Take a journey through the heart of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, taking in small towns, brewery stops, stunning waterfalls and a little bit of Wendsleydale Cheese (Eck! Gromit!)
- Sedbergh – small book town
- Kirkby Lonsdale – Lovely shops and lunch with brewery
- Ingleton falls – walk – 2 hours
- Settle – Little town, nice shops
- Skipton – Town with a castle
- Grassington – Historic town used in several movies
- Hawes – Wensleydale cheese factory and shops
Village 1 – Sedbergh
15 mins from The Black Swan
Sedbergh is 12 miles from The Black Swan into The Yorkshire dales national park. This pretty little book town is the home of Sedbergh School once attended by William Wordworth. The town has a small high street with some cute home and book shops. Sedbergh is also home of Bath House soap with their onsite shop as well as Farfield Mill, a craft hub venue for local artists with its own café.
www.sedbergh.org.uk – Sedbergh official site
www.farfieldmill.org – Farfield Mill
www.thebathhouseshop.co.uk – Bath House
www.sedberghschool.org – Sedbergh School
Village 2 – Kirkby Lonsdale
30 Minute Drive – Lovely shops and lunch with brewery
Kirkby Lonsdale is a bigger market town with links with the painter and poet John Ruskin. You can take a stroll around the pretty town, grab an ice-cream, visit the brewery and enjoy “Ruskin’s view” viewing point near its historic church. Kirkby Lonsdale has been used as the setting for many historical movies such as Jamaica Inn and Oliver Twist. Devil’s bridge on the entrance road to Kirkby Lonsdale is also a popular destination for bikers and well worth a visit on your way into the town.
www.kirkbylonsdale.co.uk – Kirkby Lonsdale official site
www.klbrewery.com – Lonsdale Brewery
Ingleton falls, Whitescar caves and limestone pavement
45 mins Drive
Not far from Kirkby Lonsdale is the beautiful Ingleton falls and limestone pavement. The circular walk through the falls should take around 2 hours. The walk itself isn’t difficult but does have steps up and down – not suitable for wheelchair users or people with a disability that would make walking difficult. Whitescar caves are open seasonally and are weather dependant.
www.thisisingleton.co.uk – Ingleton official site
www.whitescarcave.co.uk – The caves and pavement
Settle
Settle is a small market town in The Yorkshire Dales national park. It has lots of nice little shops and cafes and is accessible via the Settle-Carlisle scenic railway (which you can catch daily from Kirkby Stephen Railway Station) as well as by road.
www.settle-carlisle.co.uk – Settle-Carlisle railway
www.yorkshire.com/places/yorkshire-dales/settle – Visit Yorkshire – Settle
Skipton and Malham
60 mins Drive
The town of Skipton is another traditional Yorkshire town with cute shops, a market, lovely cafes and restaurants as well as a beautiful, historic castle. Only another 10 minute drive away lies the idyllic village of Malham. Malham features on Harry Potter and the deathly hallows with views from cove. This walk is very steep but relatively short (40 minutes) and amazing views. Gordale scar and Janet’s Foss walks are also short and withing a 5 minute drive from the cite village. Malham itself also has a working forge where you can take courses in iron work if you book well enough in advance.
www.yorkshire.com/places/yorkshire-dales/skipton– Visit Yorkshire – Skipton
www.skiptoncastle.co.uk/ – Skipton castle
www.malhamdale.com – Malham official site
www.malhamsmithyonline.co.uk – Old smithy
Grassington
80 Minutes Drive
Grassington is a smaller town which has also been used in several movie and tv adaptations due to its traditional market area. Most recently, a remake of all creatures great and small was filmed there – due to be aired in late 2020. Another lovely town for a walk around and a bit of shopping.
www.grassington.uk.com – Grassington official site
Other attractions in the Yorkshire dales and around the Grassington area….
Bolton Abbey – Owned by The Duke of Devonshire:
A place of beautiful ruins and family walks.
www.boltonabbey.com
The Forbidden Corner – Family sculpture park:
Amazing sculpture park for the whole family.
www.theforbiddencorner.co.uk
Hawes
30 Minutes Drive
Hawes is an excellent way to loop back from Skipton, Settle and Grassington or is a lovely place to visit on its own. The home of Wensleydale cheese, favourite of Wallace and Gromit, it’s a great stop off at their cheese factory (not dog friendly). The village itself is full of lovely shops and cafes including a craft church on the high street.
Wensleydale creamery – Cheese factory – www.wensleydale.co.uk
Hawes official site – www.yorkshire.com/places/yorkshire-dales/hawes
