Leave Station car park 9.00am. Start at Rukins Farm Car Park (GR: NY 892 012, What3Words: ///attending.sonic.drag) at 10.00am. 6 Miles. Moderate. £7

The Dales can be as enchanting as they are treacherous. Over the years, Swaledale Mountain Rescue has answered countless calls for help, assisting injured or lost hikers, mountain bikers, and even animals. This walk offers a unique chance to visit the locations of some of these challenging rescues, learn about the unfortunate casualties, and hear the gripping stories of how they were saved—all whilst soaking in the breathtaking beauty of the Upper Swale valley and its well-trodden paths between Keld and Muker.

Supported by: The Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team

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Leave Station car park at 9.15am. Start Bowes and Gilmonby Village Hall DL12 9HR (GR: NY 996 135, What3Words: ///lotteries.superbly.years) at 10.00am. 10.5 Miles. Moderate. £7

We explore some of the vast, empty moors in the southwestern corner of County Durham, mainly using sections of both the main route and the Bowes Loop of the Pennine Way. Bowes is a handsome village dominated by the ruins of the 12^th Century Bowes Castle, and also the site of Dotheboys Hall, the ‘Yorkshire’ boarding school exposed for its harsh conditions in Dicken’s novel Nicholas Nickleby. Also of interest are the remnants of RAF Bowes Moor, near Barnard Castle, which was used in the 1940s to store mustard gas, which was burnt off at the end of World War II. The highlight of the walk is undoubtedly God’s Bridge, a limestone bridge over the River Greta, and the UK’s best example of a natural bridge formed by cave development.

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Leave Station car park at 9.45am. Rendezvous at Nosterfield Nature Reserve car park (GR: SE 279 795, What3Words: ///divides.commenced.voltage) at 10.30am. An easy nature walk of around 5 Miles. £7

Following an early sell out in 2023 and 2024, we are repeating this Discovery Walk at the National Nature Reserve at Nosterfield and the nearby reserve at Nosterfield Quarry. During a short walk over level ground we will learn about the restoration of former quarries into nature reserves well known locally for their bird life and flowers, learning something of the restoration methods in use to create and improve habitats, including the propagation nursery set up at the site to supply plants for this work.  Your knowledgeable team for the day will help you identify the flora and fauna present. A member of the Nosterfield team will explain their work.   Please bring binoculars if you have them. We aim to spend the morning at Nosterfield Reserve before transferring to Nosterfield Quarry for the afternoon, with a planned finish at around 4pm.

Supported by: The Lower Ure Conservation Trust

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Richmond School & Sixth Form College, Darlington Road DL10 7BQ | 7.30pm | £25 | Refreshments, bookstall,  disabled access

In a brand-new talk for 2025 David examines some of history’s missing chapters to uncover how and why some events and some people are remembered and others forgotten. Taking examples from the World Wars, the Industrial Revolution and other pivotal moments in global history David uncovers history’s missing persons.

David Olusoga is the author or co-author of eight books including Black & British: A Forgotten History, The World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire, Black & British: A Short Essential History, The Cult of Progress, The Kaiser’s Holocaust: Germany’s Forgotten Genocide and The Colonial Roots of Nazism.

David's recent television programs include Union with David Olusoga and upcoming in 2025, Empire with David Olusoga. He also writes and presents the long-running BBC history series, A House Through Time. Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester, and a columnist for The Observer, David also writes for The Guardian, The New Statesman, The Voice and BBC History Magazine.

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Leave Station car park at 9.00am. Start Buckden National Park Car Park (Charge £5.50/day). (GR: SD 942 772, What3Words: ///sports.unhelpful.outreach) at 10:00am.  9 miles, 1700 feet of climbing. Hard. £7

Buckden Pike (702 m) is the iconic mountain at the top of Wharfedale. We ascend from the south-west using the old miners’ route, passing the lead mine entrance and ruined buildings. From the summit, on a clear day, we will get good views of the Yorkshire 3 peaks and other recognisable Dales’ mountains. We descend on the new gravelled path to reach the hamlet of Cray. Then it’s east along the Limestone Pavement under Yokenthwaite Moor to pretty Hubberholme and back along the Wharfe to Buckden. 

