The Yorkshire Dales

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. 

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! 

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. 

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. 
 

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.