Information Centres
The Tourist Information Centres are great sources of help for visitors to the county of North Yorkshire. The staff are particularly knowledgable and helpful. They know the area very well and their networking skills are considerable.
The nearest Centre to Middleham is the Leyburn Tourist Information Centre, 4 Central Chambers, Railway Street, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, UK, DL8 5BB. The office is situated just below Market Place.
The telephone number of the Tourist Information Centre in Leyburn is +44 (0)1969 623069 and the facsimile number is +44(0)1969 622833.
The Centre in Leyburn is open most days of the year and the services are free. These services include booking local accommodation.
Staff will supply brochures, including the Official Holiday Guide 1998 (available by post, though the cost of postage may well be requested), and give details of how to contact other Tourist Information Centres in North Yorkshire.
How to get to Middleham by Road
From the south-east of England and the London area take the M1 motorway and change onto the A1 in Nottinghamshire. Leave the A1 (known as the Great North Road) at Leeming Bar and join the A684. From there follow the A684 through Bedale and continue to Leyburn and Middleham. The distance from the Leeming Bar turn-off to Middleham is approximately 14 miles.
A landmark to look out for is Pen Hill. It is to the west of the A1 and can be seen for miles. Pen Hill is just above the training grounds on Middleham High Moor.
From the very north-east of England and eastern Scotland take the A1, heading south. Leave the A1 about 1 mile south of Scotch Corner, at the first turn-off for Catterick (which is also where to turn off for Catterick Bridge racecourse). Then follow the road through Catterick Garrison across the moors to Leyburn and Middleham.
From the south and south-west of England take the M6 motorway. Leave the M6 at Junction 34 and join the A683 for Ingleton, Hawes and Middleham. The distance from Junction 34 of the M6 to Middleham is approximately 43 miles.
From the very north west of England, around the Carlisle area, and from western Scotland take the M6 motorway. Leave the M6 at Junction 37 and join the A684 for Sedbergh, Hawes and Middleham. The distance from Junction 37 of the M6 to Middleham is approximately 39 miles.
How to get to Middleham by Rail
The railway stations to use are Darlington, Northallerton and York, all on the fast East Coast main line route from London (King's Cross station) to the south and from Edinburgh to the north.
The closest of these stations to Middleham is Northallerton, which is 21 miles distant. Darlington is 25 miles from Middleham and York is 52 miles.
Telephone numbers for enquiries are given below and please also see below the section headed "How to hire a taxi in the Middleham area".
How to get to Middleham by Air
The nearest commercial airport is Teeside. Further to the north is Newcastle, which has more international flights than Teeside. Across the Pennine Mountains is Manchester Airport, at which many transatlantic flights land. There is also Leeds/Bradford Airport, used by a lot of visitors to Middleham.
For the cost of hiring a taxi between Middleham and these airports please see the section headed "How to Hire a Taxi in the Middleham area", below.
Telephone Numbers of Airports:-
Leeds/Bradford - +44 (0)113 2509 696
Newcastle upon Tyne - +44 (0)191 286 0966
Manchester - +44 (0)161 489 3000
Teesside - +44 (0)1325 332 811
Sea Ferry Operators
Colorline - Bergen and Stavanger into Newcastle upon Tyne +44 (0)191 296 1313
North Sea Ferries - Rotterdam and Zeebrugge into Hull +44 (0)1482 377 177
Scandinavian Seaways - Esbjerg, Gothenburg & Hamburg into Newcastle +44 (0)191 293 6262
Irish Ferries - Dublin Ferryport into Holyhead in north Wales 0345 272727
Stena Line - Dun Laoghaire, six miles south of Dublin, also into Holyhead 0990 707070
Stena Line - Belfast into Stranraer +44 (0)1574 272773
How to Hire a Taxi in the Middleham area
Taxis are booked by telephone. There are three private hire taxi firms within a couple of miles of Middleham. They are:-
ELK Private Hire, Leyburn - telephone +44 (0)1969 622882
GA Private Hire, Leyburn - telephone +44 (0)1969 622790
BMW Private Hire, Harmby - telephone +44 (0)1969 622604
These firms are all obliging and punctual but if they are needed late at night or early in the morning advance booking is almost essential, especially when a collection time is important or if going to catch a train or a 'plane, or anywhere that timing is important.
