Settle is one of those Yorkshire Dales market town that initially looks like an attractive set of shops and historic buildings clustered around an ancient square.

You wander around and think you know Settle.

And then you dig a little deeper and discover some of its charms and attractions are more hidden and you need to explore for longer and take the time to find out more.

Settle is a lovely Dales town, but it's much more than that. 

You may have noticed Settle Folly but have you been inside? It's a wonderful building, carefully restored and home to a Museum, Artisans' Gallery and excellent cake in the Folly Coffee House. Castleberg towers above Settle and has its own story to tell. There are so many other special places to discover in Settle, I've created a simple Settle Treasure Map, free for you to download and explore. Can you discover all of these: 

• Settle Folly, home to the Museum of North Craven Life, Folly Artisans Gallery & Folly Coffee House
• Grade I and II listed buildings around the Market Place. Look for plaques commemorating Elgar's stay in Settle; Benjamin Waugh, founder of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; and the wonderfully named Goad & Butchers solicitors
• Victoria Hall, a Grade II listed original Victorian Music Hall
• Castleberg towering above Settle - make your way to the top & enjoy the view
• Settle Station, famous thanks to the Settle-Carlisle Railway, signal box & water tower
• Gallery on the Green, one of the world’s smallest galleries - in a former telephone kiosk
• Settle Stories’ Listening Gallery, the world’s first listening gallery - also in a telephone box!
• Ye Olde Naked Man Café - one of England's most photographed cafés
• Victoria Cave where evidence of prehistoric hunters was found - take care when visiting
• Settle Hydro - a reverse Archimedean screw system generating electricity for the community
  
  Nearby: 
• The Three Peaks: Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside & Ingleborough
• Hoffman Kiln
• Ribblehead Viaduct Visitor Centre
• Courtyard Dairy, award-winning specialist cheesemongers

Culloden Tower is a well known landmark, standing proud in a field on the edge of  Richmond. 

Overlooking the River Swale, this was once the country estate of John Yorke MP.

Culloden Tower was built as a folly in around 1746. The architect was probably Daniell Garrett, who was very fond of the Palladian style of architecture. Garrett was known for his design of Rococo plasterwork 

The name of the tower refers to the victory of the Duke of Cumberland over Bonnie Prince Charlie at the battle of Culloden in 1746.

Culloden Tower has four storeys and a roof terrace. Its rectangular base may have been part of an earlier peel tower, a small fortified keep built as a watch tower and to deter marauding Scots and partly as a status symbol. 

Standing isolated in the field, Culloden Tower fell into disrepair until the Landmark Trust took it over in 1981 and restored it. It's now available through the Landmark Trust as a holiday let. Guests describe it as being like "staying in a large Wedgewood vase" thanks to the carving and plasterwork inside. 

You can't normally see inside the tower unless you pay to stay there but for two days in August it's open free of charge to the public as part of Richmond's Georgian Festival. After climbing 66 stairs you're rewarded with unusual octagonal rooms and wonderful views - and the knowledge you've seen the interior of a landmark few ever go inside. 

Reeth Show takes place on August bank holiday Monday and is really worth a trip. It's put on by locals for locals, but visitors are very welcome. This year's even will be even more special than usual. During the recent floods, some of the drystone walls around the show field were washed away, but the show will definitely still go on, thanks to Young Farmers Clubs who came from miles around to help. They spent a day clearing the field and re-making the drystone walls, so please do visit and enjoy the community spirit. You can usually see drystone walling demonstrations at Reeth Show: this year it's expected there will be even more competitors showing off their walling skills. 

Reeth Show is a great combination of fun, good natured competition, and chances to learn more about country life. There's a chance to buy some fresh Dales produce and opportunities to watch cooking demonstrations. Alongside the sheep, cattle, and poultry judging, you'll be able to see some vintage tractors, cars and bikes on display. In the main show ring there are horse and pony classes, an open driving competition and mounted fancy dress competition. 

Children enjoy the candy floss and bouncy castle, and everyone enjoys seeing which crafts have won prizes in the show marquee. Adding to the festive air will be the excellent Reeth Band. One of the most hotly contested competitions is the Great Fremington Edge Fell Race, a true test of determination and fitness. 

