The Yorkshire Dales Gift GuideDon't struggle to find something different on busy homogenous city high streets - enjoy shopping in the Yorkshire Dales, where your money goes further, you get service with a smile and every £ you spend goes into the local economy, supporting real people and families who love the Dales as much as you do!
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Please noteThis page was created before Covid. Not all businesses will have remained open so please do check details before your journey.
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Arts and crafts inspired by the Yorkshire DalesThe Yorkshire Dales have fired the imagination of artists and writers for generations. Lewis Carroll and Charles Kingsley found inspiration among the meadows and ancient green pastures of Malham Tarn and Wensleydale. Turner particularly loved the area around Askrigg and Hardraw Force.
Look out for work by modern artists such as Mackenzie Thorpe's square sheep in Richmond, Emerson Mayes from Nidderdale, Piers Browne in Wensleydale and Ian Scott Massie in Masham. Where to buy handmade and locally produced gifts Masham Gallery
Masham Gallery is full of carefully selected and beautifully displayed work by artists and makers from the Yorkshire Dales and beyond including atmospheric landscapes by Ian Scott Massie and delicate ceramic vessels made by Charlotte Morrison.
Also in Masham is Nolon Stacey’s Gallery featuring his very detailed, pencil drawings of British wildlife, dogs and farm animals. Just around the corner, Maureen and Tim Simon at Uredale Glass have been blowing brightly coloured glass for many years and their daughter, Zoe is now taking on the mantle, specialising in fused glass. Richmond is making a name for itself as the Yorkshire Dales' Capital of Culture so you won't be surprised to find several galleries and shops selling artwork and locally made crafts. Wander around the cobbled wynds and you'll find The Showcase Gallery, Lucy Pittaway, and Mackenzie Thorpe Arthaus Gallery.
Down the hill is Richmond Station, now transformed into a gallery with changing exhibitions and the fantastic Shop at the Station which sells some really beautiful gifts from local makers. Every shop in Hawes is still proudly independently-owned. Look out for Stacey Moore Art who create intricate coloured pencil drawings featuring Yorkshire Dales animals and nature, the Old Grammar School Gallery, and an ever-changing, expanding gifts at the Mulberry Bush. The shop at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes has a small selection of locally made products. Both Sturmans Antiques and Cellar Antiques have a wonderful warm atmosphere and great range of beautiful and often unusual antiques. A very short drive out of Leyburn will take you to Tennants which has a small gift shop and when there's a auction sale on you could find treasures at all price levels with a real wow factor. In Reeth a cooperative of local artists and makers has recently opened a new shop called Fleece. From here walk up the road to Silver Street and look out for Scenicview Gallery, full of awe-inspiring landscape photographs. Continue to the Silver Street Studios where you'll find Michael Kusz and his incredible sculptures, Stef Ottevanger's animal sculptures and Threshing Barn wool and weaving supplies. Back near the Green is the lovely, cosy and quirky Garden House Pottery. Nearby Muker also has a small gallery and shop packed with treasures - the Old School Gallery with a lovely little garden and honesty cafe. Almost next door is Swaledale Woollens. They stock an incredible variety of woollen goods, many hand-made locally by an army of around 30 people who hand-knit and crochet local wools. Over in Settle the Studio Vault in Settle is small but beautiful, featuring work by owner & jeweller Emily Knight, with changing displays of work by other makers. Gavagan Art is next door, with beautiful art, ceramics and glasswork. At the Stonegate Glass & Gallery in Ingleton you'll find a range of fused glass designs and custom-made items as well as work by other local makers and artists. Something a little differentWhether you want to treat your dog with a new lead or buy a barrier rope for your stately home, Outhwaites Ropemakers, is the place for you and is a long-established family firm. Make sure you go and see their braiding room and the long ropewalk where the twist is put into the rope!
