Destination...: ...Yorkshire Dales

What a marvelous island this is. We really do have some truly stunning places to visit. The Yorkshire Dales is certainly one of the prettiest places to spend your time. I have had many a holiday up in the Dales and I would certainly recommend you stay in the Leyburn area, as you are well placed to explore the Dales and all the activities it has to offer. In early May, there is a food festival which is certainly worth attending and in the late spring you start to get a lot of the agricultural shows which can be thoroughly entertaining. A couple of years ago we went to the Reeth Show and had a great day out. If you have kids, they’ll love it too.

Water Fall in West Burton - frozen in winter

So what can you do in the Dales? Well, what do you like doing? You can do it all up there! Ripon is worth visiting as is Harrogate. It’s mainly shopping but you do get to go to Betty’s in Harrogate and Ripon has a great cathedral and a very good restaurant called the Deanery.

Closer to Leyburn there are a couple of castles worth looking at, Bolton castle and the one in Middleham. If you have kids, try taking

Castle Bolton

them to the Forbidden Corner. If you have larger kids, take them to aerial extreme in Bedale. There are some trout fisheries if you like fishing and if you like beer, there is the Black Sheep Brewery in Masham. But walking is probably the most popular pastime of visitors to the dales and I can recommend the trails at Malham tarn and any starting from Askrigg.

Where to stay:

Semerwater - Close to Askrigg

Several good golf courses too!

We always stay at The Mill in West Burton or at the Shippon in Askrigg. They are both owned by the same people and have always had excellent service. The Mill is a lovely place for a couple. It’s a flat in a converted water Mill, right by a stunning waterfall. The village itself is picture postcard pretty and has a fairly decent pub for food. The butcher there is very good. Amazing black pudding. Askrigg is a more typical village, with several pubs and shops. I prefer the Kings Arms, who do a good food menu. The Shippon, in Askrigg, is a good place to go with friends as it has a second bedroom. It also has an outdoor space for a BBQ in the summer and indoors is a cosy coal burner for the colder winter nights.

Reeth - Great ice cream parlour here. Enjoy with the views

Where to eat:

Ok. I’m going to have to be selective here, as i’ve eaten a lot of places up here. The Yorkshires sure know how to cook!

Blue Lion. Even Jamie Oliver raves about
this place. Oh and Prince Charles Too!

You must try the blue Lion at East Witton. Prince Charles dines there and I can confirm the food is brilliant. The menu can vary quite a lot and it can be hard to choose. We’ve even been known to go for lunch and just have a starter and a pudding and coffees. Just as a light bite. You can eat in the bar area, which is nice enough. Big fire! Or there are dining rooms which are dimly lit can add a very grand feeling to the dining experience, with the pub being such an old building.

The Deanery in Ripon is also worth a visit. Opposite the Cathedral, this grand building is also a hotel but the food is what you’d go here for. In the past i’ve had a variety of meals here, with a cassoulet being a particularly memorable dish. after dinner brandy’s are served in particularly large balloons.

The Deanery

The Wensleydale Heifer is up there too. This is predominantly a fish restaurant. but the meat here is pretty damn good too! They do an early bird menu which is worth doing if you can as like the other two places, it’s not the cheapest. The battered fish and chips is a good option if you’re feeling ravenously hungry. It’s big and you can get a whopper sized portion too! The atmosphere is not as good as at the Blue Lion.... you can see where my heart lies!

If you’re heading out towards Richmond, there’s a cracking pub in Downholme called the Bolton Arms. It used to be owned by the Queen... tenuously. However, today it is more famous for its Kleftico. You can read a fairly accurate description about it here. The pub itself really isn't anything special to look at. But the food is actually pretty remarkable. I've been here several times and it always amazes me just how good it is. My partner always want’s to go back and she really is a stickler for pretty surroundings. I suppose it’s a proper old fashioned Yorkshire experience.

Another Bolton Arms in Redmire is also worth a visit if you’re not looking to bust the bank and the Kings in Askrigg is worth checking out too. Great steaks here. If you fancy a night in after a long day walking, find out when the chip van visits. The mobile chip van probably does the best chip shop chips ever. If you want haddock, don't be afraid to yell that out as soon as he arrives. These fish and chips are seriously good. Closely rivaled by Friar Tucks in Leyburn. We sometimes get some Friar Tucks and quickly drive to the car park at Castle Bolton and enjoy them with a view!