Places to Visit and Things to do

Lindale Holiday Park is located in Wensleydale in an area of beautiful rolling hills with excellent access to the dales and the moors of Yorkshire. There are many attractions close to Lindale Holiday Park and something to suit all tastes, here is just a selection:

Local Services:

Bedale, an historic market town, is three miles away and has many specialist shops including butchers, bakers, grocers, gift shops and beauty salons. There are six pubs serving local beer including Black Sheep. Some pubs serve food, in addition there are a selection of cafes, restaurants and takeaways. There are many village pubs all serve excellent food. Maps are provided in the lodges of walks to two of the nearest local pubs, each is around three miles through picturesque country lanes and fields. Also try the Coverbridge Inn near Middleham at the junction of the river Cover and river Ure, perfect for the dog owner.

• The Buck Inn in Thornton Watlass serves good food in their cosy bar with open fire, as well as having a fortnightly Sunday lunchtime live jazz session.
• The Queens Head in Finghall serves an extensive menu of good food inside in the bar or restaurant or on their outside seating area enjoying beautiful views across the dale.
• The Cover Bridge Inn is a historic 16th century inn on the banks of the River Cover, which serves an extensive menu of good food in the bar or restaurant or on their outside seating.

Activities:

The spectacular landscape of the The Yorkshire Dales includes rugged heather-clad moorland, sheltered green dales, limestone scars, rushing rivers and roaring waterfalls. It is a walker’s paradise with over a thousand miles of paths and bridleways within the Yorkshire Dales National Park alone. An excellent collection of short walks in the National Park complete with maps can be found here.

• Walking: lower Wensleydale, the upper dales, the Yorkshire moors, the Pennine Way.
• Cycling: safe local lanes, many cycle routes, local bike hire
• Fishing: Fly and coarse fishing in river and lake.
• Horse riding
• Golf: Bedale, Richmond, Catterick, Masham
• Swimming, sauna and health spa: Bedale, Richmond, Catterick

Historic Sites:

• Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, Yorkshire's first world heritage site.
• Jervaulx Abbey is an enchanting 12th century Cistercian Monastery near East Witton.
• Ripon Cathedral, one of the oldest sites of continuous Christian worship in Britain.
• Bolton Abbey near Skipton has over 80 miles of footpaths to explore as well as the ruined priory.
• Easby Abbey, the remains of an unusual Premonstratensian abbey, easily reached on foot from Richmond.
• Richmond Castle is one of the greatest Norman fortresses in Northern England.
• Castle Bolton is one of the country's best preserved medieval castles, situated in the heart of Wensleydale with stunning views over the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
• Middleham Castle, once home to King Richard III and known in former times as the Windsor of the North.
• Constable Burton Hall is a handsome Palladian villa with woodland, formal gardens and stunning seasonal displays of snowdrops and daffodils.
• Kiplin Hall is an unusual Jacobean hall containing an impressive collection of paintings and furniture.
• Newby Hall is a beautiful house set in 25 acres of award winning gardens.

Local Market Towns:

• Leyburn, weekly market Fridays, farmers' market 4th Saturday
• Masham, markets Wednesdays and Saturdays
• Bedale, weekly market Tuesdays
• Middleham
• Northallerton, weekly market Wednesdays, farmers' market 4th Wednesday
• Richmond, markets Tuesdays (indoor), Fridays and Saturdays, farmers' market 3rd Saturday
• Reeth
• Hawes
• Ripon, weekly market Thursdays, farmers' markets 3rd Sunday
• Thirsk, markets Mondays and Saturdays, farmers' markets 1st Saturday, livestock market Thursdays starting 9am

Local Attractions:

