debvernon

Our family (myself, husband and 15 yr old) are planning our first trip to England in May. Thought I had an itinerary nailed down, but husband is interested in Hadrians Wall (history buff). Here is what I have so far.
Day 1) arrive London
D 2) London
D 3) morning train to York. Rent car and drive to Helmsley for overnight.
D 4) drive through Moors. Whitby. Return Helmsley for night.
D 5) Drive to Dales. Stay Grassington ? Possible trip up to Hadrians Wall? Otherwise sight see.
D 6) Dales all day. Must do an hour pony trek. Overnight same spot in Dales.
D 7) morning back to York. Return car. Tour York. Overnight York.
D 8) heading towards Paris.

We will also have a half day in London again before we leave.

Questions: is it possible to throw in Hadrians Wall? Better place to stay in Dales?

We want to see as much as possible, but also don't want to be rushed too much.

Thanks for any input.

annhig

Hi Deb,

the first thing to say is that if you leave out Hadrian's wall, you've got the makings of a great trip. I checked the time it takes to get there from York, and it's nearly 2 1/2 hours - 5 hours is a long time when you've got relatively little time to see an area as vast as the Yorkshire Dales and Moors.

Grassington is a great place to stay in the Dales - we stayed there for a few nights a couple of years ago and loved it. we stayed here: http://www.bridge-end-farm.co.uk/ - I can thoroughly recommend it.

That said, I'm not all that sure about your itinerary - how are you getting to Paris from York? Is your 1/2 day in London before you go to Paris or afterwards? In any event, it can be a good idea to put your days in your departure city all together at the end of the trip, so you don't break up your time there unnecessarily.

PalenQ

I think Hadrian's Wall is a longish poke from the Dales - have you considered Haworth - the Bronte village where the Bronte clan lived - papa being a preacher at the local church and the sisters writers - who often wrote about the desolate moors that are adjacent to Haworth, a nice old stone village - a walk or pony trek in these desolate moors could be sweet and a lot closer than Hadrian's Wall, which to some even fails to impress the image of it they have in their minds' eyes IME.

debvernon

Thanks for the feedback. I had a feeling trying to squeeze in Hadrians Wall would be too much. He is interested in history but no doubt, we will find plenty elsewhere. I will look into the Haworth area.

The plan was to train from York to London and catch the Eurostar directly to Paris. Long travel day, but we will be in Paris for a week, no moving except day trips. We will train back to London from Paris and have that last half day there to catch anything we missed the first 2 days. Will probably just be a day of wandering shops. Flying home the following day.

debvernon

I see what you are saying about doing our departure city days all at the end, but I am afraid we will be tired and jet lagged and need a couple days recovery before setting off to rent a car. We arrive London in the morning, so have pretty much 2 full days. I am looking at that last day as mostly a travel day from Paris to London and if we have some free time, that will just be a bonus. I certainly won't leave any mist-sees for that last day.

annhig

Hi Deb,

do you know that you can buy the eurostar ticket straight through from York? Then if you miss the connection for any reason, they have to abode by the european conditions of carriage and get you on the next available train. Also you should try to book the eurostar as soon as you can when booking opens for your dates - 120 days in advance.

I would think about putting all your London days at the end of the trip - use the day that you arrive in London to travel onwards to York, then stay in York for a couple of nights before you rent your car and start touring.

At the end of your stay "up north", return your car to York, and catch the train to Paris.

debvernon

Let me think that over....the thought of more travel that day might put me over the edge! We live in Belize, so wil be doing a whole lot of traveling. Fight from our village to Bze airport, to Miami, to London. I am wondering about doing all of London first then flying home out of Paris, but have to see if flights work for us. And yes, I did know about buying ticket from York all the way to Paris. Good to know about the missed connection deal. And yes, I will book about 3 months out. Thanks!

debvernon

Just checked and looks like we can fly home directly from Paris. So, that would mean we would do 3 days in London, then go north, then Paris. Now, one more question - 3 full days London or add a day up north and throw in a trip and overnight to Hadrians Wall or somewhere else in that northern area on a day between Moors and Dales?

bilboburgler

Are you including Ripon or Fountain's Abbey?

cferrb

Do you all have to go to Hadrian's Wall or can hubby go there while you and your 15YO do something else?

