Richmond Library, DL10 4AE | 10.30am | Free children’s event but please reserve a place at Richmond Library

Little Loco’s Big Day is the uplifting tale of the first locomotive, now known as Locomotion No.1, which ran on the Stockton & Darlington Railway. Steam powered with a mighty hoot, the nervous Little Loco has to pull Wonky Waggons along the railway on the opening day in 1825. Trouble brews when the Wonky Waggons grumble because they want to be pulled by horses, not locomotives. Herald the Horse is worried that he will lose his job if Little Loco is too useful. Can Little Loco find good friends to help her?

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Catterick Library DL9 3EL |2.00pm | Free children’s event but please reserve a place at Catterick Library

Little Loco’s Big Day is the uplifting tale of the first locomotive, now known as Locomotion No.1, which ran on the Stockton & Darlington Railway. Steam powered with a mighty hoot, the nervous Little Loco has to pull Wonky Waggons along the railway on the opening day in 1825. Trouble brews when the Wonky Waggons grumble because they want to be pulled by horses, not locomotives. Herald the Horse is worried that he will lose his job if Little Loco is too useful. Can Little Loco find good friends to help her?

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The Station, Richmond, DL10 4LD | 10.00am to 4.00pm | Café, bookstall, disabled access

Come and meet local authors, chat to them about their books and purchase signed copies. ‘Promoting Yorkshire Authors’ is a wonderful, mutually supportive group. Members come from across the three historic counties and cover a wide range of genres. It is free for authors to join our online community from where we share good practice, advertise our books, solicit advice and run events. So whether you are a book lover who wants to discover a fascinating new writer, or an aspiring or established author thinking of joining the group, come along and meet a few of the many exciting and interesting members.

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Richmond Town Hall, DL10 4QL| 7.30pm | £10 | Refreshments, bookstall, disabled access

Living on Dartmoor, Michael Jecks says, is the best way to research mediaeval stories. He will discuss his feelings about landscape in novels, how characters are shaped by their surroundings, and how authors can get the most from the scenery about them. He regularly wild camps on Dartmoor, and can be found walking over the wilds with his two dogs as he plots his stories. All are grounded in fact and in places he knows well. His work involves intensive research into the crimes committed by our ancestors, reading court records, coroner reports and histories that cover the industrial history of Dartmoor. Michael is the Hon. Secretary of the Detection Club, founder of Medieval Murderers, and was Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association. He is a regular speaker at international crime and literary festivals. 

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Leave Station car park 9.15am. We will transfer to our start point at Castle Bolton by private bus, the charge for which is included in the ticket price. 15 miles. Hard. £12

Following the success of this walk in 2021, we are bringing it back for 2025. The walk links two noble castles situated in neighbouring dales. A bus will take us to the imposing Bolton Castle where we head up onto open moorland that once rang with the sounds of lead mining but today the cry of lapwings, curlew and grouse greet us. As we descend into Swaledale we enjoy splendid views of Reeth nestling under Calver Hill. We take the Coast-to-Coast route, now designated as a National Trail, back to Richmond following the River Swale as it flows through meadows and woods, past a priory and smelt mill to our destination of Richmond Castle. Expect to return to Richmond around 5.30pm.

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Meet at Altberg Factory Shop, 2B Racecourse Road, Gallowfields Trading Estate DL10 4TG ( What3Words: ///wound.rinsed.clerk) at 10.00am. 6.5 Miles. Moderate. £7  

Our traditional “Start of Festival” event is a good way to get to know one of the most popular short walks from Richmond, with the added interest of a visit to Altberg, the last remaining boot manufacturer in England. We will start the day at the factory to see how the boots are designed and made - for walking, the army and biking. There’s time for a cup of tea and a look round the excellent factory shop before a walk along Whitcliffe Scar, with great views over lower Swaledale, to hear about the famous but gruesome legend of Willance’s Leap.

