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Sedbergh (pron. “sed ber”) claims to be England’s official Book Town. Whether or no, there’s
certainly a lot of book shops and if you are a reader you’ll be in your element. More on Sedbergh .
. .

Hawes is England’s highest town at 850 ft above seal level. It was first recorded as a market place
in 1307 and the Tuesday market is still held.

The big local attraction is Wensleydale Creamery and cheese making has been a feature of the
town since 1150 when French Cistercian monks settled in the area. The present factory dates
from 1897.

Gayle Mill, built in 1784 it is believed to be the last structurally unaltered cotton mill in Britain.

Nearby is the village of Hardraw which is noted for Hardraw Force, which, with a single drop of
100ft, is reputedly the highest waterfall in England.

Further along the road from Hardraw is the Buttertubs Pass, a high level road which tv presenter
Jeremy Clarkson rated as the only truly spectacular road in England. (There are those, especially
in Wales and Scotland, who might quibble with that assessment).

It also featured as one of the King of the Mountains climb in the 2014 Tour de France.

The road passes The Buttertubs, a 20m deep limestone pot-hole. Not the deepest in the UK but
certainly the only one near the road. It got its name from the farmers travelling to market. They
would stop here for a rest and in hot weather lower their butter and cheese into the hole to keep
them cool.

Other attractions in Hawes

Dales Countryside Museum tells the story of the people and landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales.

Hawes Ropemaker – traditional rope making where ropes and braids have been made for more
than 200 years. Askrigg parish records describe John Brenkley of Setbusk (Sedbusk, near Hawes)
as a rope maker at the time of his death in 1725. The firm of W.R.Outhwaite and Son carry on the
business today. You can tour the works and see how they put that twist into a rope.

Kettlewell

One of the prettiest villages in the region sheltering below the 2130ft Great Whernside fell. There’s
an 8 mile loop walk from Kettlewell to the top of Great Whernside and back. Get details here . . . .

The name is believed to hail from an old Anglo Saxon word that means bubbling spring or stream.
It started life as a market in the 13th century but grew up later on producing textiles and lead
mining, neither of which are to be found today.

One of the highlights of the year is the annual Scarecrow Festival, held in August.

Kilnsey

The big attraction here is Kilnsey Crag overlooking the road. On most days you can see rock
climbers dangling from its170 ft high cliff with an overhang of 40ft.

Close to the crag is the start of Mastiles Lane, a 5 mile walk over the moors to Malham Tarn . . . a
magnificent, if lonely, hike with fine views over the landscape.