Tour Highlights
This fantastic day trip from York has a real ‘private tour’ feel as you are picked up from your hotel in York. With a maximum of 5 people per group, you’ll be guaranteed a window seat, an amazing view and a uniquely personal experience. The size of the vehicle chosen for this tour allows us to take you right into the heart of the Yorkshire Dales on the tiny rural lanes and hidden backroads. We take you where the 16-seater minibuses and bigger coaches simply can’t go. You’ll spend the day in the company of a Yorkshire guide, allowing you to ask questions along the way and to make extra photo stops on demand at truly unforgettable locations in the incredible Yorkshire Dales.
Full itinerary:
On this exclusive small-group tour from York, you explore some of Yorkshire’s most iconic scenery as you travel on the rural lanes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, as well as spending time at Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, UNESCO World Heritage Site that will take your breath away.
With a maximum of five passengers per group, this tour takes you away from the main roads and busy tourist trails to discover the unspoilt scenery of the Yorkshire Dales. On several occasions throughout the day, your driver-guide, a native Yorkshireman with a real connection to the region, takes you on the rural roads and country lanes that can’t be accessed by big tour groups.
The order of the itinerary is flexible to make best use of your day according to the weather forecast.
A typical day starts with collection from your hotel, followed by a drive out of York to the market town of Knaresborough, stopping at Knaresborough Castle to enjoy the stunning views of the Nidd Gorge. We then continue through the countryside to Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that combines the majestic and historic beauty of the Cistercian Abbey ruins with the impeccable Georgian Water Garden and the true charm of its medieval Deer Park.
Spend time among the incredibly well-preserved ruins of the ancient abbey, imagining how life was for the monks who lived here several hundred years ago. Enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the Georgian Water Garden on a gentle stroll, appreciate the views as you indulge yourself with coffee and cake at the Lakeside Café and then enjoy a drive through the medieval Deer Park as we look for the different herds of deer.
5 Reasons to Visit Fountains Abbey
We leave Fountains Abbey and travel towards the scenery of the amazing Yorkshire Dales National Park. We drive into Nidderdale, a region designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, passing through the town of Pateley Bridge before we reach Grassington. This charming market town is famous as the filming location for Darrowby in the latest series of “All Creatures Great & Small”. You’ll have time in Grassington to explore the town and perhaps enjoy lunch in a local café or at the Devonshire Arms pub.
We then continue into the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, travelling up Wharfedale and over into Wensleydale. There are countless incredible photo opportunities on this drive as your guide shows off some of England’s finest countryside, rolling hills, babbling streams and valley views.
We’ll make a brief stop at the Wensleydale Creamery, where you’ll have chance to sample some of the famous local cheese, before climbing up and over the spectacular “Buttertubs Pass” on one of the best driving roads in the whole of the Yorkshire Dales, winding between stone walls as we climb up and out of Wensleydale, across an area of moorland into Swaledale and then back over into Wensleydale once more. We make a final photo stop at Aysgarth Falls, where you’ll have chance to see the thundering stepped limestone waterfall featured in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Finally, we head out of the Yorkshire Dales and make our way back to York, concluding a fantastic day out in Yorkshire with drop off at your accommodation in the city.
The tour begins with collection from your accommodation in York. Pick-ups usually start at 8:20am-8:30am. Leaving York, we travel through the North Yorkshire countryside to Knaresborough Castle for a 10-15 minute photo stop. We continue to Fountains Abbey, where we spend 1 hour and 45 minutes, including a drive out through the medieval deer park at Studley Royal. Your guide gives you an introduction and orientation before allowing you to explore the abbey and park at leisure, in your own time. Tickets are not included in the basic price of the tour. Choose “Tour & Ticket” option to include entrance tickets for Fountains Abbey. Members of English Heritage and/or National Trust do not need to buy additional entrance tickets. Visitors from outside the UK may consider the “English Heritage Overseas Visitor Pass” to save on entrance fees to English Heritage sites during their visit to the UK.
Leaving Fountains Abbey, we drive through Ripon and into the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Our first stop is Grassington, the town featured as “Darrowby” in the latest series of All Creatures Great & Small”. Here you’ll have time to explore the town and to have lunch (own expense).
We then head out across the scenery of Wharfedale and Wensleydale as we begin our driving tour of the Yorkshire Dales. We make regular photos stops along the way as we explore the landscape made famous by James Herriot in All Creatures Great & Small. We make a stop at the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes, where you’ll have chance to sample Yorkshire’s famous cheese, and then drive over the spectacular Buttertubs Pass and into Swaledale. Our final stop is at Aysgarth Falls where you’ll have chance to photograph the dramatic stepped waterfall.
We then return to York, arriving back in the city centre at approximately 5:30pm-6:00pm. The tour concludes with drop-off at your hotel in the city.
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