I want to go to Europe this summer and found a cheap flight to Manchester, U.K. I have also found a very reasonable, wonderful looking b and b in the countryside near the village of Dent. So far, the trip is affordable. But how will the prices be otherwise? Renting a car, etc? Also, will a week in this area, with day trips to York and the Lakes district and Sedbergh for books be as yummy as it looks??? Also, I'm fit and not averse to walking, but I was thinking that staying in one place and doing nearby walks would be more enjoyable than trying to do 7 days on the Dales Way. Any opinions on that? Also, any gardens in the area anyone can recommend? That's a lot of questions! Thanks!

Since there seems to be a discussion going on right now on UK vs. Britain vs. England, etc. I thought it might be a good time to bump this to the top!

I love the Yorkshire Dales and I'm sure you'll enjoy the pretty villages and countryside. I'll get my thinking cap on for some more gardens but here are a few that I like in the area. Parceval Hall gardens near Appletreewick, Harlow Carr RHS garden, near Harrogate, Holehird Gardens, near Troutbeck in the Lakes, Newby Hall gardens, near Ripon.

I can't help with walking in the Dales but there is enough wonderful walking in the Lake District to keep you quiet for weeks if not months. From where you are staying it would be a drive of around an hour into the heart of the area. It is a very beautiful combination of lakes and mountains (ranging in elevation from 2000-3000 feet).

There are lots of guides to hiking in that area perhaps the best known written by Alfred Wainwright - little hand written works of art. Hikes can ranges from a pleasant 1-2 hours to a serious all day work out covering 14-15 miles.

York is probably around a 2 hour drive from where you are staying.

Checkout the car hire websites for prices.

Have fun

Diz01

I think the National Trust website can provide a map of England with markings for the different gardens. I received one last year which I can't bear to study as any UK trip is so far in the future. The website at the bottom is www.britainsfinest.col.uk. It's a brochure called "Britain's Finest Gardens" 300 special gardens to visit. (Now, if France would just publish one too!)

That reminds me that The National Trust owns a significant portion of the Lake District (no entry charge) as well some excellent gardens and houses. See their website:
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main...-northwest.htm

Diz01

Thanks for the adice. The Britainsfinest website is also an Anglophile's dream. Question: Will the gardens in Cumbria and Yorkshire be at their best or near best in the first week of June?

Topping for Guy. Sorry about the typo but see you found the website.

Dent is in prime walking country with the Three Peaks area close at hand and not far from Wensleydale and the Howgills. The Lake District is a bit further but is a different type of scenery (and may be busier). Consider the waterfall walk at Ingleton.

Wainwright's books are masterpieces but are now sadly out of date and may be unreliable as far as rights of way are concerned. The Ordnance Survey 1:25000 maps are essential for walking.

York and Harrogate may not seem far but the roads are not brilliant and likely to be busy.

Sample some of the real ale from the brewery in Dent and consider a trip on the Settle-Carlisle railway (if you're into those sorts of things).

Thanks again, everyone. The reason I'm drawn to Dent is that it seems more like farms and meadows, country roads...a more pastoral kind of beauty than the Lakes. I want the child's storybook England, not wild or at all rugged. Is my thinking correct?

The Yorkshire Dales are generally gentler landscape than the Lakes, though there are parts with wild moorland scenery. There are also gentler parts of the Lakes, it's not all wild and ruggeed. My personal preference is for the Dales, though I love both.

The gardens should be pretty good in early June. There should still be late rhododendrons and azaleas in the north and the summer perrenials will be starting to flower.

"I want the child's storybook England, not wild or at all rugged."

I'm not too certain what that means. England has a surprising variety of scenery for a relatively small country. As a (very rough) rule England gets hillier and wilder the further you go to the north and the west.

I think the area around Dent and the Dales is one of the finest in the UK and has some of the best walking. Dentdale is a pastoral valley with smallish fields. The surrounding hills are flat-topped/rolling rather than craggy like much (but not all) of the Lakes.

Do a Google Image search for Dentdale and see what you think!

I was in north Yorkshire, in Wharfedale, during the last week of May in 2005. I stayed in Grassington for a few days and did several 9-10 mile walks, which I could do in the AM, leaving time in the PM for visiting country houses, musuems, etc. I found eating in Yorkshire pretty affordable, though I eat simply - I usually eat in pubs. As for gardens, I visited several - my favorite was at Newby Hall, near Ripon and Fountains Abbey. I'm not sure where that it in relation to Dentdale. And maybe I'm biased, but I would skip driving over to the Lake District (saving that for another trip) and spend the time in the Dales ... there is more than enough to do and to see. I found the landscape there very varied; each dale seems quite unique. I feel like I could have another five trips to Yorkshire and still not have had enough.

Hi Tracey! If you look for my separate thread on my itinerary for Cumbria/Yorkshire dales, you'll see that I'm staying in Dent and later in the country south of Ripon. So it looks like I'll have a similar trip to yours! Thanks for the input.