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Leave Station car park 9.30am. Start at parking opposite Reeth School DL11 6SP (GR: SE 034 992, What3Words: ///inert.holidays.roadblock) at 10.00am. 8 Miles. Moderate. £7

Following an early sell out in 2024 we repeat this opportunity to take part in a guided tour led by of the one of the landowners of the Heggs-Castle renaturing project. The project is a 200-acre collaborative scheme by 3 landowners to increase biodiversity and to develop a natural method of flood management. Starting from Reeth we walk up the beautiful valley of Arkengarthdale to Heggs Farm to begin the tour. Afterwards the route continues north, crossing the beck to the largely lost hamlet of Arkle Town, and highlighting two further renaturing sites. We make a steady climb up Calver Hill (487m) to enjoy the views of the Swale and Arkle valleys before descending back to Reeth.

Supported by: The Heggs-Castle Renaturing Project

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Meet outside the Town Hall at 2.15pm. Free, just turn up on the day. Donations to Richmondshire Museum most welcome.

This walk around the central area of Richmond lasts for between one hour and one and a half hours and remains on level ground, as far as is possible in Richmond!

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Catterick Library, DL9 3EL | 4.30pm | £10 | Bookstall, disabled access

Asad Qureshi, a filmmaker and writer, works in dangerous places. When he sets off to interview Taliban commanders, he finds himself on the wrong side of the camera with a gun to his head and a ten million dollar ransom. 165 Days - Prisoner of the Taliban is his compelling account of his captivity. The emotional turmoil endured by those on the outside battling to save his life: his parents in failing health, a stoical brother facing down the terrorists. This is a haunting story of fear, loss, hope and the strength of the human spirit. The book offers unique behind-the-scenes insights into the workings of a notorious paramilitary network. Above all, it provides a stark reminder of the privilege of freedom. 

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Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond, DL10 4DW| 7.30pm | £10 | From www.georgiantheatreroyal.co.uk | Bar, bookstall, disabled access

Why do families make such fertile ground for fiction? Novelists Marina Kemp and Joanna Howat will meet to discuss the joys and challenges of bringing a family to life in their work. Acclaimed author Marina Kemp will discuss her second novel, The Unwilding, a stunning literary work about power, desire, and family secrets. Described as ‘powerfully compelling’ by the Guardian and ‘subtle, complex and ambitious’ by The Times. Marina has been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer and Times Breakthrough Artist Awards, and the Pat Kavanagh Prize. In conversation with Marina will be North Yorkshire-based author, Joanna Howat. Joanna is a former BBC journalist who lives near Bedale. Her debut novel, Crescendo, is a darkly funny literary tale of loss, redemption and complex family dynamics. Crescendo has been described as ‘this beautiful, intricately-woven novel will echo in your heart long after you turn the last page’.

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Leave Station car park 9.15am. Parking on Healaugh Village Green (honesty box) (GR:SE 019 990, What3Words: ///powder.shorts.beaks). Start walk at 10.00am. 12 Miles. Hard. £7

A day of contrasts that will take us into the moors above Swaledale, with their rich lead mining heritage, and along the beautiful river valley of the Swale. Our route takes us up Calver, before dropping down to Surrender Bridge. We follow the flue lines of old smelting mills as we cross Barras Top and descend to the Old Gang Smelting Mill, and evidence of mine workings. Then it’s over the moor and a steady descent to Isles Bridge and along the river path back to Healaugh.

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Leave Station car park 9.45am. Parking behind Wheatsheaf Inn, Carperby DL8 4DF (GR:SE 008 898, What3Words:///mealtime.probing.interacts). Start walk at 10.30am. 6.5 Miles. Easy/moderate. £7

An attractive walk in Wensleydale visiting Aysgarth Falls enroute to the village of West Burton, where we will admire a very different waterfall. Walking on field paths beside the limestone Dove Scar we reach Sorrelsykes Park with its trio of curious follies. A path alongside the River Ure takes us back to Aysgarth Falls. Crossing the old railway line which ran to Hawes, we return on field paths to the ancient village of Carperby for lunch at about 1.45pm in the Wheatsheaf Inn, a traditional Yorkshire pub. Walk participants will be contacted prior to the walk for their pub lunch menu choices which include a traditional Sunday Lunch.

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

Britain has over 10,000 miles of coastline, steeped in history and constantly shifting and adapting. The Restless Coast is a moving and beautiful account of a journey around it. The author travels the coast to discover its challenges and opportunities, and to talk to the people trying to protect it. After a distinguished army career and success in business, in 2018, Roger took the decision to devote the rest of his working life to the restoration of nature through his writing, public speaking and campaigning. In 2022, he walked 1,000 miles through Britain from Lymington to Cape Wrath, to assess the state of British nature, a story told in Across a Waking Land. The Glasgow Herald has called Roger ‘one of Britain’s leading conservationists’.

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