The Harrogate District is an area of outstanding beauty. On the west horizon are the Yorkshire Dales and the spectacular peak of Great Whernside which is surrounded by the high land of Nidderdale. To the east are the North Yorkshire Moors and Marston Moor where the last great battle of the Civil War was fought in 1644. Nidderdale falls within the District whilst Wensleydale is on its northern boundary and Wharfedale on the southern.
Addingham
Aldborough
Bardsey
Bilton
Boroughbridge
Burnsall
Gargrave
Harrogate
Knaresborough
Masham
Middleham
Otley
Pateley Bridge
Ripon
Skipton
Stainforth
Wetherby
York
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.
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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 | Walks
ADDINGHAM
The village is situated about 17miles north west of Leeds in the county of West Yorkshire in northern England. The land to the south slopes up to Rombald’s Moor and to north lies the peak of Beamsley Beacon with the valley of Wharfedale to the west of it going north west into the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The river Wharfe runs through the edge of the village. The nearest towns are Ilkley (3 miles east) and Skipton (7 miles west).
The village grew up on the A65 road (now by-passed) which goes northwest from Leeds, through Skipton and on to Cumbria and the Lake District. The Skipton to Ilkley railway came to the village in the 1880s but was closed in the 1960s.
The area around Addingham was populated from at least Bronze Age times, as shown by the ‘cup & ring’ carved stones found on Rombald’s Moor to the south. The first documentary mention referred to the Archbishop of York staying here in 867AD so it is certainly an ancient settlement.
The village used to be called ‘Long Addingham’ because it grew up round three centres – Church Street in the east, The Green (about a mile away) in the west and The Old School in between.
The earliest of the existing houses were built in the 17C when it was a farming community, but the real growth was in the late 18C and early 19C when the textile industry arrived and five mills (plus other loomshops and weaving sheds) were established making it a busy industrial community.
During the 20C the textile industry declined and the village is now largely a commuter and retirement community.
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.
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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.
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BARDSEY
Bardsey, West Yorkshire, England is a small village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, 13 km (8 miles) north east of Leeds city centre. The village is in the LS17 Leeds postcode district. It is part of the civil parish of Bardsey cum Rigton. The village itself lies just off the A58 road between Leeds and Wetherby.
It is a predominantly middle class area with a high proportion of retired residents. Housing is mixed; while most is private, there is council housing situated near Keswick Lane. Facilities include a public house, a sports club (which has an Under 14s and Under 16s football team), a dry cleaner and until March 2007, a garage. Bardsey also has a junior school and a Catholic church, which operates as a satellite to the main Catholic church in Wetherby.
GARGRAVE
Gargrave lies on the busy A65 trunk road, four miles north west of Skipton. One of the largest villages in the Craven District of North Yorkshire, it sits astride the river Aire, only seven miles from its source at Malham.
Situated at the head of the Aire gap, the railway, the roads and the canal, all converge on the village before going their separate ways, the railway to Lancaster and Carlisle, the canal to Burnley and beyond, and the road to the Lake District and the north. The river wanders away from them all to its source at Malham through the picturesque countryside of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Gargrave is probably unique in that there is public access to the river on its way through the village from five “village greens”, a feature which makes it popular with resident and tourist alike. Therer are many picturesque walks around the village, the famous Pennine Way passes through the very centre of the village.
With it pubs, shops, cafes, tourist accommodation, picturesque byways and a touch of history, the village is well worth a visit at any time of year and is an excellent centre for touring the Yorkshire Dales..
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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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MIDDLEHAM
Middleham, a small market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in Wensleydale, in the Yorkshire Dales, on the north-facing side of the valley just above the junction of the River Ure and River Cover. Roman Britain saw the first settlement. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as “Medelai”.
Middleham is twinned with the northern French town of Azincourt.
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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.
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SKIPTON
Skipton is an attractive market town serving a large rural area. It is situated in the Aire gap separating the Craven limestone Dales to the north, the gritstone moors to the south, and the pastoral Ribble valley to the west. Just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park boundary, Skipton prides itself on being ‘The Gateway to the Dales’. Its name comes from the Saxon word for sheep – ‘sheep town’.
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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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STAINFORTH
Stainforth is a village of character in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and is situated to the east of the River Ribble, with Little Stainforth (or Knight Stainforth) to the west of the river. Stainforth nestles under Stainforth Scar, 2½ miles north of Settle and 3 miles south of Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Over the last hundred years the village has like many others, suffered two world wars, foot and mouth outbreaks and a variety of changes not all for the better. In 1931 the packhorse bridge linking the two halves of the village was gifted by the Maudsley family to the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments. A locally raised endowment of £250 towards its upkeep was required before the Society accepted the gift. A village bypass was built in 1974 to remove traffic from the centre and prevent lorries grounding on the bridge over Stainforth beck. July 1984 saw the closing of the School despite a valiant rearguard action by local families to retain it.
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YORK
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.
BILTON
Bilton was historically in the parish of Knaresborough in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It formed a township with Harrogate and in 1866 the township of Bilton with Harrogate became a civil parish.When Harrogate became a municipal borough in 1894, Bilton remained outside the borough and became a separate civil parish. In 1896, Starbeck was separated from Bilton to form a new civil parish. In 1938 the civil parish was abolished, and most of Bilton was added to Harrogate.
In 1848 the Leeds and Thirsk Railway was opened through Bilton, although no station was built there. The line crossed the River Nidd on the northern boundary of Bilton by a stone viaduct. In 1908 a narrow gauge railway was constructed from the main line to carry coal to the gas works next to the Little Wonder roundabout. The line was closed in 1956, and with the tracks having been removed the only remains of the line are some walls and the underground tunnels that carried the trains. A small museum was opened in the neighbouring New Park School, where the line used to come out above ground. Between 2007 and 2008 the school created a garden, known as “The Secret Railway Garden”, to commemorate the line.
