If you’re staying in York, Leeds or the Yorkshire Dales without a car, the Settle to Carlisle railway is probably the train journey you keep reading about, with the Ribblehead Viaduct as the photo everyone shares. It’s a lot to work out from home. These are ordinary local trains with no seat reservations, some stations…
A city where you can walk a Roman wall, shop in a medieval gallery and be in Wales twenty minutes later. In episode 224 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast, Tracy is joined again by Briony Wilson from Mountain Goat, who spent ten years living in Chester and says it is her next favourite place…
Can the Ten Lakes tour really show you ten of the Lake District’s lakes in a single day, without you driving the narrow lanes and mountain passes yourself? On Midsummer’s Day in June, Doug and I found out. We joined Mountain Goat’s Ten Lakes Spectacular tour from Windermere, a full day in a small minibus,…
Trams rattle through a 1900s high street, a coal-fired chip shop in the pit village, and a 1950s hairdresser who will do your updo before you set off around the site. In episode 222 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast, Tracy is joined by Samantha Shotton, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy CEO of Beamish, The…
Small towns, quiet valleys, and passes that don’t go where you expect them to. In episode 221 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast, Tracy is joined by Briony Wilson from Mountain Goat, a touring company based in Windermere, who has lived in the Lakes for more than twenty years. Between them, they cover how much…
In episode 219 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast Tracy is joined by Sinead of York Travel Expert, a York local. Between them, they cover how much time York actually deserves, whether you need a car, and where to base yourself. This is the next in the Before You Go series, following Edinburgh, where we…
Golden woodlands, quiet villages and cosy pubs with the fire lit. In episode 216 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast we bring together three local experts from across England to tell you what autumn really looks like in their part of the country, starting in the Lake District with Briony from Mountain Goat Tours, then…
Three nights in Haworth with the cobbled Brontë village to return to each evening and the western Yorkshire Dales spread out within easy reach by day. We based ourselves here for 3 nights and built our days around two of the area’s great railway lines and some of its most photographed scenery. What we liked…
Looking for somewhere extra special to stay during your trip to the UK? Then we highly recommend Thornbury Castle. You won’t get more special than staying in a 16th century castle which boasts Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn as former guests! Part of the Relais & Chateaux hotel group, Thornbury Castle is the only Tudor…
Whenever I want affordable accommodation with a touch of luxury during our travels around the U.K I book a Hotel Indigo. So on our recent return to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the Hotel Indigo Stratford was my preferred choice. We discovered it was another example of how some of the best hotels for quality and vibe can be…