Join Sydney Crabaugh with Rowan Tree Travel & Fibercraft for a journey through the varied and beautiful landscapes of England!  We will start in the North of England with a stay in the tranquil, storybook countryside that is the Lake District, learning about Beatrix Potter and her beloved Herdwick Sheep against the backdrop of rolling fells and calm lakes. As we head south, we’ll dally in Yorkshire, visiting the land of All Creatures Great and Small and the Brontës, just to name a few. After a stop to learn about the incredible WWII codebreakers at Bletchley Park, we will land in London for some tried-and-true sight seeing spots as well as places off the beaten path and, of course, a yarn shop or two. This tour will be filled with insight, laughter, yarn (of course), and opportunities to get to know England through the ages!

To Register 

A Registration Form and a non-refundable $1000 deposit are required to join the trip. Once you submit your online registration and deposit payment is received, your spot on the tour is secure. See our Terms & Conditions HERE.

Have questions? Please contact us at info@rowantreetravel.com

Tour Activity Level

We would describe this trip as a Woolly Wander. If you'd like to review our trip activity levels, take a look here.

Mobility Comfort Level = 2+

Some short walks with uneven terrain in the Lake District; limited ground floor rooms at all properties; using the Tube in London often involves stairs, but taxis can be hired at your own expense to connect with the group on this day. If you'd like to review our mobility comfort levels, take a look here.

This trip needs at least 12 participants in order to proceed (i.e. the trip is "guaranteed"). We strongly advise you to wait to purchase your flights until the trip is guaranteed by us to go forward.

Unless otherwise stated, our regular Terms and Conditions apply to this trip and for any cancellations (click here to see our Terms and Conditions).

Travel Insurance 

Rowan Tree Travel highly recommends purchasing travel insurance. You may purchase through our preferred partner Arch RoamRight by clicking here or through your own provider.

Arranging Your Flights 

In order to gather easily for the tour, we provide an arrival and departure "window" at a major transportation hub - typically an international airport at your destination country. Flights scheduled outside the provided windows may result in additional transportation costs and missed tour activities. For this reason, we greatly appreciate your cooperation in booking travel that accommodates our specifications. Please do not purchase airfare until the tour is guaranteed by RTTF to go forward.

We highly recommend arriving a night early so there is no rush for you in the morning to meet the group.  

Please Note the Following 

Rowan Tree Travel reserves the right to alter any part of this itinerary in order to address weather conditions, unforeseen circumstances or to improve the participant experience.

MANCHESTER

Welcome To The North Of England!

Greetings, Merry Knitters! What better way to kick off our trip in the north than with a visit to a yarn studio! Vintage knitting aficionado Susan Crawford will take us on an exclusive tour of her family run studio and yarn production space. In between a delicious lunch and tea with her and the team, there will be plenty of time to shop her breed-specific, vintage inspired yarn! After our bellies and shopping bags are full, we will bid a “ta-ta for now” to Susan and make our way to the first stop in the Lake District to visit the beautiful Levens Hall. While the multiple centuries-old manor house is worth visiting on its own, the vast topiary gardens in their full springtime splendor will really make your jaw drop. From here it’s on to our home for the next four nights – Bank Ground Farm on the edge of Coniston Water, where you can soak in the views of the area and enjoy the evening with your new fiber friends.

THE LAKE DISTRICT

Our next three days will be devoted to all things Lake District! We’ll have a day trip on a real 1940s bus, and roam around the lakes, hills, and valleys with stops to some of the picturesque towns along the way! We’ll spend time with Maria at Dodgson Wood farm, saying hello to a wide variety of British sheep breeds. Don’t forget to stop in her store for bespoke tweed, yarn, and soap made entirely in the Lake District! Sit back and relax in the early evening on board the historic yacht gondola that’s been sailing around the lakes since the nineteenth century. And no trip to the Lake District is complete without Beatrix Potter. Mandy Marshall, a local expert on the area, will come to tell us all about the indomitable Beatrix Potter and her determination to preserve the Herdwick sheep breed. Once we’re filled to the brim with inspiration, it’s time to visit Potter’s beloved workspace at Hilltop farm and later to meet the Herdwick sheep ourselves! We’ll have an unforgettable experience with the sheep among the fells, and will cap off the night with a visit from Susan Crawford who’ll tell us all about the Fashion ‘on the ration’ during WWII. Don’t worry, there will be stops to replenish your yarn supply and grab some world-famous Grasmere gingerbread while we’re here, too!