Many thanks to Glenda Calvert for all the images on this page. She runs Upper Swaledale Holidays. Take a look at her blog about life on a Swaledale farm. 

Once upon a time the Yorkshire Dales would have been full of the clippety-clop sound of hooves, when horses provided the main source of transport. You can still imagine the pack horses and donkeys using some of our narrow lanes as packhorse and drover routes.

Seeing the Yorkshire Dales astride a horse gives a very different perspective, particularly as you can see over the dry stone walls into the fields. Going a little more slowly gives you the opportunity to appreciate the landscape and nature of the Dales. 

There are several trekking and riding centres where you can enjoy horse-riding, whether for a half day or much longer. Most of the stables cater for complete novices as well as more experienced riders. 

Wensleydale Equestrian can escort you on a ride through beautiful Wensleydale and Raydale with views over peaceful Semerwater and beyond. Set in wonderful Wharfedale, Kilnsey Trekking and Riding Centre is a family run riding centre offering pony trekking, horse riding lessons and horse riding holidays that take in Malhamdale and Grassington.

Bewerley Riding Centre in Nidderdale has indoor and outdoor riding arenas for both beginners and experienced riders to improve their skills. They also offer dressage and jumping lessons as well as cross country rides and hacks.  Stonetrail Riding Centre has direct access on to the fells of Howgill and the Mallerstang Valley, a wonderfully quiet place to ride with barely any road traffic.  

The Pennine Bridleway runs from Long Preston to Kirkby Stephen, and is part of the first National Trail to be designed specially for horse riders, cyclists and walkers. There are many also many self-guided routes available to download, or contact Ride Yorkshire. 
 
If you love horses but prefer watching them to riding them, take a trip to Middleham, which has been a training centre for horse-racing for centuries. 

Images below by Paul Harris of Stonetrail Riding Centre in the Howgills

There are many reasons to visit the Dales, not least the incredible landscapes, gorgeous greenery, and beautiful villages. There's another less talked about reason as well: the wonderful sense of being amongst happy, positive people.

Sometimes you just need to step away from the world, to get away from all the negative news. When you feel like that, the Yorkshire Dales are the place to be. 

I've lived and spent time in many different places and countries but don't think I've ever been anywhere where people seem so content. When I moved back to Yorkshire after living in London, the first thing people asked when I met them and said we'd moved was 'are you happy?'. In London it was always 'what do you do for a living?', as if people were deciding whether it was worth getting to know us. 

Why are people so happy in the Yorkshire Dales?

The weather sometimes throws us a few 'challenges' and the area isn't as financially wealthy as some. But I think we feel rich in other ways, ones that are maybe more important. Childhoods are rich in time spent outdoors, carefree times running barefoot in grassy fields, taking part in community activities. 

The sense of community counts for a great deal. People want to help each other, whether it's Young Farmers coming from all over to help re-build drystone walls in Reeth, neighbours looking out for each other or practical help after something has happened. Nature is a wonderful thing, but it certainly can't be controlled and sometimes it surprises us. That's often when you see Dales folk at their strongest, rallying round to help and make the best of whatever's happened. My house sometimes floods and yet it's not a particularly negative experience thanks to the kindness we've received. 

Even in hard times, there's a dry humour that comes to the fore. Go to one of our country shows and you'll see small gatherings of farmers, leaning on their sticks, gazing at their livestock, commiserating with each other about the appalling stock prices but still managing to rib each other and have a good laugh at the same time. It's a matter of fact sort of humour, got-to-laugh-there's-nothing-else-you-can-do sort of humour but it counts for a lot. 

Being among positive people can be a real balm for the soul. When I lived in London I got used to people not bothering to acknowledge me when I chirpily greeted then in the street. OK, so they were strangers and thought I was a bit bonkers, but that's what I was brought up to do. Combine that with seeing negative headlines on the newsstands, rude staff in many shops, and after a while of city living you naturally feel a bit down.