Indeed, it would be prudent to arrange all trips with them as far in advance as possible.
The principal of ELK Private Hire has kindly supplied the directions and mileages given on this page as well as the following prices, which were correct the time of the Dante Stakes meeting at York in May 1998.
Darlington Railway Station to/from Middleham (25 miles) - £25.
York Railway Station to/from Middleham (52 miles) - £38.
Northallerton Railway Station to/from Middleham (21 miles) - £18.
Manchester Airport to/from Middleham (116 miles) £80.
Newcastle Airport to/from Middleham (72 miles) - £46.
Teesside Airport to/from Middleham (30 miles) - £29.
Leeds/Bradford Airport to/from Middleham (45 miles) - £37.
How to Get to Middleham by Public Transport
Middleham is a quiet and peaceful place. It is not practical to attempt to get right into the town by public transport.
The thing to do it to get to Darlington (not to either of the other railway stations mentioned above) either by train or by coach and take a bus to Richmond, where the route terminates in the market place.
From the market place at Richmond one company runs buses to Leyburn. Contact details for the bus companies are given near the bottom of this page.
From Leyburn take a taxi to Middleham (please see the section headed "How to Hire a Taxi in the Middleham area", above), though the intrepid could walk from Leyburn via Middleham Bridge across the River Ure. It is less than 2 miles.
Public Transport Telephone numbers:-
National Rail Enquiries - 0345 484950. This is the number to ring for any rail journey in Britain. Not only will the company to which the task has been sub-contracted gives train times and details of any changing of trains that needs to be done, but they will also help to plan journeys.
GNER (Great North Eastern Railways) - 0345 225225
For travel enquiries concerning journeys on the fast East Coast Main Line railway from Edinburgh or London (King's Cross station) to York, Northallerton and Darlington telephone +44 (0)171 278 2477. The lines are open from 0700 hours Mondays to Saturdays and from 0800 hours on Sundays. They close at 2230 hours each day.
There is a "talking" train timetable for journeys from King's Cross railway station (London) to Darlington. The recordings are available Mondays to Fridays on +44 (0)171 837 2452.
Bookings by credit card can be made for journeys from King's Cross station, London, on +44 (0)171 278 9431
National Express, 4 Vicarage Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, GB, B15 3ES have scheduled coach services all over Britain.
For National Express Credit/Debit Card Bookings and Enquiries telephone 0990 808080 (premium rate line)
National Express have "talking" timetables available at all times. For the times of their coaches and fares from London to Darlington (on the Newcastle route) telephone 0839 142 111. This is also a premium rate line.
Stagecoach (the name of a bus and train company!) +44 (0)1738 33481
Information on local bus services from United buses, Darlington - telephones 01325 468771 and 0345 124 125
Enquiries to Stagecoach buses, Darlington - telephone 01325 384573
United have bus services from just outside Darlington Railway Station (at the top of Victoria Road outside the office of the National Farmers' Union) that travel, via the bus station in Darlington, to the market place in Richmond from where they, United, run buses to Leyburn six days a week, but not on Sundays or Bank Holidays (which are treated as the equivalent of Sundays).
Both United and Stagecoach run buses between Darlington and Richmond seven days a week and up to about elven o'clock at night. Travelling between Darlington and Richmond by bus is no problem.
However, for the Richmond to Leyburn and the Leyburn back to Richmond parts of the journey it is essential to check in advance with United as to the times of their buses. No doubt there are reasons for their timings but they seem quirky and vary according to the day of the week and the time of the year.
For economy buy a through ticket from Darlington (top of Victoria Road) through Richmond to Leyburn, but do not forget to change buses at Richmond. Also buy a through ticket on the return journey, again changing at Richmond. Doing this means travelling with United.
Stagecoach have buses from the centre of Darlington (but not from either Darlington Railway Station, about a mile away, or Darlington Bus Station, about 400 yards away) to the market place in Richmond. Stagecoach do not run buses to Leyburn or Middleham.
The Tourist Information Centre in Leyburn (please see the first article on this page for details) will supply free the booklet Dales Connections, which gives details of all local bus and train services. Dales Connections is also available by post from Yorkshire Dales National Park, Grassington, Skipton, North Yorkshire, UK, BD23 5LB