Supported by: Altberg

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The Station, Richmond, DL10 4LD | 10.00am to 1.00pm | £60 including materials | Café, bookstall, disabled access

Learn the art of bookbinding in this hands-on workshop. Have you ever wondered how fine and antiquarian books were made? The art and craft of book making dates back over two thousand years, but whether that’s works from ancient China, Japanese designs, the rich tradition of Islamic bookbinding, or the leather-bound volumes of stately-home libraries, the principles are similar: papers are sewn together and secured within a protective, often decorated, casing.  In this workshop led by local bookbinder, Delphine Ruston, see for yourself how books start life by making two books of your own to take away – a 3-hole pamphlet (or chap book), and a single-section, hardback notebook. With a few materials, tools and simple skills, you can make attractive books to put to whatever use you wish.

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Richmond Town Hall, DL10 4QL| 4.00pm | £10 | Refreshments, bookstall, disabled access

For almost two decades before her execution at Fotheringhay Castle in 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was a prisoner. From her chambers, she wrote countless letters, many encrypted using complex ciphers to prevent her communications from being intercepted. In this way, she used language to exert her will and influence events.

Jade Scott, a historian and expert on Mary’s correspondence, explores the hundreds of letters Mary sent during her prison years to reveal how she navigated surveillance and suspicion. In Captive Queen she interrogates Mary’s complex relationships with friends and enemies throughout her long imprisonment, illuminating her strategic expertise, and bringing Mary’s captivity to life like never before.

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Richmond Town Hall, DL10 4QL| 7.30pm | £10 | Refreshments, bookstall, disabled access

Britain faces a deep contradiction on China; on one side, a security risk; on the other, enormous opportunities. The problem is that we don’t have the expertise to differentiate between the two or cope effectively with either. Each year, only three hundred UK students graduate in Chinese. Meanwhile, in China, millions are studying English. In two decades, their economy has grown to six times the size of ours. They know more about us than we know about them and that gives them a competitive advantage.

Tim Clissold lived in China for 25 years and has published four books on China and Chinese culture. His latest, Teach the People, tackles our ignorance about this global titan. Tim will be interviewed by Austin Lynch.

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Leave Station car park at 9.00am. Start at Hardraw Village (GR: SD 867 912, What3Words: ///seatbelt.crackling.search ) at 10am. 13 Miles, 2,064’ of climb. Hard. £7.

Iconic Great Shunner Fell stands at 716 metres above Wensleydale and Swaledale. We use the Pennine Way all the way up from Hardraw and admire the views opening up behind us.  A short descent takes us to Little Shunner Fell – just a rise in the landscape. We descend down the old Coal Miners’ track and a short walk down the road leads us to the spectacular Buttertubs. From here we make the short sharp ascent to Lovely Seat. After posing for photos on the seat we descend back to the road and on to Hardraw with its famous waterfall.   

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Leave Station car park 9.00am. Start at West Door Ripon Cathedral HG4 1QT (GR: SE 314 711, What3Words: ///procured.shams.universally) at 10.00am. 11 Miles. Moderate. £7

In 937AD King Athelstan granted the right of overnight Sanctuary in Ripon, both in the Cathedral but also within a boundary marked by 8 boundary crosses.  The next day justice was administered by the church authorities. This walk recreates the 8 boundary markers with interpretation boards and a route to link them, covering riverside and countryside paths and some walking through urban Ripon.  As we go round the route we will learn more about the origins of Sanctuary, alongside an enjoyable circumnavigation of this historic City. Although deemed moderate because of its length this walk is mostly over easy ground, although it might be muddy in places.

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Leave Station car park 9.15am. Start at Langthwaite Car Park (GR: NZ 005 023, What3Words: ///ticket.until.yummy) at 10.00am. 6 Miles. Easy. £7

Following an early sell out in 2024, we are pleased to include this walk in 2025. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Arkengarthdale was an internationally significant lead-producing area. Alongside the industry, nonconformist religion flourished, and seeking out the (now redundant) chapels of the time gives an agreeable focus to this easy walk through a remote and peaceful corner of the Dales. Expect historical snippets and wonderful views. We finish with a visit to the deserted churchyard of Arkle Town before our return to Langthwaite.

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The Station, Richmond, DL10 4LD | 10.00am to 4.00pm |  Café, bookstall, disabled access

Come and browses a variety of new, second-hand, antiquarian and collectable books from expert sellers on The Station platform - along with The Station’s regular ‘Lost and Found’ book stall.  Heaven for book worms and collectors!

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Meet outside the Town Hall at 2.15pm. Free but donations to Richmondshire Museum most welcome.