Living in the Yorkshire Dales, a five minute walk is a hugely positive experience. I notice the green growth in the fields, have some interesting conversations with complete strangers, enjoy the fresh air and feel upbeat. When I go into shops the owner or their family are often the ones who work there. It's their business so they care, and it really feels that way. Without asking, they make small kind gestures. 

Developing a sense of resilience and self-reliance is important for all human beings, and I think that's part of what makes people in the Yorkshire Dales so content. We might not have chosen to be self-reliant and to have to sometimes deal with adversity but we've done it, and we know we can do it. That instils a kind of quiet confidence. It's assumed that problems will be solved.

Some one notices the village hall roof is leaking, and they mention it to a few people. One of them quietly gets on with temporarily fixing it. Some others get together to decide what kind of community fundraising event to run. The event happens and is well-supported by locals (and hopefully visitors...) who feel good about making their contribution, whether it's a prize for the tombola or baking a cake. The event is enjoyable as well as worthwhile, giving the community a chance to come together and have fun. The roof is permanently fixed, smiles all round and so it goes on. It's not always easy, but problem-solving can be good for the soul and it makes people happy. 

Another reason for feeling content is simply living among such beauty. It's so much easier to feel happy when you look out at an uplifiting view every day. Green is such a soothing colour and it really is greener here.

There's much joy to be gained from small things, from mud-larking to wild-swimming, or other simple ways to enjoy nature. 

Of course having a high pub to people ratio might also be a contributing factor to why people feel so happy in the Yorkshire Dales...

In fact there are so many reasons why we feel happy to live in the Yorkshire Dales, we've written a short free book that you can download free and enjoy right now. 

There's a secret pleasure hiding on the Dales moors at the moment, one that's good for you and free. Surprisingly few people seem to take advantage of it but I've been caught red-handed. Actually not so much caught, as just red-handed, evidence of this lovely activity.

What is this hidden treat? Bilberrying. Foraging and finding food for free is always good but bilberrying seems particularly rewarding. It might be because I associate it with so many lovely childhood days when our extended family would venture on to a windy hillside, competitively picking the tiny berries and covering our hands in purple dye.

My love of them could also be because they're rarely to be found for sale anywhere so they're extra special and hard to come by. They taste similar to blueberries but slightly tarter and the flavour seems much more intense. 

Few people seem to bother picking bilberries. It's perhaps because they're quite small. The plants tend to be low so it can be quite a back-breaking job, or maybe people just don't know where to find the berries? Even getting a few bilberries is so rewarding - a few go a long way to enhancing a desert or breakfast. 

Bilberries grow on low bushes on moorland or the fringes of woodland, often intermixed with heather. At first glance the bush may seem to be empty of berries but gently move aside their springy stalks and you should be able to spot the berries in mid August. I think bilberries have some kind of magic powers, only accessible to those who have true patience and determination to find them, because once you've spotted a couple you'll suddenly see many more on a bush where previously there were none! They hide just under the leaves so aren't as obvious as blackberries in a high hedge.

Once you've found a really productive bush you'll feel a real conflict - do you exclaim in wonder and show someone else, or silently and persistently pick them all for yourself? Their other special power is their ability to stain your fingers with red juice even though the berries look so blue. 
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Bilberries are very nutritious, containing plenty of vitamin C and E, as well as being three times richer in anthocyanin compounds (with many health claims) than cultivated blueberries. One of the best ice creams I've ever eaten was a bilberry one from Meadow Dale in Nidderdale. 

You can now find scarecrow festivals across the country but I think Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival was one of the first (and best, naturally). It started 25 years ago in 1994.

As with many Yorkshire Dales activities, it was a fundraising event organised by a band of enthusiastic volunteers who wanted to raise funds for the local primary school. 

In 1994 local residents were encouraged to make scarecrows that showed their profession. I, and many others, still remember the first time we saw the electrician scarecrow precariously balanced on his ladder, with sparks coming out of the fuse box.

Unsurprisingly the event was a great success, and has taken place every year since. The Scarecrow Festival has raised tens of thousands of pounds for community projects, the school, church and village hall. 

