jhostage

Your input has been so helpful as we plan our June 2014 trip, I’m hoping I can beg your indulgence yet again. We have a plan we’re comfortable with but, before we spend the next year dreaming about it, will you tell us if our plan has any fatal flaws?

Our travel dates are June 8-26. I’m unable to travel earlier, and I assume traveling later wouldn’t have any advantages for people who are crowd-averse. Here is our draft itinerary:

Nights of June 8-10 London (Bloomsbury)
Nights of June 11-13 York
Nights of Jun 14-18 the Dales, staying in Middleham
Nights of June 19-23 Lake District, staying at Sandhills Farm, Bassenthwaite
Nights of June 24 Back to York (to return car and train south)
Nights of June 25-26 Cambridge

If you remember my earlier posts, we planned to visit the Moors and Dales, but we’ve dropped the Moors in favor of the Lake District. We plan a day trip from York to visit Helmsley and walk to Rievaulx Abbey.

We’ll have a car in the Dales and Lake District.

Our specific concerns:
> Is the month of June too busy to enjoy a quiet trip to the Lake District?

> Is there an expectation that the Tour de France will make the Dales much busier in advance of the race?

> Are we allocating our all-too-short time in a reasonable way?

Thank you all.

indy_dad

School's will still be in session at that time. It should work out fine.

janisj

Do you have to return to York to return the car? I usually do one-way rentals and there are no drop off fees. Look into picking up in York and dropping in Carlisle.

janisj

Hiy post too soon - the itinerary looks very nice/well paced. Except for the car return bit

sofarsogood

You could re-order more efficiently as

London
Cambridge
York
The Dales
Lake District
Drop off car at Manchester airport and fly home from there

June is an ideal time to visit not too busy and the Tour won't affect you

jhostage

Thank you, Janis. I was hoping for your opinion! I hadn't known that one-way rentals are a viable option--it would be very expensive in the U.S. It looks as if it might be more cumbersome to get to Cambridge from Carlisle than from York?

Sofarsogood, you're right about efficiency! The order was based more on pace. We like the idea of having the cities at the beginning and end, rather than together. And, since we were thinking we'd be flying in and out of London, it made sense to be back in the area. You and Janis are making us re-think the order, though.

janisj

Oops - I completely missed cambridge (I was thinking London)

W/ Cambridge in the mix and IF you must fly out of London, I'd do London > Cambridge > York > the Lakes return car at Carlisle (or Liverpool) and train back to London - OR - if you can do open jaw . . . London > Cambridge > York > the Lakes return car and fly home from MAN

jhostage

Thanks, Janis. It's prohibitively expense to fly in and out of different airports, so we'll need to get back to London. We've decided to modify our itinerary to visit Cambridge first and London last, because London is so much easier to return to from the Lakes. We could then do as your suggest and return a rental car in Carlisle.

janisj

>>It's prohibitively expense to fly in and out of different airports, <<

Are you sure? Usually open jaw tickets are very close to regular one way tix - and sometimes cheaper. Have you checked the 'multi city' option on kayak etc?

Morgana

The tour is passing within a mile of our village and roads will be shut on that day for some hours (I live in the Dales). We have celebrations planned in our village and I hear from locals that accommodation is already pretty much booked up in advance. So I would avoid the days that the Tour actually passes through the Dales (two I believe). Other than that it will be fine - the National Park covers a huge area.

jhostage

Janis, I checked kayak and the difference isn't as much as I thought (around $200 per person), but there are no non-stop flights from Manchester to Boston. We'll have to ponder this some more.

Morgana, thanks. I think the Tour is passing through a week after we leave (we'll be out of the area by June 22), so we should be fine. Does the itinerary look alright to your expert eye?

janisj

>>Usually open jaw tickets are very close to regular one way tix - and sometimes cheaper.<< Oops - don't know how I posted that - should have said >>Usually open jaw tickets are very close to regular round/trip tix - and sometimes cheaper.<<

But you seem to have figured it out. . . .