The Dalesman Magazine is Yorkshire’s best-selling periodical. A gift subscription not only means plenty to read and amuse, it also comes with a sense of history - they've been celebrating all that's great about Yorkshire since 1939. Know someone who likes to make things? Why not buy them a voucher so they can learn to create their own artistic or craft masterpiece at Artison near Masham or maybe craft kits, wool or other craft equipment from Cottontail Crafts in Settle. Making an impression Print maker Hester Cox
Print-maker Hester Cox’s detailed and very beautiful collographs and other prints are inspired by the landscapes and nature near her Pen-y-ghent home.
Helen Peyton's reduction linocuts are often based on artefacts such as those in the Craven Museum's collection. Print maker Anna Tosney’s deceptively simple work features sheep, dry stone walls and birdlife deceptively simple. Moira McTague is very much inspired by nature in Nidderdale to create her incredibly detailed pictures and prints and Penny Hunt works in paint, print and ceramics. Sculptural shapesSee sculptor Joseph Hayton at work in his King Street studio in Pateley Bridge. He works to commission, creating both figurative and abstract brass and stone sculptures. In the neighbouring King Street Workshops you’ll also find Sanders and Wallace Glassmakers, Fiona Mazza ceramics, and jewellers Moxon and Simm.
Metal sculptor, Michael Kusz creates fantastical creatures and mythical beasts in his studio in Reeth. This is where you’ll also find cabinet maker Philip Bastow working with hardwoods to build high quality furniture, and Stef Ottevanger's animal sculptures. Paper artists Kate Bowle's beautiful books
Kate Bowles uses recycled fabrics, leather, papers and assorted vintage haberdashery to bind her beautiful books. 'Page Paper Stitch' encompasses the work of three textile artists, Annwyn Dean, Joan Newall and Elizabeth Shorrock who all share a love of stitching and beautiful bookmaking. Clare Lindley uses papercutting techniques to create incredibly detailed and fine pictures inspired by the natural world. Woollen wonders Laura's Loom
As you’d expect, wool features strongly in the Dales. In Sedbergh at Farfield Mill you'll find lovely Laura's Loom where Laura uses high quality Yorkshire Dales wool to weave items of beauty that speak of the surrounding landscape, the Howgills and their myriad details.
Textile lovers will enjoy browsing around Farfield Mill in Sedbergh where you can see huge looms, learn about the Terrible Knitters of Dent and see the work of the artists and makers who're based at the Mill. There are changing exhibitions so there’s always something new to see. There are more wool creations at Craftworkshop in Sedbergh. Lone Helliwell knits flowers, birds and other creatures in British wool. Andrea Hunter displays her unique felt pictures in her Gallery, Focus on Felt in the hamlet of Hardraw. Jo Hunter makes contemporary felt pictures and vessels while felt artist Em Fountain creates incredibly life-like animal sculptures such as hares. Louise Curnin is also a feltmaker and milliner, making felt pictures and functional pieces inspired by flora and surrounding landscape. Know a knitter who'd like some wool as a gift? Try Wensleydale Longwool in Leyburn or Purl & Jane in Skipton. Made of metal and woodFormer tax accountant Annabelle Bradley designs and hand forges sculptural and functional wrought ironwork at the Malham Smithy. Lucy Sandys-Clarke often works to commission from her hidden smithy in Dent, producing domestic items such as window and door fittings.
Emma Sedman is a contemporary jewellery designer and maker working with silver and enamel in Leyburn, using single transparent colours fused within geometrical shapes. In the 1980's, Benjamin Thomas began building and restoring hand-made furniture in the Yorkshire Dales. Each piece is an original, unique turned form - either plates, bowls or vases; highly finished or rustic depending upon the forms of character. PotteriesThe Yorkshire Dales has several potteries: Bentham Pottery, Ingleton Pottery, Garden House Pottery, Rachel in the Dales Pottery. Each has its own distinctive style, but all focus on handmade pots using traditional methods.
