TEN
CAR
FREE DAYS
OUT FROM RICHMOND
Staying in Richmond
without a car? Don’t want the
bother of driving?
There’s an excellent network of Dales Bus services into the Yorkshire Dales National Park and surrounding areas from Richmond. Here are ten ideas for super days out from the town.
All buses start from the Market Place, but there are more local stops on the main Reeth road (services 30 and 159), or Gilling (service 79) out of town.
Please all note times were correct when last updated (April 2011) but are purely for guidance; no responsibility can be taken for inconvenience or loss if changes have taken place.
Please double check all
times before travelling either with timetables available at Richmond Tourist
Information Centre, at www.yorkshiretravel.net
or by ringing Traveline on 0871 200 22 33.
3. Leyburn and the Wensleydale Railway
5. Middleham and Jervaulx Abbey
8. Aysgarth and Aysgarth Falls
9. Barnard Castle and Bowes Museum
1. REETH AND GRINTON
Reeth was once the centre
of the lead mining industry, but is now one of the most attractive villages in
the Dales, with a spacious village green from where there are magnificent views
of Swaledale, a choice of pubs, cafes, interesting shops, a National Park
Information Centre, and lots of interesting walks, including to the riverside or
by field paths to Grinton with its fine, 12th century church.
Getting there from Richmond: Mondays to Saturdays: Bus 30 leaves the Market Place at 0820, 1040, 1220, 1450 and 1730
Returning from Reeth (calling at Grinton 2 minutes later): Mondays to Saturdays at 0900, 1120, 1300, 1530 and 1800.
This must be one the most
beautiful bus journeys in England, through the spectacular landscape of
Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Stay on the bus to the little hamlet of Keld for the full ride,
perhaps taking the bus or walking back down the riverside by the waterfalls to
Muker, or return/break your journey at Muker or Gunnerside, both with welcoming
cafes and pubs including the famous Swaledale Woollen Shop in Muker.
The full journey to Keld takes an hour and nine minutes in each
direction.
Getting there from Richmond: Summer Sundays and Bank Holidays: Bus 30 leaves the Market Place at 0930, 1400 and 1815
Returning from Keld (calling at Muker 13 minutes later; Gunnerside 24 minutes later): Mondays to Saturdays: 1045 and 1510
Lower Wensleydale’s busy
market town, with a popular Friday market, not forgetting the splendid Dales
Festival of Food and Drink (usually held on May Day Bank Holiday weekend) , local
shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs makes a pleasant full or half day out.
An easy walk from the town centre is along Leyburn Shawl, magnificent
viewpoint.
Getting
there from Richmond:
Mondays to Saturdays: Bus 159 leaves the Market Place at 1005,
1105, 1205, 1305 and 1405;
Returning
from Leyburn Market Place:
Mondays to Saturdays: Bus 159 leaves Leyburn at 1035, 1135, 1235, 1335,
1435, 1535 and 1635
If you are visiting Leyburn, why not treat yourself to a trip on Britain’s newest re-opened rural railway - the 18 mile long, scenic Wensleydale Railway between Leeming Bar, Bedale, Leyburn and Redmire? It’s less than half an hour’s walk from Redmire Station to Castle Bolton. Check website for times and dates of operation.
Castle Bolton is one of the finest medieval castles in the north of England. Built by Richard le Scrope, Chancellor of England, and completed in 1399, its most famous prisoner was Mary Queen of Scots who spent six weeks there in 1568 before attemtping to escape. There are five floors of rooms to explore, with fascinating exhibits of life in the 15th century and recreation of Mary Queen of Scots days at the Castle. There are medieval gardens to explore and a tea room in the castle, with attractive walks close by. Check website for prices, times and dates of opening.
Getting
there from Richmond:
Mondays to Saturdays: Bus 159 leaves the Market Place at 1105 for Leyburn
in good time to catch the 157 bus from Leyburn to Castle Bolton at 1140 (arrive
1156).
Returning
from Castle Bolton (via Redmire):
Bus 157 at 1302 has good connections with the 159 at Leyburn back
to Richmond.
5.
MIDDLEHAM AND JERVAULX ABBEY
Middleham
Castle was
the childhood and favourite Yorkshire home of Richard of Gloucester, better
known as King Richard III. The
Castle and its great keep were built between the 12th and 15th
centuries, and are now maintained by English Heritage. On display is a replica
of the Middleham Jewel, a beautiful 15th century pendant found near
the castle. The little town of Middleham with its cobbled squares and ancient
inns is worth a visit in its own right.
Check website for prices, times and dates of opening.
A trip to Middleham can be
combined with a visit to Jervaulx Abbey, easily reached on the 159 bus or by
field path.
Jervaulx Abbey, a privately owned Cistercian Abbey, dating mainly from the 12th century, is open daily during daylight hours. There is a tea room and gift shop.
Getting there from Richmond: Mondays to Saturdays: Bus 159 leaves the Market Place for Middleham at 1005, 1205 and 1405.
Returning from Middleham to Richmond: Mondays to Saturdays: 1023, 1223, 1423 and 1623.
