When international borders closed one by one back in spring 2020, Inntravel’s team of holiday-makers had to lay aside their plans for a whole host of new European walking, cycling and touring breaks, and instead focus their attentions on destinations closer to home.
Along with her colleagues, Rebecca Bruce has spent much of the last 20 months refining our existing UK walking holidays, as well as developing a number of new trips to add to the collection. She’s really enjoyed increasing her knowledge of local landscapes, and wanted to give other members of the Inntravel team the same opportunity – after all, one of the things that all Inntravel staff have in common is their love and passion for travel.
So, tempted by the promise of a scenic walk, a tasty lunch and the chance to spend a day together in person after so long apart, eight of the team recently accompanied Rebecca to the Yorkshire Dales – location of one of our most popular UK walking holidays. They had a superb time, with each sharing their personal highlight from the day below…
Jervaulx Abbey, Rob Lockwood
“Is there some kind of saying about how we always neglect to visit those places closest to home? That’s certainly true for me and Jervaulx Abbey, the ruined Cistercian monastery where we began our Inntravel exploration of the Yorkshire Dales. I’ve spent most of my life in this county, and I’d always had a vague awareness of Jervaulx – its size, the drama of its ruins and its supposed past greatness, but I’d never actually made it there before this trip. I found it incredibly atmospheric – it’s the perfect place to sit, rest your legs and ponder what life must have been like back in the monastery’s heyday. Inntravel walkers can visit it as part of a circular route from Middleham, the historic market town where they spend the first two nights of our walking holiday, and which is famous for its racehorses. Our visit to Middleham coincided with some of the horses being exercised – a sight that moved my colleague Chris to poetry!”
Middleham & its equine residents, Chris Overton
Rise sun and shine on beauty
Dew drips as hoofs pass
The thunder from the ground
Not the sky
As the beast passes at a glance
Walk through the early moor
To see such greatness and power
From caring lodgings
Such a wonderful sight
Man and horse
The speed and style
Gallop onwards at pace
Sweat falling onto lust grass
No winners just raw strength
And then it’s over
The pace drops to a stroll
Such magnificent creatures
Steam in the light
As they find their way back
To the village which is home.
Aysgarth Falls Hotel, Lizzie Rising
“It’s always interesting to discover what makes each Inntravel hotel special – is it the welcome? The history? The food? With the Aysgarth Falls Hotel, I was pretty sure the clue was in the name – the hotel is just a couple of minutes’ walk from Aysgarth’s famous three-tiered waterfalls. But having the opportunity to look round myself made me realise that there’s a lot more to it than that its prime location: the hotel has a wonderful breakfast room with large windows that survey both its own gardens and the surrounding countryside (view pictured above); the pub restaurant is very welcoming and – I’m told! – serves delicious meals made from local ingredients; while the bedrooms are modern and comfortable, some with extremely large baths.”
Aysgarth to Bolton Castle, Matthew Jackson
“It was a beautiful day when we visited the Dales, so although I enjoyed looking round the Aysgarth Falls Hotel, I was itching to get outside and test out one of our customers’ favourite routes: a circular walk to Bolton Castle, one-time prison of Mary, Queen of Scots. The route takes you past Aysgarth’s tumbling waterfalls – we were able to get waterside and admire the ‘Falls’ up close – and it also offers some fantastic views towards Bolton Castle – you see the castle looming in the distance long before you reach it, adding to the suspense and sense of anticipation.”
Bolton Castle, Émilie-Rose Clark
“For me, the highlight of our day out in the Dales was going to Bolton Castle for lunch – I got married there three and a half years ago so it gave me the chance to reminisce on one of the happiest days of my life. It was so exciting to see it standing there again, overlooking the beautiful Yorkshire Dales landscape. The lovely sandwiches and cakes for lunch were a welcome and well-deserved treat after our morning walk, too. To anyone with a passion for history and gorgeous landscapes, I would definitely recommend a visit of the castle and a walk to the top – you won’t be disappointed!”
Bolton Castle to Aysgarth, Beccy Cooper
“With full bellies from all the delicious food at Bolton Castle, we set off on the second part of our walk, back to Aysgarth Falls. This was my favourite part of the day; the sun was shining and the views over Wensleydale were amazing and endless. The walk had great variation – we traversed small plantations, made our way through the pretty village of Carperby (whose pub looked very appealing!) and crossed picture-postcard fields, each sectioned off by the Dales’ famous dry-stone walls. I particularly liked squeezing through the gaps in the dry-stone walls to see what was in store in the next field. We even met some friendly-looking Highland Cattle who posed for a photo – I’m not usually too keen on cows but they were cute and I was well looked after and reassured by my colleagues! Ending the walk back at the visitor centre at Aysgarth Falls was perfect. We diverted to the higher of the Falls and spent time reflecting on the day’s walk, sharing a sweet or two and watching the world go by. There’s something about water that just makes you feel relaxed!”
Stone House Hotel, Charlotte Collier
“Other than the walk itself, our visit to the Stone House Hotel near Hawes was my favourite part of the day. What a truly beautiful place. We were warmly welcomed by Kate, the General Manager, and one of her lovely colleagues, Ruby, who kindly provided us with a well-earned drink. Afterwards we enjoyed exploring the communal areas of the hotel where we found a lovely lounge with open fire, a bar, library/games room and stunning gardens. It’s safe to say our visit to the Stone House Hotel had a lasting impression as we were all found browsing the hotel’s online availability on the journey home – I know I’m already keen to get a stay booked in for 2022.”
Wensleydale Creamery, Laura Elliot
“If I’m honest, I didn’t use to be a great fan of Wensleydale cheese; the typical white-and-crumbly supermarket Wensleydale with its slightly sharp taste of my childhood made sure of that. Years later, though, my husband and I, with our then-young children in tow, visited the Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes, and after watching the cheese-makers at work, we tasted a range of different styles of Wensleydale with more variety and flavour than we all imagined possible. For that reason, I knew exactly what I was looking for when we were lucky enough to call into the Creamery on our recent Inntravel day out – Kit Calvert – a cheese named after a chap who was instrumental in saving the Creamery from closure back in the 1930s. Cloth bound and matured, it’s Wensleydale made to an old recipe, with a more buttery, rounded, rewarding flavour. I also popped some Dales Brie (new to me, but unctuous and meltingly tasty – some of the best Brie I’ve ever had!) into my basket, and headed for home, plotting new hiding places in the fridge to keep my goodies safe from immediate consumption by teenage sons!”