THE TOWNS
Harrogate
Knaresborough
Wetherby
Ripon
Aldborough
Boroughbridge
Masham
Pateley Bridge
Burnsall
Otley
York
THE DALES
Nidderdale
Wensleydale
Wharfedale
HARROGATE
One of the most attractive towns and winner of 'Britain in Bloom' competition. It has acres of immaculate gardens with an array of colour throughout the year, open spaces, elegant architecture and broad tree-lined boulevards.
Following the discovery of the first medicinal spring in 1571, the town evolved as one of the most fashionable spas in Europe. Dignified Victorian buildings with cast-iron canopies and cascading floral baskets, house shops, the welcoming Victoria Shopping Centre with independent and major retailers over 4 floors, hotels, restaurants and tea rooms. The Harrogate International Conference Centre is one of the finest in Europe with a 2,000-seat main auditorium and 8 exhibition halls.
KNARESBOROUGH
Knaresborough has a truly fascinating olde worlde charm. This delightful picturesque market town perched almost precariously high over the River Nidd is full of Georgian houses, narrow streets, alleys and ginnels; and its riverside location offers opportunities for boating and pleasant riverside walks.
There are curiosities and attractions such as the restored St. Robert's Cave, the Chapel of our Lady in the Crag, the ruins of a 14th-century castle, the Courthouse Museum, the oldest chemists' shop in England (1720) and the legendary Old Mother Shipton's Cave with its Petrifying Well whose limestone gradually turns absorbent articles into stone.
WETHERBY
Ripon is one of the smallest cities in England and is often termed "The Cathedral City of the Dales". At the very heart of this historic cathedral city is the large market place with its 90ft-high obelisk from which the city's official hornblower sounds the 'Setting of the Watch' every evening at 9pm to assure everyone that they are in safekeeping for the night - a ritual maintained without fail for over 1,100 years.
The market square is surrounded by Georgian and medieval buildings including the Town Hall, completed in 1801, the 14th century half-timbered Wakeman's House, the Ripon Prison and Police Museum, Courthouse Museum and the Workhouse Museum. Ripon Racecourse, the Spa Gardens and Baths, together with a good selection of accommodation and restaurants make Ripon an ideal touring base.
The recently restored Canal Basin now makes Ripon the most northerly point on the England and Wales waterways system
Pictures | Location | Walk 1 | Walk 2
RIPON
Ripon is one of the smallest cities in England and is often termed "The Cathedral City of the Dales". At the very heart of this historic cathedral city is the large market place with its 90ft-high obelisk from which the city's official hornblower sounds the 'Setting of the Watch' every evening at 9pm to assure everyone that they are in safekeeping for the night - a ritual maintained without fail for over 1,100 years.
The market square is surrounded by Georgian and medieval buildings including the Town Hall, completed in 1801, the 14th century half-timbered Wakeman's House, the Ripon Prison and Police Museum, Courthouse Museum and the Workhouse Museum. Ripon Racecourse, the Spa Gardens and Baths, together with a good selection of accommodation and restaurants make Ripon an ideal touring base.
The recently restored Canal Basin now makes Ripon the most northerly point on the England and Wales waterways system
Pictures | Location
ALDBOROUGH
Beneath this pretty Georgian village, with its green, maypole and stocks, lie extensive Roman remains. The walled city of Isurium Brigantum was built on this site in AD71 and pieces of metalwork, coins, pottery, glassware and tessellated pavements can be seen in the museum.
BOROUGHBRIDGE
In coaching times Boroughbridge was an important posting point on the Great North Road halfway between London and Edinburgh. An intriguing mixture of Regency, Georgian and Victorian architecture with an elaborate fountain dominating St. James Square. Nearby are the legendary Devil's Arrows, 3 massive stone monoliths dating from 2000-1500BC. The largest is 30ft high.
MASHAM
Masham, a country market town in the north of the District, is home to two of the finest traditional breweries in Yorkshire - Theakston and Black Sheep. On the edge of the large market place is the beautiful 11th-century Church of St. Mary. There is a large recreation area alongside the picturesque River Ure, and the town holds a Steam Engine and Fair Organ Rally each July and the Sheep Fair is held in September. An ideal base from which to explore nearby Wensleydale.
little is known about mashamshires early history there are earthenworks at ilton and on gregory hill beside the church yard and on roomer common traces of a roman march camp.
masham probably owed its foundation to the gentle, floof-proofing, rise on which it stands near an early fordable part of the river ure, its proximity to the course of a roman road and its position on the main route from wensleydale to york.
mashams importance as a major sheep market is the reason behind its huge market place and its beautiful georgian houses. up to 80,000 sheep were sold in masham in the annual sheep fairs and thetradition is still continued every september.
the first market charter was granted in 1250, followed by two more in 1328 and 1393, the market thrived because of its easy access for the flocks of jervaulx and fountains abbey.
