Hi Fodorites!

I’m hoping some Yorkshire experts can look over my itinerary and let me know if there are any red flags.

Day 1: Arrive Manchester 7:20 a.m. Pick up rental car. (I do sleep well on planes from US – Europe, so I feel I’ll be well-rested and ready to drive.) Drive to Lyme Park – picnic, tour grounds and home. Later afternoon – drive to Bakewell. Dinner in Bakewell. Check in to hotel in Hassop.
Day 2: Explore Chatsworth and Haddon Hall. (Return to Hassop hotel.)
Day 3: Drive north to Harewood House. Later, drive north to Fountains Abbey. Check in to Pately Bridge b&b (Roslyn House). Dinner at The Yorke Arms.
Day 4: Drive east to Malton and explore Castle Howard. Late afternoon: drop off rental car in York. Check in to York hotel.
Day 5: York
Day 6: Morning train to Edinburgh, Scotland.
Day 7: Edinburgh
Day 8: Afternoon train from Edinburgh to Manchester. Check in to Manchester Airport Hotel.
Day 9: AM flight back to U.S.

Does this itinerary look too ambitious? Would greatly appreciate any restaurant reccomendations for Bakewell, around Chatsworth and Haddon Hall, around Harewood House and Fountains Abbey, and around Castle Howard.

My budget for dining could be any amount – I’m most interested in local cuisine.

Thank you all!

I'd recommend you check opening hours if you haven't already taken the into account. Places like Harewood and Chatsworth are often only open in the afternoons (the house patrt, anyway) and if you're planning on two places in one day you want to be sure you do have time for them both.

It's a bit ambitious, but you should hold out until Morgana sees this - she's our Yorkshire local, and a great help.

One abbey you may want to add - Jervaulx abbey (it's in the Yorkshire Dales). It's gorgeous, ruined, covered in nature, and wonderfully serene. Not too far from Fountains Abbey and Bolton.

Not sure when you are travelling? Many stately homes don't open until easter.
Yes, Day 3 is your problem. You can't do all you have planned on that day and personally I would drop Harewood House. Getting to Fountains, (normally opens at 10am) and then driving to Pateley will be plenty. Delighted you are eating at the Yorke Arms (my favourite restaurant, very envious of you!) but please note that although (on the map) it looks a short drive from Pateley to Ramsgill it is on a very narrow, twisty lane so allow yourself at least 20 minutes, more if it is dark.
Fountains Abbey is a huge estate to visit - you can just walk down to the Abbey ruins themselves but your ticket also allows you to explore Studley Royal Watergardens, home farm, Fountains Hall, the deer park etc, plus the newish Visitor centre is very good and often has exhibitions, so you could spend a long time here.
Harewood is great (I drive past every day on my way to and from work) but given the choice it is what I would drop from day 3.
You asked about restaurants - the place I would definitely recommend for you on Day 4 is The Star at Harome - fab place, book early so you won't be disappointed.
www.thestaratharome.co.uk
If you don't like the look of it come back to me as it is an area rich in good places to eat, but The Star stands out for me.
For lunch the Courtyard Cage at Castle Howard itself wins many awards.
http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/metado...p;isa=Category
York itself has numerous restaurants, many very good. My favourite is -
www.jbakers.co.uk
Hope this helps, have a wonderful time in Yorkshire.

Whoops, it is the Courtyard CAFE not Cage at Castle Howard!
M

What time of year ? Personally I would finishg with a couple of days in Whitby instead of squeezing in Edinburgh.

Like Morgana I live in yorkshire and I would drop Harewood out of these pretty fast. I might add Bolton Abbey in on the way yo Fountains or Jervaux.

If you go up to Bolton Abbey you will find the Devonshire arms right next door (do not enter, as it is mainly rubbish at high price). If passing through Ilkley iw would try the "far syde" which is the south side of the main bridge over the Wharfe.

Alternative places for fod include the Yorkshire sculpture park canteen which I think is good basic food but without the hours of delays a full meal would entail.

I can recommend the cafe at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park - and indeed the YSP itself.

Not at all ambitious - Unless, of course, you are planning to relax!

I'm not a Yorkshire expert but I stayed a week in 2007 outside Helmsly and was in the Peak District last September. I would go again tomorrow.

We planned to have lunch at Chatsworth, apparently 2,000 other people did too, so just a caution on that! The grounds are magnificent; we particularly liked modern art juxtaposed against the house's and garden's more classic influences.

The cafe at Castle Howard quits serving hot food fairly early, by the time we finished the house only packaged sandwiches were left--they were good, however.

We didn't eat out much on either trip but Betty's Tea Room in York was fun, as much for the room as the food.

THANK YOU ALL! I certainly appreciate all the valuable comments. I'll be going in the 2nd week of May (after the Bank Holiday), so will check out opening hours. I need a little time to integrate all these suggestions into my itinerary... I may have to post questions later to further refine the itinerary. (I really am surprised to hear my "Day 3" seemed difficult... I thought I'd have loads of time there. I know it's a longer drive... I better check the viaMichelin.com site again!)

Please don't use via Michelin or any of the other route mapping sites to calculate your drive times. Locals often need to add a little time, but visitors (especially those driving on the "wrong" side of the road) usually have to increase times by 25% to 40% or more. In rural/scenic areas you can just about count on averaging 35 mph.

I use www.theaa.com and add about a third.