our time between a comfortable country retreat hotel in scenic Wensleydale and a historic coaching inn in the bustling Dales town of Grassington, enjoying traditional Yorkshire hospitality all the way. We will delve into the history of textile production in the region, from industrious hand-knitting communities to textile mills on an industrial scale. We will visit a traditional upland hill farm, meeting a shepherdess with her flock, and also learn about local sheep breeds at the annual Masham Sheep Fair. We will walk amongst the atmospheric ruins of a medieval priory and explore the cobbled streets of picturesque Dales’ towns and villages. We will enjoy a relaxing workshop with renowned local felt artist, Andrea Hunter, and satisfy our yarn-cravings with a must-visit trip to Yarndale, the north of England’s premier yarn festival. Can we possibly fit in anything else? Well, if you insist, we will be sure to make time to sample some fine Wensleydale cheeses, and maybe a slice or two of Yorkshire tea cake.

This trip needs at least 10 participants in order to proceed (i.e. the trip is "guaranteed"). We strongly advise you to wait to purchase your flights until the trip is guaranteed by us to go forward. Unless otherwise stated, our regular Terms and Conditions apply to this trip and for any cancellations.

Please Note

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.

While our Tour Activity Level describes what to expect on a tour, our Mobility Comfort Level is personal to each traveler.

We would describe this trip as a Wooly Wander with a mobility comfort level of 3️⃣ +, hotels do not have lifts and ground floor rooms cannot be guaranteed; some towns & villages in the Yorkshire Dales are hilly with uneven, cobbled streets; some rough ground on farm visits; expect occasional walks of 1-2 miles in order to fully enjoy exploring historic sites and Dales villages.

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

*Arch RoamRight is an affiliate of RTTF and we will receive a small commission for policies bought through the provided link.

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/or missed tour activities. For this reason, we greatly appreciate your cooperation in booking travel that accommodates our specifications. 

This tour will start and end in Manchester Airport (MAN). Flight details will be provided upon registration and confirmed once the tour has been declared a go.

Please do not purchase airfare until the tour is guaranteed by RTTF to go forward.

REST & RE-CHARGE

Treat yourself and arrive the day before the tour starts. Journey to Manchester in your own time and spend the night in a comfortable airport hotel in the exact location where our tour will meet up tomorrow. Take time to relax and recover from any jet lag, or head into Manchester city center (a short train ride away) to explore the galleries and museums of this vibrant, northern city.

MANCHESTER - Welcome to England

Upon arrival at Manchester Airport, we will all gather at an appointed location to board our coach for the short drive to Quarry Bank Mill, an historic working cotton mill just a stone’s throw from the airport. You could be forgiven for thinking that you have traveled back in time as we explore one of the best preserved textile mills of the Industrial Revolution, where the floors still shudder beneath your feet as spinning machines turn and looms weave reams of cloth. We will imagine the lives of mill workers and their bosses as imported cotton supplanted wool as the fiber of choice for mass-produced fabrics to clothe a growing population. Still feeling tired after your travels? We will make time to relax and stretch our weary travel legs in the  picturesque gardens, woodland and riverside trails that crisscross this evocative site. 

After a light lunch at one of the cafes on site, we will board our coach for the two hour drive, away from the industrial city and into the lush, green heart of the Yorkshire Dales, where sheep, and their wool, are still very much a part of the fabric of the landscape. 

We are headed to the picturesque market town of Hawes in Wensleydale, deep in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and our home for the next four nights. We will arrive in good time to check in to our comfortable lodgings and unwind before meeting for a welcome chat, dinner and an early night. 

A WOOL WORKSHOP & A TASTE OF WENSLEYDALE CHEESE

As we wake up in our peaceful country retreat hotel for our first full day together in the Yorkshire Dales, we look forward to a day of crafting and exploring, sampling the many delights that Wensleydale has to offer.