There are now around 100 carefully made scarecrows, often with humorous sometimes risqué touches. It's clear that there's some competition between villagers and a lot of pride in the making of the figures. One year the vicar created a Ziggy Stardust set, which even had a sound system rigged up next to it. 

A trail clue sheet costs just £1 so visiting the Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival is amazing value for money as well as something the whole family can do together. It will also encourage you to find some of Kettlewell's more hidden corners - it really is a stunning Dales village in a fantastic setting. 

This year the theme looks at personalities and news stories from 1994. How many do you remember? There's a special children's trail, using the original clues from the first themed trail based around nursery rhymes. 

Once you've enjoyed the trail, make sure you pop into the Village Hall for an amazing selection of homemade cakes. Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival runs from 10th to 18th August. Thanks to Saul at the excellent Kettlewell Hostel for image of the elephant, showing just how much effort people put into making these 'scarecrows'.

What do the ancient Greeks have in common with a muddy Yorkshire Dales activity?

The clue lies in the flat boxes you may have seen on some Yorkshire Dales village greens. 

The game is quoits, which some people claim is related to the discus, suggesting quoits was played at the early Greek Olympics. Their theory is that the discus/quoits were brought to Britain by the Romans and then played in England. 

Another theory is that quoits is related to a pub game, throwing cast-off horseshoes at a target on the ground. However it began, the game has been around for a long time. 

There's evidence quoits has been played for centuries, mainly in agricultural, and sometimes mining areas where the quoits were made from old forged metal. Apparently in the middle ages it was considered a dodgy sport, attracting undesirables to bet in pubs ,but by the late 19th century quoits was respectable enough to have its own set of official rules. 

The best way to learn about quoits is to go and watch a game. In essence a set of quoits are aimed at stakes in the ground known as hobs. The game is played with a team of 7, throwing the quoits 11 yards to land over the hob in the clay pit. In the Dales I think games are played in the Dales on Mondays and Thursdays. 
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All images thanks to Alan Hargrave

Channel 5 is currently working on a six part remake of James Herriot's iconic All Creatures Great and Small, which will also include a Christmas special.

It's scheduled to air next year to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the original publication of the Herriot books.

Much of the previous series was filmed in North Yorkshire, with many visitors still coming to hunt out the locations. 




​The Yorkshire Dales have starred in plenty of other TV programmes and films. Here are a few examples that you might have seen? 
 
Emmerdale was originally filmed in beautiful Arncliffe in Littondale, with filming taking place there until about the late 1970s. If you visit Arncliffe today, it doesn't feel like much has changed since as it's such a timeless little hamlet. 

More recently, Malhamdale featured in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when Hermione and Harry camped on the top of Malham Cove. Other scenes features Malham village and Kirkby Malham. 

Kettlewell was made famous by the Calendar Girls, which is actually based on the true story of members of the Women's Institute posing naked for a fundraising calendar.

It's now quite a while since Kevin Costner ended up in the river by Aysgarth Falls after battling with Little John in the film version of Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. Marian also spots Robin bathing in Hardraw Force. Many people still have a fond memory of that scene...

Lad: A Yorkshire Story isn't so well known but is well worth looking out for. It's a heart-warming film that anyone who loves the Yorkshire Dales will enjoy - the story of a young boy whose future seems uncertain until he develops a friendship with a National Park ranger and starts to appreciate the Dales and spending time outdoors. 

Many of the best visitor attractions and activities in the Yorkshire Dales were started by people who are really passionate about their hobby or interest and simply want to share it with visitors. 

Their love of what they do shines out in every way, from how they greet their guests, to their enthusiastic emails and five star reviews. 


This is certainly the case for Kieren and David at Settle Falconry. They share images of their birds just as proudly as others pass around baby photos. If you have even the smallest interest in birds or maybe remember watching Kes all those years ago, a Bird of Prey experience at Settle Falconry will delight you. 

You'll be given a falconer's gauntlet to wear and taught the basics of holding a bird on your fist, having a chance to call the bird down to your glove several times.

If you want to enjoy an extended experience with a selection of birds of prey including hawks, buzzards, kestrels, falcons and hawks, take the half day option which ends with a walk with a free-flying Harris Hawks. ​