THE YORKSHIRE DALES & HAWORTH       

Leaving the Lake District will be hard, but adventure awaits! We will make our way through the Yorkshire Dales - James Herriot Country - to our new accommodation in the Bohemian town of Hebden Bridge. In the morning we’re off to see some historical knitting from the Dales up close and personal. And yes, of course we will stop in Grassington where All Creatures Great and Small was filmed - perhaps lunch in the Drovers Arms with Tristan? Then it's on to Shibden Hall where the remarkable woman Anne Lister once lived. We’ll all hum the Gentleman Jack theme song as we mosey through the gorgeous tudor home and gardens. Finally, our time in Yorkshire culminates in the quaint town of Haworth where the Brontë sisters wrote all their gripping tales! In between wandering the moors and down the cobblestone streets, there are plenty of boutique shops to get in some souvenir shopping while we enjoy a leisurely afternoon here.  

BLETCHLEY PARK    

A few special activities will break up the drive today from small town Yorkshire to metropolitan London! We will visit RiverKnits for our yarn fix, and then head to Bletchley Park, where we can immerse ourselves in the wartime atmosphere for the afternoon. Once the top-secret headquarters of the World War II codebreakers, it is now a vibrant heritage attraction. Step back in time to experience stories about the extraordinary achievements from the women and men that worked here. From accounts of the women codebreakers during World War II to Alan Turing’s teddy bear, there’s lots to see and learn on this beautiful campus. When we arrive in London, we'll drop our bags at The Georgian Hotel in Pimlico and be off for a well deserved dinner all together to discuss the day! 

LONDON 

We have two full days to explore London – there’s no time to waste! Our morning will be spent with the wonderful people at Beautiful Knitters, our local yarn shop while in London. Then we’ll hop on the tube for a day out in the city! The Victoria & Albert Museum has a wonderful collection of fashion through the ages - which Sydney will guide us through, including some of the highlights currently on display. Why don’t we discuss our favorites later on over sweets and sandwiches at our Afternoon Tea? 

We’ll start the next day with a trip to the unbeatable Liberty, with fabric and fashions galore. Then we’ll head to Camden Passage, which is chock full of antique shops, boutiques, haberdasheries, and of course, the iconic yarn shop Loop! Peruse Loop and fill your yarn totes one last time before sitting down for workshops with some of London’s best makers. We’ll pop into as many shops down the passage prior to arriving at the special venue for our farewell dinner. 

How are we ever going to say goodbye after such a magical trip? 

DEPARTURE DAY

I know we’ll meet again some sunny day! Farewell knitters, and safe travels home! 

Sydney is a voracious knitter, designer, and knitwear historian. She has been knitting and studying fashion history for over fifteen years and recently turned her passions into a career at Squid's School of Vintage Knitting, an online school devoted to the education and love of historical knitwear. Her work in the knitting world is also supplemented by her academic background in film history, and she tries to combine the two as often as possible. In collaboration with Rowan Tree Travel, Sydney works to develop tours that have a historical or vintage bent, often with elaborately themed and niche activities! With over ten years of working in the fiber industry, Sydney continues to love meeting other knitters and sharing fiber experiences with them more than anything else. You can find her at patreon.com/squidschool or over on instagram as @squidneyknits. 

Suzie is an avid knitter, spinner, and all-around fiber enthusiast plus writer, gardener, adventurer and appreciator of both cityscape and landscape.  When she realized she could combine her love of making things with her love for travel and new experiences, she found her happy place! Suzie lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She’s the author and illustrator of The Nervous New Owner’s Guide to Angora Rabbits. No longer a fiber animal owner, she loves nothing more than visiting fiber animals someone else owns -- preferably in another country. She writes about her travel experiences at www.studiobriddsang.com