Roses Battle By Steam-Settle & Carlisle Line

DAY 1

We arrive in Bradford and make our way to the Midland Hotel, our historic railway hotel situated next to the city's Forster Square station.

DAY 2

A fabulous trip to the Dales awaits today, as we transfer first to the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway for a journey along the former Skipton-Ilkley Line, which was built in 1888. We spend some time at Bolton Abbey before making our way to Shipley with a tour and tasting at the excellent Saltaire Brewery.

DAY 3

From Bradford we take the scenic journey across the Pennines to Bury. When we arrive in Bury, we board our wonderfully restored steam locomotive for a return journey through the Irwell Valley to Rawtenstall on the East Lancashire Railway. Arriving back in Bury we have a couple of hours to visit the superb Bury Transport Museum or the famous Bury Market before making our way to the foothills of the South Pennines to ride the Whistlestop Valley Railway, a 15-inch gauge light railway on old colliery tracks between the villages of Clayton West and Shelley.

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. After the summit at Ais Gill, we speed along the Eden Valley to the border city of Carlisle where there is time to enjoy a sightseeing break before the return journey.

DAY 6

Today we head south to the National Coal Mining Museum where we descend 140m underground to discover the history of coal mining through the centuries. Our day then ends at the Middleton Railway, a former colliery line near Leeds and the world's oldest continuously working railway that became the pioneer standard-gauge preserved line in the world operated purely by volunteers.

DAY 7

Today we travel by train to visit the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway where you can ride to your heart's content with your day rover ticket through countryside made familiar through film, the Railway Children. Perhaps, take a break to alight at the Bronte heritage town of Haworth with its cobbled main street and curio shops.

DAY 8

We bid farewell to Bradford and make our way home.

B=Breakfast, D=Dinner