Morgana

It looks fine!
By the way I stayed at Sandhills Farm earlier this year when I went to the Literary Festival in Keswick It was great! You can walk from the farm down to an old church and the lakeside - you will love it. We were greeted with tea and delicious cakes and the breakfast the next day was wonderful.

Dickie_Gr

The Pheasant, Bassenthwaite - posh pub.

Armathwaite Hall - posh hotel for evening meals.

Thornthwaite Church - beautiful little place (we were married there)

Coledale Inn, Braithwaite - good value, huge portions.

Take the Keswick launch to split the walk round Derwentwater, beautiful easy walk.

Haystacks and Red Pike over Buttermere - incredible views to Scotland.

Travel has become very expensive due to fuel prices in the UK, traffic is nowhere near as bad as it was 5 years ago. Sunny weekends will be busy but not silly, just avoid Bowness on a sunny day.

Booths Supermarket in Keswick is great for regional food.

Visit Castlerigg Stone circle - haunting place.

Reghed visitor centre on the M6 / A66 junction is again great for cafes/ regional food.

jhostage

Thank you, Dickie_Gr, for the terrific list. I found pictures of Thornthwaite Church--you're very lucky!

jhostage

Morgana, I read your Sandhills Farm recommendation (not sure whether it was in these forums or on TripAdvisor), checked out the website, and was immediately smitten. We can't wait!

Morgana

I am sure you'll love Sandhills. It's rural but just off a decent road and it's easy to get around. We love that part of the Lakes and it's easy to escape the crowds. We were in the area during the last Bank Holiday weekend in May which was hot and sunny, and even then we could always get parked, and met hardly anyone else when out walking.
Agree that Booths in Keswick is lovely - great deli counter ideal for picnic food.
We also enjoyed Morrels restaurant in Keswick but found Lyzzick Hall very disappointing.
It's a bit of a drive away but you can visit the church mentioned in this excellent book -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pinecone-Jen.../dp/0571269508
Middleham in Wensleydale is a great choice too. The castle is very atmospheric, and there are good walks from the village (there's a public footpath that runs immediately alongside the castle and gives great views if you didn't want to pay to actually enter the precincts). If you do go in, they have a copy of the famous Middleham Jewel - the orginal is in a museum in York and well worth seeking out.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryofthewo...S1iFXV3UaVAusA
You'll also see the racehorses, especially first thing in the morning when they go up on the Gallops. Again there are public footpaths alongside and across the Gallops.
Don't miss Jervaulx Abbey - we often have this place to ourselves, and as it's open all daylight hours it's a very nice place to wander around in the evening.
http://www.jervaulxabbey.com/home.php
You'll eat well up here. Apologies if I have already given you these suggestions but some good eating places around Middleham -
The Blue Lion, East Witton
Swinton Park for afternoon tea (it's like being in a stately home, and the tea, cakes, sandwiches etc are delicious)
Wensleydale Heifer, West Witton, one of our favourites, excellent seafood. The beer battered fish is a local legend, but they also serve a wonderful selection of seafood including lobster (I still dream about their salmon in champagne sauce).
http://www.wensleydaleheifer.co.uk/
I think your plans sound really good. I agree with your swap of the Moors for the Lakes too.

jhostage

Morganna, I look forward to following all of your links. "The Gallops" is a very appealing name, isn't it?

We'd love to buy you a pint somewhere!

Morgana

Yes, it's a good name!
A pint sounds good - do send me a message via Tripadvisor nearer the time and we can arrange something. I live about 10 miles from Middleham.

anicecupoftea

<<Don't miss Jervaulx Abbey - we often have this place to ourselves, and as it's open all daylight hours it's a very nice place to wander around in the evening.>>

Fabulous cafe across the road, too. I was there last week and had the best chocolate cake I've had in years.