Northern England Familiarisation Trip

Arrive Day - Suggested

We are recommending you arrive on Friday, to become acclimatised and have time to catch up with hotel managers and sales directors. 

Overnight: London - The accommodation will be your choice and responsibility.  

Knowing more about London is crucial if you want to sell this great city successfully.

Instead of doing the usual stuff, we will take you to Greenwich and show you the delights of this fascinating suburb of London. We will wander through the market, see the Cutty Sark, go inside the Painted Hall and tour the Royal Observatory. 

After a fabulous curry lunch in East London, we will take a Street Art tour and test our artistic skills at the art studio. Time permitting, we head to west London for a brisk stroll through the stunning Wallace Collection before cocktails and ale in a local watering hole.

Overnight: London - The accommodation will be your choice and responsibility. 

Take some free time to enjoy a stroll around London's Hampstead Heath and village. We can book you a pub for a traditional Sunday lunch. 

Overnight: London - The accommodation will be your choice and responsibility. 

We depart London Euston Station at 08.30 and arrive in Preston at 10.39. We then drive into the countryside and stop for lunch at The Angel Inn, Hetton. 

After lunch we hike to Janet's Foss waterfall, Gordale Scar and Malham Cove. Three beauty spots with unique geology. We may wish to have a quick pint in a local pub before we head to the house. 

Melmerby Hall vacation home is a Grade II listed stately manor house set in 25 acres of private wooded grounds with Victorian walled gardens, manicured lawns, and woodland walks. It is the seat for this small village with a lovely little post office, tea room shop, and The Old Village Bakery, which serves breakfasts, lunches and coffees.

Above the bakery is a super interior, ladies' fashion and gift shop called 'Upstairs', which is worth a visit. Melmerby has a village pub called The Shepherd's Inn which is very welcoming and serves delicious food. Some great country pubs for dining (The Fetherston Arms & the Crown) are a short journey away in Kirkoswald. 

Tonight we eat in and have a meal prepared by a local chef.

Overnight: Melmerby Hall.

The Lake District is England's largest national park covering 912 sq mi (2362 sq km) of mountainous terrain. The region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of 31 other sites around the United Kingdom.

People visit the region for its extreme beauty and admire the unique marriage between traditional hill farming with local breeds and the harsh environment. UNESCO World Heritage Site status recognises the region's universal value. The geological interest, the ancient methods of agriculture and the landscape which has inspired poetry.

Overnight: Melmerby Hall.

The beauty of Hiking the Lake District in England is that there is a big reward versus effort. All hill walking is potentially dangerous, but it is as safe as it gets in England.

Depending on the weather, we will tackle Helvellyn and take the easiest possible route to the summit. We will avoid the nortorios STRIDING EDGE.

Overnight: Melmerby Hall.

There is more to the Lakes District than its world-famous natural environment. There are many towns and villages to explore, whether nestled in valleys or on the side of a lake. Human influences have left their mark, too: the main activities are quarrying, mining, farming and tourism. Coniston, Windermere, Ambleside and Grasmere each have their own story.

Thee will be plenty of time for shopping and wandering around villages.

The characters Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck, and Jeremy Fisher. The creation of Beatrix Potter, undoubtedly inspired by the enchanting scenery, dreamt up her stories and eventually lived in the lake district, winning prizes for breeding Herdwick sheep. Her tale is much more than children's story books, Beatrix was an environmental pioneer, way ahead of her time.

Overnight: Melmerby Hall.

We head into All Creatures Great and Small country, the Yorkshire Dales. The TV show is based on books written by veterinarian Alf Wight (pen name James Herriot). Before arriving at Fountains Abbey, we stop in historic farming communities and enjoy the spectacular landscapes.

Fountains Abbey is a sublime work of art, a ruined abbey surrounded by a green water garden with elegant dark pools of still water with the odd cascade. The old Cistercian Abbey was closed by King Henry the 8th in the late 1530s as part of his program to confiscate land from the Catholic Church and sell it off cheaply to English noblemen.

Later, John Aislabie transformed the estate into awe-inspiring water gardens. After our stroll through the grounds at Fountains, we head for the City of York.

After check-in and dinner, we walk the medieval streets of York. See the Minster, the Shambles and Stonegate. I expect a few pub stops to finish our few days touring northern England will end things nicely.

Overnight: York, hotel to be confirmed.

Today you have the choice of catching the train to London or our van to Heathrow Airport. 

Fam Trip Ends.