Leave Station car park at 9.00am.  Start at car park at Great Ayton Station TS9 6HR (GR: NZ 573 108, What3Words: ///blues.swinging.remission) at 10.00am. 10 Miles. Moderate. £7

Starting from Great Ayton Station we will soon be climbing the steep path up to the iconic Captain Cook's Monument with fine views over Cleveland. A pleasant woodland section and farm lanes take us to the Tumulus on Kildale Moor. We cross the moor circling around to the unmistakeable Roseberry Topping and its steep stepped ascent and descent. On a clear day we will see the North Sea. We return to the start across farm fields and woods.

Leave Station car park at 9.00am. Start at National Park CP in Muker (charges), entrance before the bridge. (GR: SD 911 978, What3Words: ///towel.dished.ringers) at 10.00am. 9 Miles. Moderate. £7

It is claimed that Keld has the highest concentration of waterfalls within a mile of the village of anywhere in England. This walk takes in the half-dozen that are publicly accessible, as well as views of others. Along the way we will see traditional hay meadows complete with their “cow’us” (a particular type of small barn), which give an insight into the agricultural history of Upper Swaledale, and glimpses of its lead mining heritage. Leaving Muker, we head west towards Thwaite to join the Pennine Way as it heads over the shoulder of Kisdon Hill. There are stunning views of the infant Swale below us as well as the surrounding fells. Dropping down we loop around Keld, the highest settlement in Swaledale, to visit each of its waterfalls, culminating in the impressive Kisdon Force. A gentle stroll alongside the river brings us back to Muker and the end of our journey.   

Leave Station car park 9.15am. Start at Carlton in Coverdale Village Hall DL8 4AY (honesty box) (GR: SE 069 847, What3Words: ///mile.barmaid.unearthly) at 10.00am. 8 Miles. Moderate. £7

Our walk in the upper reaches of Coverdale will take us west towards Carlton Moor and Gammersgill, mainly on moorland tracks, to Fleensop from where we descend back into the valley to the interesting village of Horsehouse. Here we will share some tales from it’s past. The return to Carlton takes us along pleasant valley paths close to the River Cover.

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. Distance to be confirmed. £7

Our last Discovery Walk of the programme takes us to the National Nature Reserve at Nosterfield and the nearby reserve at Nosterfield Quarry, still a working 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.  Near to the sites is the area known as Thornborough Henges, a series of pre-historic burial mounds.  Two of the three Henges have recently passed into the control of Historic England. The plan is to improve access to the Henges and improve the natural habitat in partnership with the Nosterfield team, in an area of rare magnesian limestone grassland. 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

The Station, Richmond DL10 4LD | 11:00am – midday | £8 | Café/restaurant, bookstall, disabled access.

Heather Stevens has been a qualified dog trainer for almost four decades and runs the Richmond dog crèche, CentreBarks.

Heather is the author of Beyond the Breed - the new way to know and understand your dog. The book shares the knowledge of canine functional characters, which explain the social interactions of individual dogs and the dynamics of groups of dogs.

Sponsored by: CentreBarks

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

Join us for an evening of Yorkshire nostalgia with two great writers in conversation.

Andrew Martin is a journalist and the award-winning author of the 'Jim Stringer' railway detective series.

In Yorkshire: There and Back, Martin celebrates Britain's most charismatic county, looking back at the Yorkshire of his 1970s childhood and how it is today. Effortlessly entertaining and wonderfully detailed, it is a memoir, guide, and all-round appreciation of 'God's own county'.

Journeying to every historic corner, Martin writes affectionally about its past, present and peculiarities. York is an evolving city of chocolate, trains, pubs and tourists. Scarborough should be viewed as the posh place it once was. Leeds is seen as the 'hard' town with its party goers and late-night provocateurs. And the Moors and Dales continue to boast beauty and danger alike.

Matson Taylor is Yorkshire born and bred. Now living in London, he is a design historian at the V&A. His first book, The Miseducation of Evie Epworth, was selected for both the Richard & Judy Book Club and the BBC Radio 2 Book Club.

The Miseducation of Evie Epworth charts the arrival of the 1960s in a small Yorkshire village. Up until then, Evie’s life had been nothing special. But, inspired by her idols (Charlotte Brontë, Shirley MacLaine, the Queen), she dreams of a world far away from rural East Yorkshire. Standing in the way of these dreams, though, is Christine, Evie’s soon-to-be stepmother, who is lining Evie up for a life of shampoo-and-set drudgery at the stinky local salon.

Matson’s follow up book All about Evie is set in 1972, ten years on. Evie is settled in London working for the BBC. She has everything she's ever dreamed of, but, following an unfortunate incident involving Princess Anne and a Hornsea Pottery mug, she finds herself having to rethink her life and piece together work, love, grief and multiple pairs of cork-soled platform sandals.

