The Yorkshire Dales, valleys and dry-stone walls

The Yorkshire Dales are a national park of green valleys, hills and limestone uplands in northern England, between Leeds and the Lake District. The landscape is unmistakable: meadows divided by miles of dry-stone walls, stone barns scattered across the fields, villages gathered round a bridge, waterfalls, caves and limestone cliffs. It is one of British walkers' favourite destinations and the kingdom of sheep and upland cheeses.

History

The word dale comes from an Old Norse word meaning valley: Viking settlers named many places in the area. In the Middle Ages the great Cistercian abbeys, such as Fountains and Jervaulx, kept huge flocks here, and the monks helped shape the pastoral landscape. In the 18th and 19th centuries the valleys were worked for lead, of which traces remain, and farmers built the network of dry-stone walls and field barns that characterises the region today.

In 1876 the Settle-Carlisle railway was completed, one of the most spectacular in England, with the famous Ribblehead Viaduct. In 1954 the Dales became a national park, extended in 2016. In the 1970s the television series based on the stories of the vet James Herriot made these landscapes famous around the world.

What to see

Malham

Malham is one of the park's most spectacular places. Malham Cove is a great amphitheatre-shaped limestone cliff about 80 metres high, topped by a limestone pavement of fissured rock. Nearby are the waterfall of Janet's Foss and the gorge of Gordale Scar.

The Three Peaks and Ribblehead

In the western part rise the Three Peaks, the most famous mountains in the Dales: Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent. Many walkers try to climb all three in a day, a route of about 38 kilometres. At the foot of Whernside, the 24-arch Ribblehead Viaduct is the symbol of the Settle-Carlisle railway.

Waterfalls and caves

At Aysgarth the River Ure tumbles over three sets of falls in the woods. The Ingleton Waterfalls form a trail of about eight kilometres along two streams. Beneath the hills lie show caves such as White Scar Cave and the great pothole of Gaping Gill, open to the public on certain weekends of the year.

Villages and cheese

Hawes, in Wensleydale, is the home of Wensleydale cheese, which you can watch being made at the creamery. Grassington, Reeth and Kettlewell are stone villages with squares, pubs and shops.

Getting there

• By train: from Leeds to Skipton and Settle, or along the Settle-Carlisle railway.
• By car: from Leeds to Skipton, the gateway to the Dales, in about an hour.
• By air: Leeds Bradford Airport is about 45 minutes from Skipton.

Nearby

• Fountains Abbey and Ripon, to the east.
• York, with its minster.
• The Lake District, to the west.

Tips

• How long: at least two or three days.
• When to go: May to September; in June the hay meadows are full of flowers.
• A tip: climb to the top of Malham Cove and walk on the limestone pavement: it is one of the strangest and most fascinating places in England.

Yorkshire Dales on the map

Nearby