Leave Station car park 9.15am. Start at Greta Bridge roadside parking by the bridge (GR: NZ 086 132, What3Words: ///rollover.clutches.mixture) at 9.45am. 6.5 Miles. Easy. £15 to include the guided tour of Rokeby Park

Our day starts at Greta Bridge and the roman settlement and fort that existed there alongside the old roman road.  As we enter the Rokeby Estate we learn about the history of Mortham Tower, and also the connections to Sir Walter Scott and JMW Turner and the romantic setting of Waters Meet. We follow a delightful, wooded stretch of the River Tees to Egglestone Abbey. Returning to Rokeby Park, the main part of the afternoon will be taken up by a guided tour of the house and the fascinating history of the families who have lived there. We will walk back to Greta Bridge through landscaped grounds alongside the Greta, emerging at the old gatehouse in time to visit the Morritt Arms and a chance to see Gilroy’s famous wall mural. There will be time for refreshments. With the walk and visit this will be a full day.  A guide from Rokeby Park will be with us all day and will tell us about the connections between the landscape and the history of the estate.

Leave Station car park at 9.30am. Start at Reeth Village Green by the Kings Arms Hotel (GR: SE 038 993, What3Words: ///fallback.cake.flinch) at 10.00am. 10 Miles.1,400 feet of climbing. Moderate. £7

An initial steady climb takes us onto moor to enjoy excellent views up along Swaledale, using good paths and tracks above the valley. We descend to the hamlet of Low Row to cross the iconic Isles Bridge. Our return is along the valley, with sections along the new Swale Trail and the riverside path, before crossing the Reeth Suspension Footbridge to return to our start.

Leave Station car park at 9.30am. Start at Layby on A684 before West Witton (GR: SE 067 885, What3Words: ///cheater.sprayer.proclaims) at 10.00am. 8 Miles. Easy. £7

From our starting point we will walk through the village of West Witton, steadily gaining height as we head west along Langthwaite Lane, now a footpath. We descend to the interesting ruins of a Knights Templar Chapel. The final section of the walk is along field and riverside paths including a very scenic stretch of the River Ure as we pass Redmire Force on our way.

The Station, Richmond DL10 4LD | Two workshops 10:00am – 1:00pm and 1:30pm to 4:30pm | £25 | Café/restaurant, bookstall, disabled access.

These workshops are a three hour local stroll, with stops for sketching. Discover or rediscover lovely areas around Richmond with this local walk and drawing session with artist, Liz Harvey. Liz will provide sketchbooks and materials as well as portable stools so you can draw in (relative!) comfort. Liz is an experienced teacher and artist and will guide you through how to compose your work, use different mark making techniques and develop a series of sketches of the local area. The aim will be to use a range of different materials throughout the session. The route will be dependent on weather, but please come prepared with layers of clothes and a waterproof as well as comfortable shoes. 

This session is suitable for complete beginners and also more experienced artists as Liz will guide you individually at each stop to ensure you are able to develop your skills. 

The Green Howards Museum, Trinity Church Square, Richmond DL10 4QN | 11:00am – midday | £8 | bookstall, disabled access

“She saw all the glories of the camp; its tents stretched forth in beauteous uniformity of lines, crowded with the young and gay, and dazzling with scarlet; and to complete the view, she saw herself seated beneath a tent, tenderly flirting with at least six officers at once” - Jane Austen’s description of Lydia Bennet in ‘Pride and Prejudice’. The attentions of the local female population were just one of the attractions to men from local families serving with the North York Militia in the 1800s. In this talk we navigate the pleasures, opportunities and pitfalls of life in the North York Militia.

Steve Erskine is the Regimental Researcher at the Green Howards Museum and a Freelance Battlefield Guide. He holds a Master’s degree in British First World War Studies from Birmingham University. 

Sponsored by: The Green Howards Museum

Meet outside the Town Hall at 12.00 noon. Free but donations to the Richmond Mayor’s Charity most welcome.

Your costumed guide, a Richmond policeman of 1842, takes you for a walk back in time lasting just over one hour.

The Station, Richmond DL10 4LD \ 2:00pm – 5:00pm\ £55 including materials\ Café/restaurant, disabled access.

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, it’s possible to make attractive books to put to whatever use you wish.

Sponsored by: The Station

Richmond Town Hall, DL10 4QL | 7:30pm | £10 | Refreshments, bookstall, disabled access.

Martin Edwards will give the first of our planned annual Peter Robinson Memorial Talks. Peter, author of the Inspector Banks’ books, was the Festival’s patron until his death in 2022.

Martin will talk about Peter and their many conversations about the crime writing life over the years and also about his book ‘The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators’, the first major history of crime fiction in fifty years. The book traces the evolution of the genre from the eighteenth century to the present, offering brand-new perspectives on the world’s most popular form of fiction.

Martin Edwards is a multi-award-winning crime novelist, the President of the Detection Club, archivist of the Crime Writers’ Association and series consultant to the British Library’s highly successful series of crime classics.

Sponsored by: Millgate House