A High Speed Minibus Tour Of Yorkshire & The Peak District

The Duke of Devonshire admits he hasn't been into every one of the 126 rooms where he lives in Chatsworth House. Derbyshire.

Unsurprisingly, because it takes us around two hours to have what our guide describes as 'a quick look around' the Duke and Duchess’ opulent, stately home, in the family since the 1500s and set in 35,000 acres.

The annual gardening costs alone are £8.6m although the eclectic art collection is valued at something like £800m!

Around 600,000 visitors a year visit Chatsworth, one of England's favourite country houses and employees live in a specially-built village.

We avoid the maze - it's quite enough of a challenge to find our way around the building.

In Manchester, at the start of our three-day Rabbie's tour of the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District, our knowledgeable, friendly driver/guide, Clive, settles us into our comfortable mini-coach and we're off.

Rabbie's offer small-group tours all over the UK and Europe, going beyond the guide books to explore famous and lesser-known treasures, to learn about legends, history, and things you didn't know.

For example, our guide Clive tells us Castleton in the Peak District is licensed for quick marriages as well as Gretna Green. And that a Bakewell Tart started its life as a pudding!

In 1847, a batch of the original recipe was devised by Ann Greaves, head chef at the Bakewell's Rutland Arms Hotel, using puff pastry, sieved jam, frangipane and egg mix.

As guests weren't keen on this dessert, Ann took the remainder home and distributed it to friends and family, who declared it a winner. So, Ann opened The Bakewell Pudding Shop, which still stands today and offers the equally popular, original and modified version, ie Bakewell Tart!

Mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086, Bakewell market town's multiple old bridges straddle the River Wye. The Monsal Trail starts just north of Bakewell in the centre of the Peak District National Park and takes in the Headstone Viaduct.

In the evening, we check in at The Bishop and The Bison, just outside York, an award-winning B&B described as an 'independent boutique hotel'.

A splendid breakfast can be enjoyed in the charming dining room or courtyard, weather permitting. It's around a 20-minute riverside walk to the city. Accommodation isn't included in the tour, so Rabbie's can make recommendations and make bookings, or guests can choose/book their own.

The following day at 9am, driver/guide Clive arrives to take us to the seaside town of Whitby.

Hopeful fishermen line the harbour, buskers sing old sea shanties, gulls soar, cry and swoop to steal an ice cream cone or a stray chip. But Whitby is famous for more than fish and chips. It's where Dracula staked his claim.

Author Bram Stoker first visited Whitby in 1890 and stayed at a guest house on the West Cliff overlooking the 199 steps and Whitby Abbey. The view inspired his famous novel.

However, just five miles from Whitby is Robin Hood's Bay on the North Yorks Moors. The name of this quaint and quirky old fishing village with a history of press gangs and smuggling, may be linked to the legendary outlaw.

Another theory is that it was named after the Dutch merchant ship, The Robin Hoode. Narrow, winding, cobbled streets drop down to the bay but it's quite a steep climb back up to the road.

In Goathland we take a look at the train station, a film location for Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone.

By mid-afternoon we're in York, the ancient, walled city with a Roman and Viking past. The Minster, one of the world's most glorious cathedrals, features the Great East Window, the largest, single expanse of Medieval stained glass in the country.

At the centre of Christianity since the 7th century, the cathedral's Central Tower, accessed by 275 steps, affords panoramic views of the city.

York's colourful, cultural hub, The Shambles, with its 13th century timber-buildings, is alive with artisan shops, boutiques, pavement cafes and restaurants.

Day three begins with my favourite stop, Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire, seized by Henry V111 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, now one of the largest, best-preserved, ruined Cistercian monasteries in England and part of a UNESCO Heritage Site.

Set in a magnificent, serene, 18th century water garden, the remains of the abbey are dramatic and beautiful. One can imagine the monks, busy in the 300-foot, arched cellarium (store room), praying in the chapel, ringing the bell in the Bell Tower and taking their meals in the refectory.

The market town of Hawes features tours around the Wensleydale Creamery which focus on Wallace and Gromit's favourite cheese. In Roughlee village, Pendle, the statue of Alice Nuttall is a sad reminder of the Pendle Witch Trials in 1612. Alice and the other accused walked in chains to Lancaster Castle for their trial. It didn't end well.

Unlike our Rabbie's three-day York and the Peak district trail which ended happily back in Manchester.