Yorkshire Dales
Limestone country of walled green valleys, waterfalls and the Three Peaks, reached by the finest railway in England.
Sun setting over limestone pavement above Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales
Why people stay in Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales are the western, limestone half of the county: a set of green valleys — Wharfedale, Wensleydale, Swaledale, Ribblesdale, Malhamdale — divided by high heather-and-grass fells and stitched together with thousands of miles of drystone wall. Where the Moors are one big open plateau, the Dales are intimate and compartmented, each dale with its own villages, its own river and its own character. Wensleydale is broad and green and famous for cheese; Swaledale is narrow, steep and hay-meadowed; Ribblesdale is the country of the Three Peaks; Malhamdale holds the single most spectacular piece of limestone scenery in Britain.
You base in a dale village or one of the small market towns and radiate out. Grassington is the pretty, capable centre of Wharfedale at £110 to £160 in season; Hawes sits at the head of Wensleydale as the highest market town in Yorkshire; Settle is the workmanlike gateway to Ribblesdale and the Three Peaks; Kettlewell, Malham and Reeth are smaller and quieter still. Skipton, just outside the park boundary, is the transport hub and the value base at £70 to £110 with a station and everything open all year. The dale you choose is more important here than in most places, because crossing from one to the next means a slow drive over a high pass.
The set-pieces are world-class and mostly free. Malham Cove is a 260-foot curved limestone cliff with a moonscape pavement on top; a mile away Gordale Scar is a ravine you can scramble through and Janet's Foss a waterfall in the woods, and you can walk all three in a morning from Malham village. Aysgarth Falls steps the Ure over three broad limestone shelves near Leyburn; Hardraw Force above Hawes is England's highest single-drop fall. The Yorkshire Three Peaks — Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough — make a punishing 24-mile circuit from Horton-in-Ribblesdale that thousands attempt each year.
The Settle-Carlisle railway is the reason a car-free trip works here: it climbs from Settle over the 24-arch Ribblehead Viaduct through Dent and Garsdale, stopping at request halts walkers use for linear routes, and it is a journey worth taking for its own sake. Come April to October for dry paths and open cafés; late spring brings the hay meadows and June the festivals. Winter closes passes and shuts a good number of village pubs and guesthouses for weeks. Skip the Dales if you want heather moor and a steam line to the sea — that is the Moors, on the other side of the county — or if you need a lively night out, because most dale villages are asleep by eleven.
Grassington is the obvious first base: the prettiest square in the Dales, three pubs, the National Park Centre and walks from the door, at £110 to £160 in season and £90 to £110 midweek out of it. Hawes suits walkers and cheese pilgrims at £80 to £120 and puts you on the Pennine Way; Settle is the practical Three Peaks base with a station and rooms at £70 to £110; Malham is tiny and books out in summer but is unbeatable for the cove and scar. Reeth and Kettlewell are quieter dale villages for a get-away-from-it stay. Skipton, on the park's edge, is the value and all-year choice — a proper town with a castle, a market four days a week, a mainline station and doubles from £70. Whichever dale you pick, remember you are committing to it: reaching another dale means an hour over a pass, so choose for the valley you most want to walk. Check winter opening before booking January or February, when many rural pubs and guesthouses close for a spell.
Things to do in Yorkshire Dales
From Malham village, a morning circuit takes in all three: the 260-foot curved cliff and limestone pavement of the Cove, the ravine of Gordale Scar with its scramble past two waterfalls, and Janet's Foss falling into a woodland pool. About 8 km and three hours, free, with the National Trust car park in the village. Go early; the Cove path queues by late morning in summer.
One of the great scenic lines in Britain, climbing from Settle station over the 24-arch Ribblehead Viaduct and through the fells to Carlisle. Ride at least as far as Dent or Garsdale and walk back to a lower station; request halts serve walkers. A day return to Ribblehead is a few pounds and the viaduct alone is worth the trip.
Near Leyburn, the River Ure drops over three wide limestone shelves — Upper, Middle and Lower Falls — through half a mile of woodland, best after rain and reached on easy paths from the National Park car park and visitor centre. Free to walk, a couple of pounds to park. The Upper Falls are a two-minute stroll; the full three-fall loop takes an hour.
The 24-mile circuit of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough starts and finishes at Horton-in-Ribblesdale and takes the fit ten to twelve hours; the café there runs the traditional clocking-in book. If a single summit is enough, Pen-y-ghent straight from Horton is about 5 km up and a proper mountain day without the punishment. Start at first light and check the forecast.
Gayle Lane in Hawes, making Wensleydale cheese since 1897. The viewing gallery over the vats is only interesting on weekday mornings before 11am when cheese is actually being made; the shop and tasting counter are free and generous. Combine it with the walk to Hardraw Force, England's highest single-drop waterfall, a mile and a half north through the Green Dragon Inn.
The narrowest, steepest and least-spoiled of the dales, its floor a mosaic of walled hay meadows dotted with stone field barns. From Reeth the B6270 runs up through Gunnerside and Muker to Keld, past the ruined lead-smelting mills on the fells above. Twenty-five minutes each way; add the hairpin climb over the Buttertubs Pass to Hawes for the finest short drive in the park.
What to see
Hotels in Yorkshire Dales
No hotels are listed in Yorkshire Dales yet. The nearest ones are on the region page.
Getting around Yorkshire Dales
A car reaches every dale, but the passes between them are slow and close in snow — plan around the valley you are staying in. The Settle-Carlisle line is the scenic and car-free spine, running from Leeds and Skipton up Ribblesdale over Ribblehead to Dent, Garsdale and Carlisle, with request halts that walkers use for linear routes. Skipton, just outside the park, is the main railhead, 45 minutes from Leeds; from there the 72 bus serves Grassington and Wharfedale and summer DalesBus services fan out to Malham, Grassington and Hawes on Sundays. Hawes is reached car-free via Garsdale station and the community Little White Bus. Bus links between dales are sparse and finish early, so confirm timetables the week before and expect to walk or drive for the wilder routes.
Questions about Yorkshire Dales
For a first visit, Wharfedale from Grassington gives you the prettiest villages and easiest walking; Malhamdale for the Cove and Scar; Wensleydale from Hawes or Leyburn for waterfalls, cheese and the broadest, greenest scenery; Ribblesdale from Settle for the Three Peaks; Swaledale from Reeth for the quietest, most unspoiled dale. You cannot easily do more than one or two from a single base, since crossing between dales means an hour over a high pass.
Take the Settle-Carlisle line, which runs from Leeds and Skipton up through Settle, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Ribblehead, Dent and Garsdale — a scenic journey in its own right, with request halts walkers use to start and finish routes. Skipton, on the park's edge, is the main railhead for onward buses into Wharfedale. Hawes is reached via Garsdale station and the community Little White Bus that meets the trains.
The walk to the foot of the Cove from Malham village is flat and easy, about a mile. Climbing the steps to the limestone pavement on top is a short, steep pull, and the wider circuit taking in Gordale Scar involves a scramble past waterfalls that is impassable when the beck is in spate. Wear boots, and go early — the Cove path queues badly by late morning on summer weekends.
Yes — the 24-mile circuit of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough from Horton-in-Ribblesdale takes a fit walker ten to twelve hours and is best started at first light. It is a serious mountain day with 1,600 metres of ascent, not a stroll; poor visibility on the tops is the main danger. If that is too much, Pen-y-ghent alone from Horton is a satisfying half-day and a genuine summit.
