Askrigg

The village of Askrigg lies sheltered beneath the stunning fells of Ellerkin and Askrigg Common towards the top of Wensleydale. Its two and three storey stone houses and cottages line the main street, with the 15th century parish church of St Oswald’s in the centre of the village in the old cobbled market place, complete with its market cross and an iron bull ring set into the cobbles. Nearby villages within walking distance include Worton and Bainbridge, both lovely walks on the stone ‘trods’ across the fields.

Visitors may recognise Cringley House as ‘Skeldale House’ from the BBC TV series ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ with the Kings Arms being the ‘Drovers Arms’ from the same series.

There is a good village shop which can supply all of your basic needs-if you don’t see what you want then ask them-it is surprising what they stock. Askrigg also has a delicatessen in the village where the owner cooks delicious meals, cakes and sweets which can be purchased and brought home to eat in the comfort of the cottage or order a picnic to take with you on your travels.There are 3 pubs, The Crown Inn, The White Rose and The Kings Arms which is a former coaching inn. All of the pubs provide bar meals and The Kings Arms also has The Silks Restaurant. Nearby is the luxury Yorebridge House Hotel, voted the UK’s most romantic hotel on Trip Adviser and a popular wedding venue which offers bar meals and a fabulous restaurant, perfect for special occasions and celebrations.

There are plentiful walks including along the banks of the nearby River Ure and the Askrigg Waterfalls Walk which takes in both Whitfield Force and Mill Gill Force above Askrigg (force is the local dialect for waterfall), or tackle the climb up the hill of Addleborough across the dale and see if you can find the Devil’s Stone which folklore says was thrown by the devil in a battle against the giant who lived on Addleborough. The stones thrown in return are known as The Carlow Stone and The Mermaids Stone and are on the edge of Lake Semerwater nearby.

Askrigg is a friendly village with plenty of local services and makes a great base from which to explore the Yorkshire Dales.