Walking Holidays in Yorkshire

At Macs Adventure, we think Yorkshire is one of England’s most rewarding walking destinations. Often overlooked in favour of more famous trails, it’s a wonderfully diverse county — from rolling hills and lush dales to charming stone villages and a spectacular coastline. We offer several tours, each with its own highlights. Here’s how to choose the right one for you:

The Dales Way is an 8-day inn-to-inn long-distance trail, with the option to add extra nights for a more relaxed pace. You’ll walk through classic Yorkshire Dales scenery, crossing two national parks before finishing at Lake Windermere in the Lake District. Daily distances vary, but overall this is an easier walk than the Cleveland Way, particularly compared with the shorter 9-day itinerary.

The Herriot Way is a circular route through James Herriot country. The famous veterinary surgeon — known for All Creatures Great and Small — brought this landscape to life in his books and TV series. This gentle walk showcases some of the finest scenery in the Yorkshire Dales.

The Coast to Coast East follows the eastern section of the iconic Coast to Coast route across northern England, leading you through peaceful dales, rolling hills and open moorland. Daily distances can be challenging, so many walkers choose to complete the trail in two parts — making this a great way to tick a bucket-list walk off in stages.

The Cleveland Way, a National Trail, offers constantly changing scenery. Starting in Helmsley in the North York Moors National Park, the route travels through classic Yorkshire landscapes before reaching the dramatic coastline — truly the best of both worlds. This inn-to-inn walk is available in 9, 10 or 11-day itineraries, with longer options providing shorter daily distances.

For those who like to know a place before they visit it, this list is for you. These books aren’t just famous—they’re brilliant stories that also give a proper peek into Yorkshire: its wild landscapes, quirky characters, and rich history. Here are our favourites:

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë – Stormy love on the windswept Moors.
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett – A hidden garden, a bit of magic, and surprisingly grown-up vibes.
• A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines – A boy, a bird, and a Yorkshire mining town with grit and heart.
• All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot – Hilarious, heartwarming tales from a rural vet who knows Yorkshire inside out.
• The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit – Three kids, a country adventure, and a touch of Yorkshire charm.

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'll be ok". For example "Don't worry about 'er, 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!