Hi guys , after our trip to the Lake District last year which we both loved , my wife and I are looking to plan a trip to the dales this year. My wife isn’t a biker so it will be a walking holiday , can you recommend somewhere to base ourselves please. We stayed in Keswick in the lakes and would like to stay somewhere of a similar size or a bit smaller with a few pubs and shops for the wife to browse when we’re not in the hills.

Thanks

Ian

Settle would be a good base. A few nice pubs and some restaurants, but still not too busy. Immediate access to some great walks including all 3 peaks.

Hawes has a great bookshop 😉

Grassington.

Be warned dales walking is gentler and more at the rambler end of the sectrum.

Thanks for the replies so far guys , liking the look of settle and grassington both are the sort of thing we’re looking for.
Keep the ideas coming please.

Ingleton Youth hostel has just been revamped and good walking on the doorstep

Pately bridge…. the walking might be a tad tame however but its a nice spot.

Settle has the added attraction of the train line which also gives more walking options (though the service is limited). But honestly I wouldn’t really recommend the dales for walking – if Scotland is too far then north wales is a worthy alternative to the lakes, there are several really great day walks there.

Hawes bookshop joke aside, it’s worth considering as it’s a lovely place and a good location but maybe a bit on the small side.

Skipton is worth a look. Grassington is nice but quite small.

Kettlewell is my fave but very small but a good start point for some great walks such as Bucken Pike, etc.

But honestly I wouldn’t really recommend the dales for walking

Really?!

But honestly I wouldn’t really recommend the dales for walking

I’d also like to hear the reasoning behind this statement. 😆

Check out the Walking Englishman website if you haven’t already. There’s some good ideas for walks on there.

Not sure what your budget is but we saw this chef on TV (Frances atkins) and wanted to try her place, sadly it was booked with a private function in May when we wanted to go but it looks good. We enjoyed the Dales btw and had come from Lakes on way to Leeds. Living in South and with Lakes same distance and Peak much closer I had never been before.

http://www.yorke-arms.co.uk

Also as keen foodies we would try and base walking trip around one good dinner .. some more ideas here

The 10 best restaurants in Yorkshire

The comments about the walks being easier in the dales is no problem as my wife is not a seasoned walker , but loves being outdoors with beautiful views, that’s the important thing.

Reeth………….several good pubs and walks in the area.

OP I bought a second hand book for a £1 on amazon – 100 walks in the Dales. Have another pub walk recommendation from in-laws who live in Leeds, let me find it

EDIT here is the book unfortunately I don’t have my copy with me or the pub walk suggestion sorry

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/0904405990/ref=oh_aui_bia_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=all

The great thing about the Dales is you can have one climb them be on high for a good long time, with no constant switching between ascent and descent. I consider it the best walking in the country.

How near to the walks do you need to be? Harrogate has loads to see and do and lots of walking within a 30 min drive.

Places worth visiting for shops- Skipton, Ilkley, Harrogate,
Worth having a look round – settle, grassington, Hawes.
Walks I’d take people on, 3 peaks individually, malham cove and gordale scar, er…..

jambalaya – Member
OP I bought a second hand book for a £1 on amazon – 100 walks in the Dales. Have another pub walk recommendation from in-laws who live in Leeds, let me find it

EDIT here is the book unfortunately I don’t have my copy with me or the pub walk suggestion sorry

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/0904405990/ref=oh_aui_bia_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Thanks for the link

we have a weeks holiday every year in kettlewell 3 nice pubs couplf of cafes 1 shop 5000 sheep big skies sadly cyclists are like flies along with dozens of motorcycles

GlennQuagmire – Member
How near to the walks do you need to be? Harrogate has loads to see and do and lots of walking within a 30 min drive.

POSTED 55 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST
I’m guessing Harrogate is quite a bit bigger than the type of places we like to stay, although it is on our list of things to do while we are up there.

Bar meal at the Angel in Hetton, all our food was excellent recently and we didn’t think it was too expensive.

Walk wise, personally I like Swaledale the best for scenery. A loop from Muker -> Swinner Gill -> Gunnerside Gill -> Gunnerside -> Muker would be my first choice.

Masham could be another consideration… not sure about the walking but Theakstons Brewery, Blacksheep Brewery and Brymoor Icecream all in close proximity has to be a bonus!

A second vote for Swaledale. Beautiful place.

Some great places to consider , we’re spoilt for choice. Thanks for the replies so far guys.

I would say either

Kirkby Lonsdale – western edge of Dales, but access to the Howgills and Inglebrough, PyG, Whernside all close by.