Bus
159 passes Jervaulx Abbey
departing from Richmond as above and arriving at Jervaulx
Abbey approximately 5 minutes after leaving Middleham. It returns to Middleham
and Richmond approximately 8 minutes before the departure times from Middleham
above.
A fascinating market town
on the edge of the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with a huge
market place, once the site of great sheep and cattle fairs.
The Church dates from the 12th century and has superb Tudor
effigies inside and an Anglo-Saxon preaching cross in the churchyard.
Old inns, cafes and interesting shops surround, the square, and
remarkably perhaps there are two breweries, the Black Sheep Brewery and
Theakston’s, both producing nationally renowned ales; both are open to the
public with shops and brewery tours, but you will need to pre-book.
Getting there from Richmond: Mondays to Saturdays: Bus 159 leaves the Market Place for Masham at 1005, 1205 and 1405 (journey time 50 minutes)
Returning
from Masham Little Market Place for Richmond:
Mondays to Saturdays: 1203, 1403 and 1603
A trip along lovely
Wensleydale with its many small Dales towns and villages to this bustling little
market town in the heart of the Dales (market day Tuesday) is worth making in
its own right. But in Hawes you’ll also find the Wensleydale Creamery where
the celebrated Wensleydale Cheese is made, and you can watch craft cheese makers
at work as well as buying local products and the shops and restaurant.
There’s also a craft Rope Makers, the excellent Dales Countryside
museum and National Park Centre, interesting local shops and some delightful
local walks, including the 1½ mile stroll to Hardraw with its famous waterfall.
Getting there from Richmond: Mondays to Saturdays: Bus 159 leaves the Market Place at 1105 for Leyburn in time to catch the 157 bus from Leyburn to Hawes via Askrigg 1140 (arrive 1223).
Returning from Hawes (via Redmire): Bus 156 or 157 from Hawes at 1235, 1335 and 1535 all have excellent connections with service 159 at Leyburn for Richmond.
These spectacular
waterfalls are amongst the most impassive in England – a series of three great
falls on the River Ure tumble over gigantic limestone steps.
Nearby Freeholders Wood is an important local Nature Reserve, with trails
through the wood. There’s a National Park Visitor Centre and Café, near the
falls, as well as a fine Parish Church with a Rood Screen from Jervaulx Abbey,
and an attractive village with addition cafes and pubs.
A visitor to Aysgarth Falls can easily be combined with a visit to Castle
Bolton, just three miles away by field paths – see the Castle Bolton entry for
return times.
The Falls are a half mile
walk by road or field path from the village, but it is a steep climb back to the
bus stop!
Getting there from Richmond: Mondays to Saturdays: Take the 1205 bus 159 from Richmond to catch the 1240 bus 156 from Leyburn to Aysgarth.
Returning from Aysgarth Village Centre (Memorial): Mondays to Saturdays: Bus 156 leaves at 1400 and 1600 - both with connections onto service 159 at Leyburn for Richmond.
It’s a very pleasant bus ride from Richmond via Ravensworth and Greta Bridge to Barnard Castle, a historic market town above the River Tees with its steep main street and 12th century castle, once one of the largest in England, built by the Baliol family who used it as their base in the many fierce political and military struggles between the English and the Scots.
It’s a short walk from
Barnard Castle to the
Bowes Museum, a
magnificent chateau-like building, which contains one of the most important
collections of archaeology, ceramics, paintings, glassware, English furniture in
the North of England, including the unique Silver Swan, an extraordinary musical
automaton. Less than a mile away
are the ruins of
Egglestone
Abbey, a Premonstratensian Abbey of white canons, founded around 1200.
Much of their church and living quarters, including medieval toilets,
survive.
Getting there from Richmond: Mondays to Saturdays: Bus 79 leaves the Market Place at 0905, 1105 and 1305 - travel time 58 minutes. All outward buses call at Egglestone Abbey and Bowes Museum.
Returning from Barnard
Castle Galgate (in town centre) to Richmond, Mondays to Saturdays, Bus 79 leaves
at 1205, 1405, and 1710. All buses
call at Bowes Museum and Egglestone Abbey (Bridge),
except
for the 1710 on Mondays to Fridays which takes a different route and must be
caught in Galgate, in the town centre, at 1710.
Darlington is a town well
worth exploring on any day, but especially if it’s wet weather, because it has
several indoor attractions, lots of shops, arcades, pedestrian precincts and
an excellent indoor and outdoor market. The indoor market is open daily on
weekdays, and the outdoor market on Mondays and Saturdays.
About a mile from the town centre is The Head of Steam - Darlington Railway Museum, with major collections of historic locomotives carriages and artefacts, on the historic Stockton and Darlington Railway Line, close to North Road Station - served by local trains on the Bishop Auckland line and there are also frequent local buses from the town centre to Station Road – 3 minutes’ walk away.
Getting
there from Richmond:
Mondays to Saturdays: Buses X26 and X27 leave the Market Place every 15
minutes (travel
time about 30 minutes) for Darlington Town Centre. On Sundays
buses run half-hourly. Evenings hourly at 23 minutes
past each hour daily.
Returning from Darlington to Richmond Buses X26 and X27 leave every 15 minutes during daytime from Tubwell Row; Sunday departures are 00 and 30 past each hour. Evenings hourly on the hour daily.