Bridge and Rail in the Yorkshire Dales

Make your own way to the Rendezvous Hotel in Skipton and meet our bridge director and host before dining and evening bridge.  There will be a short session of afternoon bridge for those who arrive in time.

We board a traditional canal boat for our included cruise along one of the most scenic waterways in Yorkshire, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. There are fascinating stories of how the canal delivered the lifeblood of the industrial revolution through Yorkshire. You will also have free time to spend in delightful Skipton on its bustling market day before returning to our hotel and joining an afternoon bridge seminar with Andrew Kambites.

This morning we board the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway and enjoy a fantastic trip from Keighley to Haworth via Oxenhope. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is a 5-mile-Long Branch line that served mills and villages in the Worth Valley and is now a heritage railway line that has been delightfully restored.  We travel to the delightful quaint town of Haworth, which was home to the famous Bronte Sisters. You have time to explore the historic, cobbled Main Street or visit the Bronte Parsonage Museum (entrance not included).  We return to our hotel for an afternoon seminar, dinner and evening bridge.

Today we enjoy a return journey on the Settle Carlisle Railway so you can sit back and admire the scenery from both directions. The line pays testament to the ingenuity of 19th century railway engineers as it travels through the North Pennines, Eden Valley and Yorkshire Dales, crossing 19 viaducts and passing through 14 tunnels. The Ribblehead viaduct is a particular highlight with 24 arches and a highest point of 32 metres. We travel on part of the routing from Skipton to the picturesque town of Appleby where you will have a couple of hours at leisure to explore this pretty market town on the loop of the River Eden and overlooked by the mighty Pennine range.

Today we take a leisurely coach drive through the heart of the Yorkshire Dales from Skipton to the picturesque market town of Hawes via Ingleton. We stop at the Wensleydale Creamery to see how the famous cheese and butter is made - and have the opportunity to sample some of the 20 different varieties of cheese on offer. Afterwards we travel on to the pretty cobbled village of Grassington, one of the top tourist spots in the Dales.

After breakfast you are free to check out our hotel and depart at leisure. *Please note we cannot guarantee all our rail journeys will be steam hauled, and sometimes it is necessary to amend rail itineraries if there are unforeseen timetable changes. If we operate two coaches then days 4 and 5 may be taken in reverse order.*