mashams church saint marys is thought to date from the tenth century but is mainly norman with fifteenth century addittions
masham was designated a peculiar this meantit had its own ecclesiastical court and governed its own affairs the name lives on as a famous beer
in the church are two particularly fine memorials to the marmaduke wyvillin the northtransept and to abstrupus danby in the south in the church yard are buried the hymn writer william jackson and the artists julius caesar ibbotson and george cuit. many of the gravestones also have poems on them.
other places of interest include the kings head hotel - a classic georgian inn on the south side of the market place - nand nearby swinton park. this was once a modest tudor country house wich under went extensive rebuilding by wyattville and carr in the georgianperiod. it is now a hotel
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PATELEY BRIDGE
Thriving Dales town astride the River Nidd with a steep high street with tea rooms, craft centres and shops. The Nidderdale Museum in an original Victorian workhouse, portrays the life of early Dalesfolk. Children's playground and riverside walks. The Nidderdale Festival is held in late June / early July and the traditional Nidderdale show is staged in September.
BURNSALL
Burnsall is a picturesque riverside village near Grassington in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park. Situated by an ancient packhorse bridge crossing a bend in the meandering River Wharfe, the village makes an excellent location for exploring the unspoiled countryside of Lower Wharfedale.
Nearby attractions include the quaintly named village of Appletreewick and the sinister limestone gorge of Troller's Gill in Trollerdale (said to be haunted by Scandinavian trolls and a huge spectral hound with "eyes as big as saucers" so don't go there at night!!). Downstream of Burnsall are the ruined historic monuments of Barden Tower and Bolton Abbey, worth a look, along with the treacherous stretch river channel known as The Strid.
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OTLEY
Otley is a Yorkshire market town of about 15,000 people and a few sheep, set on the banks of the River Wharfe. It is an ancient, friendly and picturesque town with a rich commercial and community life. The town lies in attractive countryside in Mid-Wharfedale at the centre of the rural triangle between Leeds, Harrogate (smashing place!) and Bradford. Immediately to the south of the town rises Otley Chevin, which gives magnificent views over Mid-Wharfedale, and in the past provided much of the stone from which the town centre was built. Much of the town centre is eighteenth or nineteenth century or earlier and has Conservation Area status. Otley has been here from about the mid-Eighth century, when Otta made his Leah or clearing in the forest.
http://www.otley.co.uk
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York is a city in Northern England, at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss. The York urban area has a population of 137,505 whilst the entire unitary authority (see below) has a population of 184,900. Its geographic coordinates are 53°57′N 1°05′W.
York is the traditional county town of Yorkshire, to which it lends its name. However, it did not form part of any of the three historic divisions of Yorkshire; known as ridings.
Traditionally the term City of York was reserved for the area within the city walls (a small area outside of the walls, the Ainsty, was often associated with the City, resulting in the term the City and Ainsty of York), but the modern City of York, created on April 1, 1996, is much larger. It is a unitary authority, and apart from York itself, includes several neighbouring parishes which formerly belonged to the surrounding districts of Harrogate, Ryedale and Selby. It borders on North Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.
York is home to the University of York founded in 1963, and York St John University which gained university status in 2006
History of York
The name 'York' has an interesting etymological history, ultimately deriving from the Latin name for the city, Eboracum. The city was founded in AD 71, and has a rich Roman and Viking history, acting as capital of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior. It later became the seat of the Archbishop of York, whose province of York covers northern England, and acted as the centre for the Viking kingdom of Jorvik.
The historical aspects of York attract a great deal of tourism, the jewel in the crown being the city's historic cathedral church, York Minster.
Geography
York lies within the Vale of York, and is generally said to be a fairly flat area of land with an unusual amount of green space. The ings are flood meadows along the River Ouse, while the strays are scattered around the city in marshy, low-lying places; the Knavesmire is part of Micklegate Stray.
York is situated at the confluence of two rivers, the Ouse and the Foss. During Roman times, the land surrounding the rivers was very marshy, making it easier to defend. The city is prone to severe flooding from the River Ouse, and has an extensive (but not always effective) network of flood defences. These include walls along the Ouse, and a barrier across the River Foss where it joins the Ouse. The floods of late October and early November 2000, which were the highest for over 350 years, caused much damage, but the water did not breach the (sandbag reinforced) flood walls. Much land within the city has always been too flood-prone for development.
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NIDDERDALE
Upper Nidderdale can easily be explored from Pateley Bridge. The scenery is well wooded in places and often referred to as England's 'Little Switzerland'. The head of Nidderdale takes on a more rugged and wild appearance. In February 1994, Nidderdale was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It is one of 40 areas in England and Wales which have been similarly designated because of the high quality of their landscape.
WENSLEYDALE
Takes its name from the town of Wensley at the foot of the Dales and contains most of the beautiful scenery and locations immortalised in the internationally acclaimed James Herriot novels.
WHARFEDALE
One of the most spectacular and varied of the Dales, which follows the River Wharfe from its origin on Cam Fell for 70 miles to where it joins the River Ouse near Cawood.