The Yorkshire Dales offers a superb selection of shops to choose from in the many towns & villages throughout the area, including independent family run businesses, a vast selection of outdoor shops, unique gift shops, boutiques and more. Skipton market is a popular destination if you like to browse, love finding those treasures you don’t get on the high street, are partial to some delicious local produce or just love the atmosphere of a market in full swing. 4 days a week traders arrive in the town centre and set up stalls along each side of the wide High Street.  And they bring with them everything from cheeses to scarves, local meat to arts & crafts, shoes & boots to Yorkshire made blankets. If it’s the high street brands and big names that are more your thing, look no further with York Designer Outlet right on your doorstep.

There are many inns, eateries, and cafes to be found throughout the Yorkshire Dales and most villages still have a traditional pub at their heart. They are great places to socialise, meet people and enjoy being part of village life. Many have garden areas for the summer with wonderful views over the surrounding countryside while inside boasts cosy bar areas with log fires and wood-burning stoves, perfect for when the nights draw in.

There is a superb range of places to eat in the Yorkshire Dales from award-winning Michelin starred restaurants such as The Angel at Hetton to traditional pubs with good hearty meals and well-kept local beers like the Tan Hill Inn Richmond. Many of the pubs specialise in their food and pride themselves on using high quality local produce. They are justifiably popular, and its recommended you book ahead at peak times.

Local pubs are generally the life and soul of any village nightlife; however, The Sound Bar in Skipton is a pub with a twist! As well as serving an excellent range of local ales, they also stock and display a vast collection of vinyl records and CDs, which are all available to purchase. Avid supporters of the local music scene, The Sound Bar host live performances every Sunday to showcase the area’s best music talent. If an evening at the theatre is more up your street, you’d be hard pushed to find another venue like The Mart Theatre in Skipton. It’s the only theatre in the world that resides in a working cattle auction mart! Their annual programme of events is a diverse mix of theatre, comedy, music, family events and student performances. They’ve played host to some big names such as Michael McIntyre, Sarah Millican, Toploader and Beverley Craven.

Situated right in the heart of the town, Skipton Castle plays a major role in the town’s bustling atmosphere. From reenactments of the Highway Man to sword school and medieval dancing and the ever-popular Tournee, these events are not to be missed!  Explore the natural beauty of the underground caves at Stump Cross Caverns or Ingleborough. A well-lit concrete footpath leads you on your journey of discovery through a kilometre of passages, past breath-taking stalactites, stalagmites and flowstones, brought to life by formations and artefacts dating back millions of years! Enjoy a ride on a steam train on The Wensleydale Railway! This tourist and heritage line starting at the County town of Northallerton to Redmire on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, passing through the Georgian market town of Bedale and the Dales market town of Leyburn, with constantly changing scenery, from the Vale of Mowbray in the east to hills of the Yorkshire Dales in the west.

Yorkshire is in essence a very accessible county by road with the M1 and A1 providing excellent links from the North and South and the M62 from the West, serving as the main routes in and out of Yorkshire. The Yorkshire Dales National Park is also very accessible by road. It is bordered by major trunk roads as the M6 skirts the west, the A66 to the north, the A1 to the east and the A65 and A59 to the south. Regular bus services also operate in all towns, cities and villages. The Yorkshire Dales excellent road and rail links make the area easily accessible to all. Yorkshire is well served by the National Rail network, with the Cross Country service offering regular services from across South West England and the Midlands, while Northern Rail provides excellent city links for commuters. For those travelling South, the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) offers fast and frequent trains to London Kings Cross from a number of Yorkshire’s towns and cities. The Yorkshire region is also served by three airports, Leeds Bradford International Airport, Humberside Airport, and Doncaster Sheffield Airport, which between them provide daily flights to many destinations within the UK and throughout Europe.
 

Yorkshire Dales Cheese Festival! The festival celebrates the incredible produce of the Dales (in particular the cheese!) with local businesses throughout the National Park hosting their own special events, menus, and tastings to mark the occasion. Look out for cheesy bites and themed dishes in local cafes and restaurants, demos using local produce, cookery courses, dining experiences, Yorkshire gin and ales, specially created dairy ice creams and sorbets, jams, jellies and chutneys, locally-reared meat on menus, and the chance to meet the makers.