• The Forbidden Corner is full of strange things; a great day out for families.
• The Big Sheep Little Cow Farm is a fun hands-on farm experience for children and adults.
• RHS Gardens Harlow Carr is a garden dominated by water, stone and woodland and is very much part of the surrounding Yorkshire landscape.
• The Yorvik Viking Centre in York invites visitors to journey through the reconstruction of Viking-Age streets as they would have looked 1000 years ago.
• The National Rail Museum in York with over 300 years of railway history.
• Flamingo Land theme park with extreme rides and a zoo, near York.
• Wet'n'Wild, the UK's largest water park.
• Brymor Ice Cream produce delicious ice cream on the farm using the milk from their herd of Guernsey cows.
• Lightwater Valley Theme Park is a fun family theme park near Ripon.
• Brimham Rocks curious rock formations scattered over 50 acres of Brimham moor.
• Aerial Extreme Bedale provide an action packed experience 13m above ground.
• Thorp Perrow Arboretum and Gardens near Bedale, a beautiful woodland garden set in 100 acres, including a birds of prey & mammal centre.
• The Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes, makers of the only real Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese in the world.
• The Wensleydale Railway is an authentic heritage railway offering a great day out in the dales.
• The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is both lovingly preserved and charmingly authentic.
• Rope makers in Hawes; watch ropes being made using the traditional method.
• Richmond Station offers food, film and art in the sympathetically restored historic Victorian station.
• Gayle Mill is a restored 19th century sawmilll, as featured on BBC Restoration.
• Harrogate Turkish Baths offers a number of luxury treatments as well as steam rooms.
• The TeaPottery in Leyburn, home of the eccentric teapot.
• The Black Sheep Brewery in Masham, where you can take a brewery tour and have a meal in the Bistro.
• Theakston's Brewery home to legendary Masham Ale Old Peculier.
• Aysgarth Falls, one of Wensleydale's most famous beauty spots (featured in the Kevin Costner film, Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves), with a pleasant riverside walk linking the Upper, Middle and Lower Falls.
• Horse-racing: Catterick, Thirsk, Ripon, York.
• Cinema: Darlington, Richmond, Thirsk.

Seasonal Events:

• Middleham Stables Open Weekend - Good Friday. A look behind the scenes at some famous racing establishments. Stalls and entertainment throughout the day in the town.
• Dales Festival of Food and Drink - Early May Bank Holiday weekend, 80 local food stands under one roof.
• West Burton May Fair - May, fun, games and displays on the village green.
• Swaledale Festival - early June, music, literature and art from around the globe set in the dales.
• ClogFest - early July, the national gathering for the step-clog community to celebrate English step-dance.
• The Great Yorkshire Show - mid-July, England's premier agricultural show.
• Masham Steam Rally - Mid-July, see steam engines and fair organs.
• The Hardraw Summer Gathering - late July, annual folk music festival.
• Ripley Agricultural Show mid-August, with local food and drink and livestock displays.
• Brough Agricultural Show mid-August, livestock showing, crafts and vintage tractor display.
• West Witton Feast Weekend late August, local crafts and produce, fell racing, Burning Bartle parade.
• Limetree Festival late August, music and arts festival featuring mostly dance music.
• Wensleydale Agricultural Show - late August, a traditional Dales show with lots to see and do.
• Reeth Show - late August, a traditional Dales agricultural show in Swaledale.
• Boots and Beer Walking Festival - early September, held at the Black sheep Brewery in Masham with walks in the surrounding area.
• Hardraw Scaur Brass Band Contest - early September, Britain's second oldest outdoor brass band contest.
• Nidderdale Show - mid-September, one of the country's finest displays of livestock and crafts, representing all that is best in the Dales.
• Ripon International Festival - throughout September, annual arts festival featuring classical music.
• Masham Sheep Fair - mid-September, local crafts, food and drink, and sheepy fun and entertainment.
• Skipton Puppet Festival - late September, held every odd year, biennial international puppet festival.
• Pateley Bridge Walking Festival - late September, walking festival in beautiful Nidderdale.
• Ingleton Folk Weekend - late September / early October, folk music in the bars, pubs and cafes of Ingleton.
• Richmond Walking and Book Festival - late September / early October, guided walks, music, talks and film.
• Grassington Dickensian Festival - several Saturdays in December, see the village square and streets transformed into a traditional Victorian market with villagers in costume.
• Skipton Yuletide Festival and Christmas Market - first two Sundays in December, entertainment, atmosphere and opportunities for Christmas shopping.

Further afield but within reach for a visit are the historic towns of: Harrogate, Durham, York, Newcastle, Scarborough, Whitby.

More things to do and places to visit can be found at Welcome to Yorkshire