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Food giftsLooking for a food emporium with an amazing range of local food and gifts? Here are our favourites:
For chocolate lovers
Gifts for people who enjoy nature & being outdoors
Image: Chris Grogan
There's no shortage of shops around the Yorkshire Dales selling outdoor clothing and gear for climbing, walking, cycling and other outdoor pursuits. If you know someone who loves being outdoors, perhaps you could give them the chance to discover more of the Yorkshire Dales or to learn a new skill?
No matter whether they are a beginner or an experienced walker, anyone with a love of the Yorkshire Dales will value a Where2walk voucher. Friendly, trained guides pass on their navigation skills or help walkers conquer the three peaks. Yorkshire Dales Guides also offer short courses in potholing, rock climbing and abseiling. Keen ramblers will love Alt Berg Boots, ideal for walking in the Yorkshire Dales since they're made in Richmond! Alt Berg are specialist boot makers who have gained a reputation for excellence after spending years developing their products, and testing them in extreme climates to guarantee their quality. For the perfect boot fitting, visit their factory shop in Richmond. There are plenty of books about walking in the Yorkshire Dales, but few are written with as much passion as those published by Skyware who created the Dales High Way and feature the Six Peaks. Jonathan Smith from Where2walk recently published a new book called 'The Dales 30' covering the 30 mountains in the Yorkshire and Cumbrian Dales that top 2,000 ft. For a really novel experience your loved one will appreciate llama trekking in Nidderdale! Rated as one of Yorkshire's top ten activities, this gift combines fun and enjoyment of the idyllic Nidderdale countryside. Their llamas are well-cared for and friendly, and seem to really enjoy walking beside humans. Looking to do some good and give a gift that really lasts? Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust support vital projects that protect and enhance the environment, landscape and people of the Yorkshire Dales. You can help support this small charity by giving a Living Bouquet of Flowers, which will last a lifetime and help create a real, living area of beautiful wildflower hay meadow in the Yorkshire Dales or dedicate a tree planted specially for your loved one in the Yorkshire Dales. |
Soaps and candlesThe Sedbergh Soap Company was founded by Dorothe Pratt, a long-time eczema sufferer, who started making her own soap for sensitive skin. The range has now expanded to include gorgeous goodies smelling of lavender, lemongrass, tangerine, and geranium.
You can often see candles being made at the White Rose Candles workshop in Wensley. Barn Craft have created a range of beautifully scented, natural soy wax candles with seasonal fragrances. More artists |
Bentham Pottery
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More artists who live in and near the Yorkshire Dales and who are inspired by the local landscape include painter Margaret Uttley, David and Heather Cook in Malhamdale, Malham's Katharine Holmes, portrait painter Sam Dalby, creative landscape painter David Knight in Settle, Lynn Ward and Denise Burden in Leyburn, Judi Allinson in Scorton, mosaic artist Ruth Wilkinson and Sarah Garforth who works in her Ramsgill Studio in Nidderdale. Katherine Whitby paints fine birds and Yorkshire Dales barns. Jacquie Denby creates vivid abstracts.
Jo Garlick usually works in pastels to create very lifelike images of animals and the natural world. Anne Mackinnon is also inspired by local landscapes and the patterns and shapes to be found in nature. Fine artists Rebecca Wallace Jones and Pip Seymour have joined forces and now produce unique ranges of oil, acrylic, watercolour, gouache, hand-made soft pastel, hand-made drawing materials, primers and painting mediums from their base in Horton in Ribblesdale - selling these via stockists throughout Europe and the UK.
Jo Garlick usually works in pastels to create very lifelike images of animals and the natural world. Anne Mackinnon is also inspired by local landscapes and the patterns and shapes to be found in nature. Fine artists Rebecca Wallace Jones and Pip Seymour have joined forces and now produce unique ranges of oil, acrylic, watercolour, gouache, hand-made soft pastel, hand-made drawing materials, primers and painting mediums from their base in Horton in Ribblesdale - selling these via stockists throughout Europe and the UK.
PLEASE NOTE: Before setting out on a long journey, we recommend you double-check opening hours as some smaller businesses may close for some of the time during Winter time.
