We depart for Scotland on the morning HSS and travel through Dumfries and Galloway to join the M6 near Carlisle. We then leave the motorway and drive along the southern edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, through Skipton to Harrogate.

Harrogate is a charming, interesting place in its own right, with stunning parks and gardens and some excellent shops so, in response to last year’s comments suggesting more time here, we start our tour with an introduction to the town and a free morning to explore (the hotel is centrally located). In the afternoon we visit the Dales with a stop in the nearby cathedral city of Ripon.

Within the ancient walls of York we find a virtual potted history of England - Vikings, Saxons, Normans…and, plenty of shops! We have a short introductory tour of the city, concluding with a visit to the Minster - the afternoon is free to explore.

Our route home today takes us north, between the Moors and the Dales, and then over the Pennines to Penrith. We then retrace our outward journey through southern Scotland to Stranraer. We catch the evening HSS, arriving back at the Europa Buscentre around 10.00pm.