We thought we would celebrate the steam and rail heritage of the north country with our own 'battle of the roses' tour, picking off Yorkshire and Lancashire steam and heritage railways every day from our base at an iconic railway hotel. With Railtrail opening the batting you are sure to come up smelling of roses!
DEPARTS
Monday 24th June 2019
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
Most of Yorkshire & Lancashires steam railways on one tour!
Stay at Bradfords iconic 4* Midland Hotel with dinner every evening
Keighley & Worth Valley steam
Skirt the Dales by Steam on the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
Heritage diesel through scenic Herriot Country on the Wensleydale Railway
Tour & Tasting at the Black Sheep Brewery
Steam through the South Pennines on the Kirklees Light Railway
Middleton Railway, the worlds oldest working railway
Go underground at Yorkshires National Coal Mining Museum
Steam across the moors on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Sneak across the Pennines to visit the Ribble Valley Steam Railway
Visit the fascinating Bury Transport Museum
Steam from Bury to Rawtenstall on the East Lancashire Railway
Enjoy the scenery on the Settle & Carlisle line
Also included in your Tour Fare:
Dinner every evening
Rail travel & seat reservations from your Home Station to Tour Base (Standard or First Class)
Services of experienced Railtrail Tour Manager
DAY 1
Arrive in Bradford and make your way to the Midland Hotel, our historic railway hotel situated next to the city's Forster Square station.
DDAY 2
A fabulous tour of the Dales awaits today, as we transfer first to Bolton Abbey for a ride on the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway along the former Skipton-Ilkley Line to Embsay Station, which was built in 1888. Heading north by coach through the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, we pick up the Wensleydale Railway, a preserved railway servicing locals and tourists alike on a scenic line through Wensleydale that once connected the East Coast Mainline with the Settle & Carlisle. Our circular tour of the Dales then ends in Masham with a tour and tasting at the excellent Black Sheep Brewery.
B, DDAY 3
Today we head south to the foothills of the South Pennines to ride the Kirklees Light Railway, a 15 inch gauge light railway on old colliery tracks between the villages of Clayton West and Shelley. Today's coal theme continues to the National Coal Mining Museum. Our day then ends at the Middleton Railway, another former colliery line near Leeds and the world's oldest working railway.
B, DDAY 4
We transfer to Pickering to board the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for a stunningly diverse journey in heritage carriages to the coast. Steaming across heather moorland landscapes, we pass by Goathland, familiar to many as 'Aidensfield' in 'Heartbeat', before descending to Whitby, a picturesque fishing port framed by its famous abbey. Climb the steps to the abbey or simply enjoy some of the finest fish and chips in Yorkshire before we make the return journey.
B, DDAY 5
We experience the Settle & Carlisle Line. This great journey climbs up through the Yorkshire Dales from Settle, gateway to the 'Three Peaks', crossing Ribblehead Viaduct, the engineering marvel spanning Batty Moss, and passing Dent, the highest mainline station in England at 1150 ft.
DAY 6
From Bradford we take the scenic journey across the Pennines to Preston, where a short transfer takes us to the Ribble Steam Railway for a three mile round trip and taste of Lancashire's industrial heritage, including a swing bridge, a unique feature of the railway. A coach transfer brings us south to Bury to visit the Bury Transport Museum before we steam through the Irwell Valley from Bury to Rawtenstall on the East Lancashire Railway. A short coach transfer to Burnley Manchester Road enables us to catch our train back to Bradford.
B, DDAY 7
Today we visit the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway where you can ride to your heart's content through countryside made familiar through film, the Railway Children.
DAY 8
We bid farewell to Bradford and make our way home.
BB=Breakfast, D=Dinner
HOTEL
Midland Hotel, Bradford
Built between 1885 and 1890 by the Midland Railway Company, the Midland Hotel was a showpiece for the railway company's northern operations, and is of particular architectural interest, with some of the finest Victorian interiors in the city. Today sees a hotel that has undergone a transformation, with investment to all areas of the building, restoring it to its original greatness.
FARES
Fare Region | First | Standard | RC (-) |
London: Kings Cross | £1150 | £1085 | -£15 |
Greater London | £1195 | £1105 | -£15 |
South of England | £1200 | £1110 | -£15 |
East Anglia | £1215 | £1120 | -£20 |
South West | £1250 | £1135 | -£25 |
Heart of England | £1200 | £1110 | -£15 |
Midlands | £1140 | £1065 | -£15 |
Yorkshire | N/A | £1045 | -£10 |
North East | £1115 | £1075 | -£15 |
North West | N/A | £1050 | -£10 |
South Wales | £1215 | £1100 | -£15 |
North Wales | N/A | £1090 | -£15 |
Scotland | £1160 | £1090 | -£15 |
Join & Leave at Hotel £995
Single Room Supplement £150
7 nights bed, breakfast & Table dHôte evening meal
Rail travel & seat reservations from your Home Station to Tour Base (Standard or First Class)
Rail & coach travel, with transfers as described
All excursions and admissions as detailed
Services of experienced Railtrail Tour Manager
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