We will divide into two small groups to all enjoy a half day workshop with Andrea Hunter, a renowned local felt artist, who 'paints' wonderfully evocative, atmospheric impressions of The Dales landscape through wool. Andrea will guide and inspire us to create our own autumnal landscapes, learning how to build up layers of fleece to bring the hills and dales to life.

Tuesday is market day in the picturesque stone-built town of Hawes, and during the day we will get to know this bustling Dales community, exploring the many small shops and cafes. And no visit to the town would be complete without a visit to the famed Wensleydale Creamery to learn all about the production of their famous eponymous cheese, with maybe a sample or two to savor. Will anyone spot the town's famous cheese-loving residents, Wallace and Gromit?

WHO WERE THOSE TERRIBLE KNITTERS? 

Today, after a nourishing breakfast at our hotel, we will set out to learn more about the history of knitting in the Yorkshire Dales. We will head back into Hawes to meet with Ann Kingstone, local knitwear designer and an authority on knitting traditions of the area, for a tour of the Dales Countryside Museum, and their important collection of knitting artefacts.

We will hear all about the Terrible Knitters of Dent (now, what is that all about?!) before heading with Ann to the nearby village of Dent itself to delve into the story behind this apparently defamatory name. Ann will accompany us on an illuminating stroll around this peaceful village in isolated Dentdale, where time appears to have stood still for centuries. 

After a bite of lunch in Dent, we will hop back onto our coach to continue our journey along impossibly windy country lanes across the Dales, taking in the iconic views of Ribblehead Viaduct, a feat of Victorian engineering, with its twenty four massive stone arches spanning desolate moorland on the famous Settle to Carlisle railway.

We will then drop down into the tiny village of Clapham to meet with Edward of Glencroft's Clapdale Wool project. Edward tells an inspiring story of his family’s efforts to create a circular economy adding value to wool sourced only from farms within a 10 mile radius of their tiny Yorkshire village. Need a little retail therapy? We will be sure to take some time to visit their country clothing store before we finish for the day.

Hungry after all that Yorkshire goodness, we will enjoy a cheesy supper together at a local creamery restaurant before heading back to our hotel for a much needed rest.

MEET A SHEPHERDESS & HER FLOCK

Today we will be heading west towards the stone-built town of Sedbergh, known locally as a book-lovers’ paradise! First off - we will pay a visit to shepherdess Alison O'Neill on her nearby hill farm. Alison will meet us with her sheepdogs, Shadow and Swift, and invite us into her barn for an inspirational talk about her experiences running a one woman farm in this challenging upland environment for the past 28 years. She will then accompany us for a walk about the farm to meet her sheep, and take us to visit her Wool Shed, where we can view her collection of tweeds, locally woven with wool sourced from her own flock and from those of neighboring farmers. 

Then it's off to visit nearby Farfield Mill, an historic woollen mill that now houses an arts and heritage center, showcasing some of the very best of Dales’ craft. We will spend some time exploring the Mill and its many galleries before heading back into Sedbergh where you will have time to wander and browse. Fans of stitching will want to take some time to visit St Andrew's Church to view the Sedbergh Embroideries, depicting intricate scenes of Dales' life.

FROM WENSLEYDALE TO WHARFEDALE

After another hearty Yorkshire breakfast we will leave our country retreat behind and head south, across hill and dale to Grassington in Wharfedale, our home for the next three nights. Our first stop for the day will be to visit a small rare breeds farm sitting on the hill above the small town. Owner Helen will take us to visit her sheep, and we will hear about the yarns that she produces from local breeds, White Faced Woodland and Wensleydale. 

After an obligatory peek into her wool loft and tiny farming museum, we will make the short journey to the village of Hebden for lunch. Then it's back to Grassington with time to check into our hotel and spend some time exploring the cobbled lanes of the town made famous in recent years as the fictional Darrowby in the filming of TV classic All Creatures Great and Small.

