British Mystery Writers Trip

Education

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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OXFORD AND YORKSHIRE

St. Hilda’s Mystery & Crime Weekend & Mystery Writers Tour of Yorkshire
August 15-27, 2013

Itinerary

(R,D) Thursday 15th August
Arrive London Heathrow Airport by 10:30 a.m. and transfer to St. Hilda’s College, Oxford.
Free time in afternoon. Lunch on your own. You might want to take the Hop On-Hop Off bus tour of the city, go into some of the little shops, or just wander. St. Hilda’s itself has a lovely setting, and the Botanical Gardens are quite close by.
6:30 p.m. Welcome Reception and dinner.


(B,L,R,D) Friday 16th August


9:45 a.m. Meet at Porter’s Lodge for walking tour of Oxford
12:15 p.m. Lunch at King’s Arms Pub
Free afternoon
6:45 p.m. Mystery and Crime Weekend Reception
7:30 p.m. Dinner


(B,C,L,T,D) Saturday 17th August
Mystery and Crime conference


(B,C,L,T,D) Sunday 18th August
Mystery and Crime conference concludes mid-afternoon.
Depart St. Hilda’s after tea on Sunday, by 4:00 p.m., for our first hotel in the Peak District, the Rutland Arms in Bakewell. Enjoy a light supper on arrival.


(B,L,D) Monday 19th August – Peak District National Park
Drive through the heart of the Peak District National Park in the steps of Stephen Booth’s Ben Cooper and Diane Fry. See the stunning and contrasting landscapes of the White and the Dark Peak and visit some of the pretty villages.


This evening STEPHEN BOOTH will join us for dinner and talk about his writing which is set here in the on Peak District.
Overnight: Rutland Arms, Bakewell


(B,L) Tuesday 20th August – Industrial South Yorkshire as a setting for mystery writing
Before leaving the Peak District visit the famous Plague Village of Eyam. We then depart for Harrogate, travelling via Sheffield where we shall meet Danuta Reah and visit Shepherd Wheel, an important setting for Silent Playgrounds (U.S. title: Listen to the Shadows). Arrive in Harrogate in time to have a short orientation tour of the town before time at leisure and a chance to sample afternoon tea at the world famous Betty’s.
Overnight: Old Swan in Harrogate


(B,L,D) Wednesday 21st August
Depart for Haworth. Introduction to the Parsonage and a short talk about the settings of the Brontë novels by Ann Dinsdale, Collections Manager for the Bronte Parsonage Museum in the Library at the Parsonage. Walk through Haworth in the footsteps of the Brontës and Robert Barnard’s Charlie Peace. Have lunch at the Old Silent which featured in Martha Grimes’s novel, The Old Silent.
Drive out onto the moor for a short stroll and visit the nearby delightful village of Wycoller. Wycoller Hall is thought to be Ferndean Manor in Jane Eyre.
Overnight: Old Swan in Harrogate


(B,D) Thursday 22nd August - Yorkshire Dales
Spend the day travelling through the Yorkshire Dales following in the steps of Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks and Reginald Hill’s Dalziel and Pascoe. Stop for a brief visit to Ripon Cathedral before arriving in Middleham. Visit Middleham Castle (childhood home of Richard III).
Drive to nearby Hawes passing by haunts of Inspector Banks. Time at leisure to explore after lunch before returning to Harrogate.
Overnight: Old Swan in Harrogate


(B,L) Friday 23rd August – North Yorkshire Moors
Drive across the Vale of Yorkshire to Whitby. Visit Whitby Abbey and the church of St. Mary before enjoying a fish and chip lunch at Trenchers restaurant. There will be a chance to explore Whitby harbour – see the old market place, the 199 steps made famous by Dracula and wander through the character lanes where fish and jet are sold. On leaving we shall take the Yorkshire Moors steam railway across the stunning moorland scenery through Heartbeat country to Pickering Depart for York.
Overnight: Monkbar Hotel, York


(B) Saturday 24th August – York
York has inspired several mystery writers including Kate Ellis, Candace Robb, Barbara Whitehead, Peter Turnbull, Jane Finnis, John Baker and V.M Whitworth to name but a few. On a walking tour of York explore the ‘snickleways’ of York and locations, including York Minster, which provided the inspiration for these writers.


Time at leisure.
Overnight: Monkbar Hotel, York


(B,C) Sunday 25th August – York
Explore the early history of York following the Roman and Viking history of the city. You will be given a YAT pass enabling you to enjoy four attractions – the Jorvik museum; The DIG where you will receive a tour with an archaeologist; a medieval house Barley Hall and Micklegate Bar, a 12th century gateway museum. At morning coffee we shall be joined by an author.
There will be time at leisure to enjoy York.
Overnight: Monkbar Hotel, York


(B,L,D) Monday 26th August - Cambridge
Depart for Cambridge stopping for coffee en route at the fine coaching town of Stamford.
Enjoy a walking tour of Cambridge visiting some of the colleges as well as places described in P. D. James’ An Unsuitable Job for a Woman and Susannah Gregory’s medieval mysteries set in 14th century Cambridge and Michelle Spring’s novels. Michelle Spring has been quoted as saying Cambridge provides a perfect setting for a private investigator.
Overnight: Gonville Hotel, Cambridge


(B) Tuesday 27th August – London Heathrow
Transport will be provided to Heathrow departing Cambridge 9:00 a.m. for arrival at Heathrow by 11:00 a.m. Please book your return flight no earlier than 1:30 p.m.


B=Breakfast
L=Lunch
D=Dinner
C=Coffee
T=Tea
R=Reception

Click here to download a PDF copy of the Itinerary. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the file. You can get a free copy of that here.


Copyright 2007-2013 Kathy Ackley. All rights reserved.

Last updated: 31 December 2012
URL: http://www.britishmysterytrips.com/itinerary.html