Walking Tours in Yorkshire

Here at Macs Adventure we think Yorkshire is a wonderful walking destination. It's a little unloved compared to the more popular walkiing trails in England, which is a shame because as described above it is a diverse county with hills, and lush dales or valleys, little stone villages and an incredible coast line. We have a few varying tours and here's why you should pick one over another:

• The Cleveland Way is a National Trail and takes you through ever-changing landscapes. It begins in the North Yorkshire town of Helmsley, situated in the North York Moors National Park and then you follow the trail through quintessential Yorskhire scenery to the stunning coastline. It gives you the best of both world's. Its an inn to inn walking experience. We have 3 itineraries to choose from, 9, 10 or 11 days. the longer itinerary will generally give you shorter walking days and vice-versa with the shorter itinerary.
• The Dales Way is an 8 day long-distance trail and once again is an inn to inn itinerary. Although, if you wish, you can always add extra nights to break up the walking days. As the tour name suggests you will walk through the stunning Yorkshire Dales scenery and cross two national parks while doing so. Finish at Lake Windermere in the Lake District. The daily mileages vary, but generally this itinerary is easier than the Cleveland Way, especially the shortest itinerary of 9 days.
• Escape to the Yorkshire Dales is a shorter itinerary of 6 days and generally has lower daily mileages than the Dales Way or the Cleveland Way. If you dislike moving accommodations every night this will also work for you as this tour is based in 3 accommodations across the 5 nights.
• The Yorkshire Dales Short Break tour is as it describes, 3 nights and 4 days. With 3 nights in the delightful Yorkshire town of Grassington, this itinerary is perfect for a long weekend of walking, pubs and great local food!

This list is dedicated to customers who wish to read all about a place before they visit it. These books are not only famous the world-over and are great stories, but they really do give a glimpse into the county of Yorkshire, its landscapes, people and history. Here are our favourites:

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - A pure classic, this novel describes the wildness of the remote Yorkshire Moors scenery to a tee. It's also a story of love and loss and the turbulent relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff.
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Even though this is a children's book it is still very much worth a read as its a classic! Mary Lennox discovers a mysterious walled garden when she gets sent to live with her uncle in the Yorkshire Moors.
• A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines - This novel follows the life of a yound boy who lives in a Yorshire mining town. Although he has a difficult home life  he manages to find comfort from his pet kestrel. Turned into the popular 1969 film, "Kes".
• All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot - This author grew up in North Yorkshire and was a vet here. This book is a collection of his memoirs of his times as a rural vet and inspired the BBC series, All Creatures Great and Small. A wonderful book full of warmth and compassion.
• The Railway Children by Edith Nesbitt - Another novel that inspired a film and set in rural Yorkshire. It tells the story of 3 children who were forced to move to Yorkshire from the south of England when their father was accused of being a spy.

In England, where there are a multitude of local accents,and Yorkshire is one of the most pronounced, with many expressions which will leave you wondering, "what did that person just say?" and this is people whose first language is English! You could be forgiven for thinking you were in a place where a language other than English is spoken. Its historical roots actually go back to the Viking Invasion. Here are a few of our favourites:

• Eeh by gum - This is an expression which means "Oh my gosh". For example "Eeh by gum I nearly knocked over my water"
• 'Ow do - This means "How do you do".
• Be reight - This means "it' be ok". For example "Don't worry about her, she'll be reight".
• "Fair t' middlin'" - This means that things are fine. So if I said "How are you", you could answer "fair t'middlin'" back.
• "Ey up" - this basically means "what's up". Or it could be a greeting like "Ey up, I've not seen ye (you) in ages".

It seems like the best thing to do when you want to put in a Yorkshire accent is to to drop your H's, so has becomes 'as and her becomes 'er. A sentence like this would be "that 'aggis is 'orrible! Then if there is a T on the end of a word change the t to a slight "h" sound. You should also shorten word endings, so going becomes goin' and running beomes runnin'. Instead of fully pronouncing the and to, these words become just t'...like "Im goin' t' shop", so its pronounced "tuh". So, before you book your travel to Yorskhire, give it a try and then join in with the locals!