Roses Battle By Steam

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.

DAY 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.

DAY 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.

DAY 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.

DAY 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.

DAY 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.

B=Breakfast, D=Dinner