Devonshire Fell Hotel – Burnsall, more central Dales, lots of different things to do in the area.

Regarding walks, well if you’re happy with the dales that’s fine but the hills are bit unambitious and boring IMO. Eg Ingleborough is an easy half-day stroll (TBH I’ve never actually walked up but run it a few times). It’s pleasant enough and great for cycling (I chose to live here!) but not a patch on Wales for good walks, there are some classic days to be had there, not just Snowdon but Tryfan and the glyders etc… that’s all I meant.

not just Snowdon but Tryfan and the glyders

Snowdon and Tryfan are easy half day strolls too. Or should that be trolls? 😉

Walks. My wife has a lung issue and my idea of an easy lowish level walk in the Lakes up Loughrigg Fell turned into a very bad idea. Will not be repeating that. Dales more undulating terrain was more suitable.

Couldnt knock any of these suggestions OP…. maybe you should visit them all….

Good pubs in Reeth? Can you name them? Sadly they not that good and the pubco’s who own them are to blame.

and would like to stay somewhere of a similar size or a bit smaller with a few pubs and shops for the wife to browse when we’re not in the hills.

Which rules Reeth out then!

Leyburn?

Having grown up in the Lakes and now living on the edge of the Dales, it’s worth noting that the Dales just isn’t as commercialised as the Lakes. You don’t have a version of Keswick, Ambleside or Bowness/Windermere, even the bigger towns like Hawes and Settle are more comparable to somewhere like Coniston. Everything else is smaller, much smaller, think Broughton in Furness or Glenridding – not quite “local shops for local people” but not far off. Many villages are lucky to have a shop, partly a result of population changes and partly increased mobility so people driving out of the park (Settle, Skipton, Harrogate, Richmond) to do their weekly shop at the supermarket, once there they’ll use the other services.

The only national parks I can think of that are less commercialised are the North York Moors and Northumberland.

Having said all the above, the quietness is one of its charms and away from the honey pots like the three peaks you aren’t going to meet that many people out and about either walkers or bikers.

In no particular order look at Settle, Grassington, Sedbergh, Hawes, Leyburn. All a reasonable size but not too big or busy.

The Dales are Beautiful and Richmond is a very nice historical market town right on the edge/gateway to Swale dale. It’s a bit far to walk into the dale but an easy ride or 5 minutes drive and a good base to see the rest of Yorkshire. Also check out Fountains Abbey.

footflaps – Member
Walk wise, personally I like Swaledale the best for scenery. A loop from Muker -> Swinner Gill -> Gunnerside Gill -> Gunnerside -> Muker would be my first choice.

Actually, yes, I forgot about that, great day out. Ours slightly different – keld, swinner gill high traverse, muker, kisdon, keld. Was a great half day ramble.

Good pubs in Reeth? Can you name them?

The Buck is OKish and the Bridge Inn down the road in Grinton (near Dales Bike Centre) serves really good food. Lunch Bowl in Feetham is very nice too. Further along Swaledale the Farmer’s Arms in Muker (great pies I seem to recall) and Keld Lodge in (unsurprisingly) Keld. Some great moderate walking all along Swaledale and it is probably the prettiest of the Dales (though at its best when the hay meadows are in flower).

Otherwise my choice would be Ingleton/Clapham/Austwick area. Nice gentle limestone area but with biggish sticky up bits too – the 3 peaks.

Too late to edit my previous but I just thought – if you want an “interesting” night and a brilliant breakfast stay in the Shepherd’s Hut at Ravenseat Farm

Malham Tarn is worth a visit and the walk back down to Arncliffe is lovely.

If you’re near Pen-y-ghent then Hull Pot is impressive when it has been raining as waters cascades into it.

Gaping Gill on the slopes of Ingleborough fascinates and terrifies me as it’s the entrance to an enormous cave. A stream just disappears into a hole and you can walk right up to it – just don’t fall in! The local pot holing clubs organise “winch meets” so members of the public can be lowered in – never done it but looks fantastic.

If you fancy something non-walking then catch the train from Settle to Carlisle and you’ll go over the Ribblehead Viaduct.

We run a small B&B (Old Dairy) in Low Row, Swaledale, on the C2C.

The walking is excellent, though not craggy like the Lakes.

The villages are much smaller and much less ‘cosmopolitan’ than Keswick.

Reeth does have reasonable pubs but only a couple of shops.

Recommend the Farmers Arms in Muker. The Punch Bowl in Low Row is OK.

I recommend it, I live here! 🙂

Cheers
Paul