YARNDALE, SKIPTON ('sheep town' from Old Norse)

We hope you are keeping track of all those Dales, because today we are off to

Yarndale - one of the UK’s premier yarn festivals - housed in the atmospheric surroundings of Skipton Livestock Auction Mart. Rows and rows of sheep and cattle pens are converted as if by magic into a cornucopia of bunting-clad woolly loveliness, featuring many independent yarn businesses from the North of England and farther afield. 

We will be sure to look out for the Yarndale sheep as we spend the whole day enjoying this colorful festival. Then it's back on our coach, laden with woolly goodies, to the welcoming comfort of our hotel in Grassington. After a well-earned supper, we will doubtless fall into bed dreaming of all the new yarn projects that we are eager to cast on.

MASHAM SHEEP FAIR

If yesterday was all about yarn, today will put the spotlight firmly on our woolly friends who work so hard growing fleeces to make all of our knitting possible. We are talking SHEEP, lots and lots of sheep of many varieties gathered in one of the largest and finest market squares of England for the annual Masham Sheep Fair. Masham originally received a market charter in 1250 and its prosperity grew off the back of the sheep trade, which originated from the flocks reared by monks at nearby abbeys. It is believed that as many as 70,000 sheep changed hands during these sales. In recent years this tradition has seen a revival, and today Masham’s Sheep Fair attracts many visitors who come to experience a full program of activities including the annual sheep show, a showcase for the finest local and rare-breeds. See if you can spot such stalwarts as Masham, Dalesbred, Swaledale, Teeswater, or Wensleydale. And if you tire of putting your sheep identification skills to the test, how about checking out some of the other showground activities on offer, or indulging in a little retail therapy at the wool craft market?

After a sheep-filled morning, we will drive to Fountains Abbey, a nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site, where we will spend the afternoon exploring the ruined priory and learning more about the wealth generated by monks in medieval times from the rearing of sheep on their extensive lands. The estate has beautiful grounds to explore so we won’t be short of an opportunity to stretch our legs in this evocative setting. 

Finally, as the day draws to a close, our coach will wind its way back, up hill and down dale, to Grassington. After taking a moment to finally squeeze our suitcases shut, we will head out to a local restaurant for a final farewell meal together

HOMEWARD BOUND

It will be an early start today as we pack up our bags and our memories and travel together in our coach to Manchester Airport for your onward journeys. We plan to arrive at the airport by 10:00 am.

Earliest flight departure time should be 1:00 pm.

The Yorkshire Dales are considered a mecca for walkers with an extensive network of public footpaths criss-crossing the fields, hills and valley of this rural landscape. Many paths and tracks originate in the small towns and villages that we will visit. Whilst this is NOT A WALKING HOLIDAY, Liz, your lead Fiber Ambassador, and a lover of walking in the Dales, will be happy to provide suggestions and guidance should you wish to take a few moments of your free time to explore local paths on your own. Weather permitting, the itinerary may also occasionally include opportunities for those who wish to join Liz for an impromptu short walk (2-3 miles) on easy paths between activities. These decisions will be made ad hoc and will be entirely optional, at times when they will not inconvenience the non-walking members of the group (who will remain with your other Fiber Ambassador as scheduled in the itinerary).

Liz lives with her family on a smallholding in the Cambrian mountains in Wales. A keen knitter since childhood, she remembers watching her mother spin yarn from the family sheep, and she now keeps her own small flock of Shetland sheep to indulge her passion for all things woolly. Liz is also a keen hill walker, and loves to escape to her beloved mountains, seeking inspiration amongst the colours and textures of the wild upland landscape of mid-Wales. A linguist and Latin America specialist by training, Liz previously spent many years studying and travelling in southern Chile, where she was bewitched by the alchemy that rural women could perform with some roughly-spun wool and a few leaves in a dye pot over a wood fire. It was here that Liz learnt to weave, and now settled back home in Wales, she teaches weaving, whilst also running wildwoven, a woolly fair trade business, providing opportunities for rural women in Chile to supply highly-textured, hand spun yarns to discerning weavers and fibre artists.