PalenQ

Harrogate is a nice old spa town with some thermal establishments still there - makes a nice if well-heeled watering hole for a base for yes awesome Fountain's Abbey, Haworth and the Dales.

Never forget that t-shirt being hawked in the Harrogate Tourist Information Center (TIC) - with running sheep that says "Off to the Dales"!

and you may want to just pop by for a spot of tea at Betty's cafe and tea rooms - famous Betty's - iconic Betty's from York - world-famous for tea and crumpet lovers!

debvernon

Yes, will do Fountains Abbey, also have Malham area and whatever else we can see along the way in the Dales (I have a list somewhere). Pony Trek in England is my life-long dream, so must do that. Tea will also be a must-do for me, every day if I can! We love natural history and the outdoors as well as historical sites and really just soaking it all in. I think the hubby can live without Hadrians Wall. He should get a good dose of history in York and London.

This forum and all of you are a great help in planning. If anyone has any great B & B or hotel/guesthouse recommendations in York,Helmsley or Grassington area (thanks for the one recommendation above), throw them out there. Need something for 3 of us - moderate price range.

janisj

Just time for a very quick comment right now . . . did you know you can fly directly from Leeds (close to York) to Paris. Or from Manchester - which is also pretty convenient from the Dales.

alanRow

If you are going to Haworth, you should continue over the moors to Heptonstall to see the grave of Sylvia Plath

stevelyon

Grassington is a good base although Malham (but not as big) has some nice B&Bs. I agree, Heptonstall is worth a short visit, if you have time, and especially if you make Haworth your base. Also, if you have time drop into Kettlewell - its a gorgeous village and like Heptonstall is often overlooked on this forum.

Morgana

I think you initial itinerary looks pretty good apart from the Hadrian's Wall part. But there's plenty of history in the Moors and Dales! For instance Rievaulx Abbey is very close to Helmsley (you can walk there from the town).
You seem to want to stay in the Dales themselves, and Grassington is fine. However, it can get quite busy on a sunny weekend, and in May there are two Bank Holidays which will also make things pretty busy for those weekends.
There are much quieter places. If Grassington doesn't work out for you I'll be happy to suggest alternatives (I live in the Dales, in Wensleydale, and know the whole area well).
Harrogate is a lovely town (I lived there for 20 years) and can be a good base but please note it isn't in the Dales so you'd be doing a fair amount of travelling about if you choose to stay there. It's a thriving and busy Conference town.
A car is vital for what you are planning, but I'm assuming you know this already.
Haworth is in Pennine West Yorkshire and isn't part of the North Yorkshire Dales or Moors. So you'd have to sacrifice something from your current itinerary to fit this area in.

debvernon

Thanks for all the tips. I will check into places to stay on Grassington and Malham and if nothing, I will check back for recommendations. Thanks for offering Morgana. If you have any recommendations good for a family of 3, I am all ears. I did note that the first and last Mondays are holidays and we will be there between. Seeing as you live in the area, can you recommend a nearby equestrian center for a short pony trek? I found the Kilnsey Riding Center online and have sent them a message, but no reply yet (probably out riding!).

PalenQ

Yes, will do Fountains Abbey,>

yeh yeh and Studley Roayl too - a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its unique gardens and large park - so don't just visit the ruined abbey but leave time to explore this wonderful gardens and park.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/372

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sit...royalpark.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=stud...=1600&bih=1074

carolyn

Have you been to London before? If not, there is a ton of stuff to see, and it would be a shame to cut it short.

Morgana

Hi
Don't have any personal recommendations around pony trekking - it's not a big thing in the Dales to be honest although I know there are places.
I have a horse mad work colleague so I'll ask her next week when I'm back at work, and I'll let you know what she says.