Journal · Bespoke Yorkshire Dales
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Most people who come to us about the Yorkshire Dales come from the Lake District. They are staying in Windermere or Ambleside, they have taken one of our Lakes tours, and they want to know whether we can take them somewhere different.
The answer is yes. A bespoke Dales day is one of the most varied tours we offer.
The Dales are not the Lake District. There are no major lakes; the fells are a different character; the villages have a different architecture. What the Dales have instead: the finest hay meadows in England (in May and June), some of the most spectacular limestone scenery in Britain, a heritage of lead mining that shaped the landscape for five centuries, and the James Herriot and All Creatures Great & Small connection that draws a significant international audience.
A Dales day can be built around any of these themes — or a combination. Geology: Malham, the limestone pavements, Gordale Scar. Natural history: the hay meadows of Swaledale and Wharfedale, the moorland birds of the Pennine ridge. Literary heritage: Herriot country, Wensleydale and Swaledale. Industrial history: the lead mining landscape of Swaledale and Wharfedale, the Settle–Carlisle railway.
A Dales bespoke day departs from Windermere and returns to Windermere. The drive east through the Lune Valley and over the Pennine watershed is approximately 1 hour 15 minutes — your expert storyteller will use it to explain the landscape transition from the volcanic Lake District to the limestone Dales.
The day in the Dales is then structured around the route we have agreed in advance. We return to Windermere in the early evening, typically around 7pm.
The Dales day works best for guests who have already seen the main Lake District landscape and want something different, for guests with a specific interest in Dales wildlife, geology or heritage, and for guests who have watched All Creatures Great & Small and want to see the real landscape of the series.
It is also, simply, a very good day out in exceptional scenery that most visitors to the Lake District never reach.
Contact us to discuss a Yorkshire Dales bespoke tour.
Yes — a bespoke Dales day is one of the most varied tours offered, and many guests staying in the Lakes ask for one.
Geology (Malham, limestone pavements, Gordale Scar), natural history (the hay meadows of Swaledale and Wharfedale), lead mining heritage, or the James Herriot and All Creatures Great & Small connection.
No — the Dales landscape is defined instead by limestone scenery, hay meadows and a different architectural character.