4- and 5-star hotels in Bedale

Bedale is a working small town in North Yorkshire with a market tradition that stretches back to 1251. Market day is Tuesday, when the cobbled slope beside the market place fills with food and household stalls from mid-morning. The rest of the week there is a butcher, a bakery, a chemist, a handful of pubs, a Co-op and an old-fashioned hardware shop. Kitchens across town stop serving between 8pm and 8.30pm, so it pays to eat early or drive the seven miles east to Northallerton for more choice. Nearby draws include Bedale Hall, a public park and museum beside St Gregory's church, the restored station on Aiskew Bank on the heritage line towards Leyburn, and Thorp Perrow two miles south.

The stays here sit in the town and in the villages and hamlets around it. Addresses name Bedale itself, Aiskew, Leeming Bar, Kirkby Fleetham, Burneston, Scruton, Hackforth, Newton Le Willows, Little Crakehall, Exelby and Northallerton. Some are inns with bars, restaurants and family rooms, others are cottages with kitchens, gardens, fireplaces and parking. This suits couples wanting a quiet base, families and groups who want self-catering space, and anyone on a short break who wants the Dales, the heritage railway and the market within easy reach by car.

Getting there and around

The site notes the heritage line towards Leyburn runs diesel and occasional steam services on selected days in season and hardly at all in winter, so check dates before planning around it; a return takes most of the afternoon and there is a stop at Bedale's own restored station on Aiskew Bank. The Wensleydale Railway runs from Leeming Bar on its running days. For more choice in the evening, Northallerton is seven miles east by road. On market day parking on the market place is unavailable, so use the Bedale Hall car park behind the church and walk down.

When to go

Tuesday is the day the market runs, setting up mid-morning and packing away mid-afternoon, so it is worth timing a visit around it. The heritage line runs on selected days in season only and hardly at all in winter, and the water-powered corn mill at the big green two miles west opens on selected afternoons in summer, so ring ahead. Bedale Hall's museum opens on weekdays only, and Thorp Perrow's bird of prey displays are two miles south.