This walk explores Richmond’s Wynds and Lanes offering big views, intriguing nooks, secret places and a chance to hear of the people who lived in them. The walk is mostly on pavements but also has some steep slopes and steps.

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Richmond Town Hall, DL10 4QL| 4.00pm | £10 | Refreshments, bookstall, disabled access

The Yorkshire-based author, naturalist, activist, Guardian Country Diarist and President of Friends of the Dales, Amy-Jane Beer will discuss her Wainwright Prize winning book about rivers and wild spaces, The Flow, and her work with the Right to Roam campaign and the importance of public access to local green space as the first crucial step in healing our broken relationship with the natural world and rebuilding a culture of care for nature and also for each other.

Amy will be in conversation with Tim Frenneaux of Adventurous Ink.

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Richmond Town Hall, DL10 4QL| 7.30pm | £10 | Refreshments, bookstall, disabled access

Jessica Hepburn will tell the inspiring story of how she went from being an ‘arty’ unlikely athlete to a record-breaking adventurer, transforming her life in the process. Her new book, Save Me from the Waves, charts her journey to become the first woman in the world to swim the English Channel, run the London Marathon and summit Mount Everest fuelled by listening to every episode of her favourite radio programme - Desert Island Discs. Join us to hear her amazing story, and discover which books saved her through the waves of life. Jessica is the former CEO of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and also author of The Pursuit of Motherhood and 21 Miles.

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Leave Station car park at 9.00am. Start at Middleton-in-Teesdale Memorial Fountain (GR: NY 948 254, What3Words: ///animates.turns.ejects) at 10.00am. 8 Miles. Moderate. £7

We explore the beautiful Hudeshope Valley, encompassing woodland paths, fields, moorland and the historical remains of the once bustling 18^th and 19^th century Teesdale lead mining industry. We climb to the summit of Harberry Hill, with magnificent views up Teesdale, across rough unpathed ground, which can be boggy in places. We pass one of the reservoirs used to collect water for hushing, a process used to remove topsoil and undergrowth to expose the lead veins under the surface. This process has shaped the landscape in this area and the walk gives the opportunity to go into one of the largest hushes. We descend on good paths back down to Hudeshope Beck, as it winds its way down towards the Tees and our return to Middleton.

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Leave Station car park 9.15am. Start at pull in parking overlooking Surrender Bridge (GR: SD 989 998, What3Words: ///districts.veered.manliness) at 10.00am. 7.5 Miles. Moderate. £7

Recent years have brought major changes to farming in Swaledale that affect the food we eat, the environment and the landscape in which we live. Hazel Brow Farm in Low Row is a farm that has constantly sought to adapt and diversify. We will visit the farm, and you will hear how they have coped with ever-changing demands. In 2024 the farm won a Tees-Swale gold award for Public Engagement. Starting and finishing at the ruins of the smelting mill of Surrender Bridge the walk will take us over rough moorland and along valley paths to illustrate the landscape in which the local farmers work as well as the important industrial past through which we pass. There are great views of Swaledale throughout and plenty of opportunities to hear and see the wide variety of moorland birds.

Supported by: Hazel Brow Farm

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Start at the Fosse Car Park, at Richmond Falls DL10 4JR ( What3Words: ///behalf.values.sleepers ) at 10.00am. 4 Miles. Easy. £7

A circular 4-mile walk led by members of Save Our Swale, a volunteer group formed in 2023 to monitor water quality and invertebrate health. There will be several stops to discuss issues of pollution, Richmond’s rich history, and the town’s relationship with the river. The walk will go via Easby Abbey, following established tracks and passing through woodland and pasture. Dogs on leads are welcome. There is no lunch stop on this walk.

Supported by: Save Our Swale

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Start at Bolton Hall Gates in Wensley (GR: SE 091 896, What3Words: ///primed.pictures.cork) at 10am for 10.15am. 4.5 Miles. Easy. Free just turn up on the day.

This walk is part of the Ramblers Wellbeing Walks programme. From the gates of Bolton Hall we walk on field paths and a short length of road before taking tracks that lead past Bolton Hall and take us to the lovely riverside path along the Ure back to Wensley and our starting point.

Supported by: Ramblers Wellbeing Walks Richmondshire

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