Leave Station car park at 9.15am. Start West Burton Village Green (GR: SE 018 867, What3Words: ///retiring.attitudes.much) at 10.00am. 10 Miles. Moderate/Hard. £7

From West Burton we make our way to the impressive waterfall at the edge of the village before starting our climb to the panorama path round the flank of Penhill.  We climb steeply to gain the ridge of Penhill and make our way to the famous beacon site at the end of that ridge before our descent east and then south across Melmerby Moor.  We gain height again as we head west along a moorland track, descending again down Thupton Gill into the Walden Valley and our return along the beckside path to our start.

Leave Station car park at 9.30am. Start Reeth Village Green (GR: SE 038 993, What3Words: ///canoe.carpentry.divisions ) at 10.00am. 9 Miles. Moderate. £7

From Reeth we follow field paths along the valley to Grinton before beginning a steady climb up the side of the valley to the impressive remains of Grinton Smelt Mill. We make our way over Harkerside Moor to the hillfort of Maiden Castle with its interesting stone corridor-like entrance way before descending back into the valley to cross the Swale at Reeth Swing Bridge to return to our start.

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!

Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond DL10 4DW | 7:30pm | £12 from www.georgiantheatreroyal.co.uk | Bar, bookstall, disabled access

Sir Nick Young’s memoir is a fascinating and candid account of his thirteen successful years as chief executive of the British Red Cross (2001-2014). During this critical period he led the organisation’s response to a financial crisis, the Iraq War, the Asian Tsunami, the London bombings, a kidnapping, the fighting in Syria, media challenges, and numerous earthquakes, floods and other disasters. Nick shares the strains and the moments of personal fulfilment, relief and humour, as he played a key role in the humanitarian response to some of the 21st Century’s most dramatic and dangerous events.

Nick will be in conversation with Peter Barron, Editor of the Northern Echo for 40 years and Deputy Lieutenant of County Durham

Sponsored by Millgate House

Leave Station car park 9.30am. Start at Forbidden Corner in Coverham DL8 4TQ (GR:SE 094 867, What3Words: ///shampoos.wished.briefer) at 10.30am. 6 Miles. Easy/Moderate. £7

A delightful but not too demanding walk with a few short climbs to work up an appetite for lunch at the Saddle Room restaurant situated in the old stables adjacent to Forbidden Corner. The walk starts at Tupgill Park which boasts ornamental parkland as well as the quirky tourist attraction. On route we pass a number of historic sites including Coverham Church, the ruins of 13^th Century Coverham Abbey, Braithwaite Hall a 17^th Century Manor House, ancient pack-horse bridges and the magnificent Middleham Castle, as well as Middleham’s famous stables and gallops. We will stop beside the River Cover for a short picnic break so please bring a drink and a snack. We will be at the Saddle Room for lunch at around 1.45pm. Walk participants will be contacted prior to the walk for their menu choices.   

The Station, Richmond DL10 4LD | 10:00am – 4:00pm | Book Fair free entry | Bookbinding Workshop from 10.00am - 1.00pm £50 (including materials) | Café/restaurant, disabled access.

For the Book Fair, booksellers will have stalls on the Platform.

For the Bookbinding Workshop, which runs from 10.00am to 1.00pm, have you ever wondered how fine and antiquarian books were made? The art and craft of book making dates back over 2000 years, but whether works from ancient China, Islamic bookbinding, or stately-home libraries, the principles are similar: papers are sewn together and secured within a protective casing. In this workshop led by local bookbinder, Delphine Ruston, you will make two books of your own to take away – a 3-hole pamphlet (or chap book), and a single-section, hardback notebook.

Tickets available for the workshop from The Station

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

A love of birds has always been an important part of the British way of life but in wartime birds came into their own, helping to define our national identity. One of the most popular bird books ever, Watching Birds, was published in 1940 while “There’ll be bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover” epitomized the blitz spirit. Along the coast, flooding to prevent a German invasion helped the avocet make a remarkable return while the black redstart found an unlikely home in our bombed-out buildings.

As interesting as the birds were some of the people who watched them. Matthew Rankin and Eric Duffey counted seabirds while looking for U-boats. Tom Harrison, the mastermind behind Mass Observation, watched people ‘as if they were birds’ while POW Guy Madoc wrote a truly unique book on Malayan birds, typed on paper stolen from the Japanese commandant’s office. For Field Marshall Alan Brooke, filming birds was his way of coping with the continual demands of Winston Churchill. Peter Scott served with distinction in the Royal Navy and became one of the greatest naturalists of his generation.

Nicholas Milton is an ornithologist, historian and a journalist. He has worked for The BBC Natural History Unit, the RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts and Greenpeace and has also written extensively about WW2 for a range of national newspapers.

Sponsored by Millgate House