Castle · 10:00–11:45 (1h45m)
Skipton Castle
Follow the one-way route through towers, kitchens and dungeon.
An indoor and outdoor castle in Skipton.
- Café on site
- Accessibility
- Parking
- Good on a rainy day
Photo: Adrian Taylor

Skipton / Wharfedale
Skipton Castle · Photo: Adrian Taylor
Start inside one of England's best-preserved medieval castles in the middle of Skipton, then drive up the Wharfe to Bolton Abbey. After lunch by the river, follow the family trails to the ruined priory and the stepping stones, or into Strid Wood, where the river squeezes through a narrow rock channel.
Castle · 10:00–11:45 (1h45m)
Follow the one-way route through towers, kitchens and dungeon.
An indoor and outdoor castle in Skipton.
Photo: Adrian Taylor
Food stop · 12:15–13:00 (45m)
Riverside lunch by the footbridge.
A riverside café-restaurant on the Bolton Abbey Estate at the edge of Strid Wood, serving sandwiches, hot food and cakes to eat in or take away. It sits by a footbridge over the Wharfe, so it works as a lunch stop between the Priory and the woodland trails.
Illustrative photo: Pablo Merchán Montes on Unsplash
Nature & gardens · 13:00–16:00 (3h)
Priory ruins, stepping stones and Strid Wood trails.
A large riverside estate on the River Wharfe owned by the Duke of Devonshire's family, with the ruined Bolton Priory, stepping stones across the river, and Strid Wood, where the Wharfe squeezes through a narrow rock channel called the Strid. Waymarked family trails, seasonal events such as a pumpkin trail, and several tearooms make it easy to fill a day.
Photo: David Dixon
YorkshireFlamborough / Bridlington
A clifftop coast day around the chalk headland. Rockpool at South Landing in the morning, cross the headland for lunch and a cliff walk at North Landing, and end at Bempton Cliffs, where the viewing platforms overlook one of England's biggest seabird colonies.
Flamborough South Landing → Flamborough Cliffs Nature Reserve (North Landing) → RSPB Bempton Cliffs
Saltaire / Bradford
A free day in and around the Victorian model village of Saltaire. Play in riverside Roberts Park, have lunch inside the huge Salts Mill with its free galleries, then hop two stops towards Bradford for the boating lake, Mughal Water Gardens and free art at Lister Park's Cartwright Hall.
Roberts Park → Salts Mill → Cartwright Hall Art Gallery → Lister Park
YorkshireYork city centre
Start high on the medieval walls with the Minster towering beside you, then step inside the cathedral, where under-18s go free with a paying adult. After a picnic among the abbey ruins in Museum Gardens, ride through Viking-age York at JORVIK and finish on top of Clifford's Tower looking back over everything you've walked.
York City Walls → York Museum Gardens → Jorvik Viking Centre → Clifford's Tower