We’ve chatted to a host of experts to compile the ultimate guide to holidays in the Yorkshire Dales. We’ve found the best places to eat and drink; the most scenic locales, best bike rides, family days out and much more besides. And once you’re suitably inspired we’ve also selected a handful of holiday homes in the Yorkshire Dales to make your stay complete.
Start your journey with our Inspire and Explore guide to the Yorkshire Dales below.
A holiday cottage in the Yorkshire Dales opens the door to a world of adventure. Enjoy a grand day out around the Grand Depart, explore fantastic film settings, eat, drink and be merry in the UK's finest pubs and restaurants and uncover a host of hidden gems from our local experts.
There's much to see and do in the greenest part of "God's Own Country", so we've compiled inspiration guides to the different Dales and added a selection of holiday cottages in Yorkshire to help you explore them.
You need look no further than our team of experts for the ultimate recommendations for places to go, things to do and ways to enjoys your days in the Dales. Our team of experts have a wealth of experience and are happy to help you make the most of your time in the region.
You don’t have to search far to find scrumptious scran in the Yorkshire Dales and our guide is guaranteed to tickle every taste bud.
It's time to savour the best flavours that this lovely bit of England has to offer...
With a wealth of activities scattered throughout its many wide open spaces and a myriad of tracks and trails to explore, the Yorkshire Dales is one of Britain's best playgrounds – it certainly has some of the smallest queues and the best refreshments!
Some say it's impossible to have a bad meal in Paris. Well the same can be said of a pint of beer in Yorkshire. Not content with offering some of the finest ales known to man (Black Sheep, Theakstons, Copper Dragon and more!) the Yorkshire Dales and its surrounding areas also offers some of the most beautiful, memorable and downright unique places to drink them in.
The wildflower-rich hay meadows at Muker are a treat for the senses. I doubt if there is anywhere else in the UK where you will find so many wildflowers in such concentration.
Adrian Braddy, Editor of the Dalesman
Take a train journey: Ride on the Settle to Carlisle, Wensleydale Railway, or Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway and enjoy dramatic scenery that’s often inaccessible by road.
The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust Team
The drive back from Hawes to Grassington via either Oughtershaw or Coverdale - breathtakingly beautiful.
Helen McCartan, Manager, Grassington office
The view from the Buttertubs Pass into Swaledale, the most beautiful of all the Yorkshire Dales, with its patchwork of drystone walls and stone field barns suddenly opening up below you.
Stephanie Millward, Ilkley Cycling Club
Hardraw Force - the highest single drop waterfall in England in a natural amphitheatre where they stage a brass band festival every year.
Stephanie Millward, Ilkley Cycling Club
The Dales are home to some of the most amazing limestone scenery in the world and the best place to enjoy this is Malham Cove, a dramatic relic of the Ice Age. Its limestone pavements are like something from another world.
Adrian Braddy, Editor of the Dalesman.
Bolton Abbey, looking down on the ruins of the abbey, part of which is still in use as a church, set in a bend of the River Wharfe. It must be one of the most beautiful sights in Britain.
Stephanie Millward, Ilkley Cycling Club.
There are around 30 valleys or dales, cut by rivers, each distinctive in character and with their own sense of place. As a whole, the Yorkshire Dales offers a beautiful and varied landscape and rich and diverse wildlife heritage.
The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust Team.
Each of our featured holiday cottages in the Yorkshire Dales is handpicked to ensure a uniquely memorable experience. We offer cosy cottages for two, fantastic family getaways in some of Yorkshire’s most charming and beautiful locations and much more. Take a look at a small selection of Yorkshire Dales cottages below or view all to find your perfect property.
Richmond, Yorkshire
Kettlewell, Yorkshire
Thornton Rust, near Leyburn
Conistone, Grassington