|
Literary Northern England Landscapes
Yorkshire & Peak District
Stately Homes & Cottage Gardens - Properties with Gorgeous Gardens and Literary Connections
5 days
The literary heritage in Northern England is plentiful and it’s easy to see how these beautiful surroundings inspired such great works of art!
There’s North Yorkshire which was such an inspiration for ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ author, James Herriot and the Bronte sisters. DH Lawrence, George Eliot, Bram Stoker, George Orwell and the poet Auden all have northern connections. Then there is the city of York, charming market towns, great cathedrals, country parish churches, magnificent ruined abbeys and monasteries. Jane Austen found her ‘Pemberley’ while on holiday in the Peak District and filmmakers have used several of the lovely stately homes in the area for recent film versions of her work. Northern England has such a variety of things to see and do!
Links with Scottish Literary Trail and/or The Lake District.
Tour Date: 19 – 23 August, 2012
Tour Rate: $1799 USD per person; $500 USD single supplement
What your tour price includes: Your accommodation for 4 nights while on the tour including both full breakfasts and dinners as listed. Your price also includes all entrance fees to attractions, transportation, services of driver/guide-companion and all taxes and tips other than those you may wish to give your guide.
Airport transfers, accommodation pre and post tour are not included but can be added to your package as you wish. Ask us for details.
Contact us for availability: specialgrouptours@yahoo.com
This tour begins and ends in Manchester.
TENTATIVE ITINERARY
Day 1 Sunday
We depart Manchester at 9am. Our first main visit will be to Lyme Park, a Palladian mansion surrounded by a medieval deer park of almost 1400 acres, an amazing formal garden and lavish interiors. Lyme Hall was used by the BBC for the hugely popular Colin Firth version of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and fans may recognize the lake as well as the house itself.
The rest of our day will be spent wandering the rural Derbyshire villages and magnificent Pennine Hills scenery of The Peak District. We will make our way through the 'blue john' mining town of Castleton, an inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘Terror of Blue John Gap’ and Sir Walter Scott’s ‘Peveril of the Peak,’ to the town of Hathersage. Known as ‘Morton’ in Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel ‘Jane Eyre,’ this is an attractive gritstone village of charm and character, perched rather picturesquely on a hillside. Nearby, if we’ve time and are feeling adventurous, there’s the soaring Stanage Edge, a site famously captured in the Keira Knightley film version of ‘Pride & Prejudice.’
Our night stop location is the former spa town of Matlock, a favorite holiday spot for William Wordsworth.
NIGHT STOP: Matlock
Day 2 Monday
We have the morning to linger in the beauty of The Peaks. We will enjoy a visit to the Duke of Devonshire's stately treasure house at Chatsworth, said to have been the inspiration for Jane Austen as her “Pemberley.” This is the real life home to Georgina ‘The Duchess’ and is often used by film crews due to its lavish interiors and sumptuous sculpted gardens.
Later, we will make our way to the city of York, a fabulous walled city that has much to offer its visitors including the splendid Minster, the city centre castle, the Jorvik Viking centre and the medieval shopping 'Shambles.' Seeking a literary connection, York is the home town of poet WH Auden and ‘Behind the Scenes at the Museum’ author Kate Atkinson plus has been the inspiration for many including Dickens and Dafoe.
Dinner is not included tonight for flexibility’s sake.
NIGHT STOP: York
Day 3 Tuesday
Today, we head westward across the heather-covered North Yorkshire Moors. We’ve the opportunity to board a steam train (subject to schedules) at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, surely a treat to relive the nostalgia of the steam age. Harry Potter fans may find the station somewhat familiar - yes this is ‘Hogsmeade!’
Also today, visit the most spectacular stately home in Yorkshire, Castle Howard. This beautiful palace, recently used in the ‘Brideshead Revisited’ film, is still lived in by the Howard family who built it in the 18th Century. You'll have free time here to explore the house and grounds.
NIGHT STOP: York
Day 4 Wednesday
Today, the charming landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales will be our focus. This is the area that so inspired local vet Alf Wight, better known as ‘James Herriot,’ to pen the ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ books. Certainly something to read prior to the tour! We can call into the old market town of Thirsk and can experience the famous view from Sutton Bank, which has been described as "England’s finest view.” This lovely scenery was also recently featured in the newest Harry Potter film, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.’
Another stop is Richmond, called one of the nicest towns in England and situated in the heart of the dales at Swaledale. Its castle dominates the town and the steep streets are around the central cobbled market square.
Our overnight location is the town of Ripon, a meandering of medieval streets dotted with tea rooms and arts and crafts shops, home to a captivating 7th Century cathedral.
NIGHT STOP: Ripon
Day 5 Thursday
We’ll make our way to the lovely village Haworth. In our explorations, you'll be able to imagine the everyday lives of the Bronte sisters, walking around Haworth Church, their home now the Bronte Parsonage Museum and the village itself. The dramatic moorland surrounding Haworth inspired the sisters to pen their novels that are some of the classics of English literature. We will have the worlds of ‘Jane Eyre’ and ‘Wuthering Heights’ leaping from the page!
Later, we will visit a stately home well known to Charlotte Bronte, a setting for her novel ‘Shirley.’ Oakwell Hall is an Elizabethan manor home decorated as it would have looked in the 1690s, the furnishings provide an insight into a post English Civil War house. The 17th Century walled gardens have been beautifully restored and include a kitchen herb garden and a formal garden.
We will return to Manchester by early evening.
Please note: All attraction opening times are correct at time of printing this website. While we will do our utmost to include all of the properties mentioned as central visits, we reserve the right to change an attraction should it become impossible to deliver a planned visit due to changes in opening days or times that we could not have been aware of at the time of loading this tour to our website.
|
