Yorkshire Tourist Guide - Articles

In 1954 an area of 1,770 km² was designated the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Most of the National Park is in North Yorkshire, but thanks to local government reforms in 1974 a small part now lies in Cumbria. The park is 50 miles north east of Manchester; Leeds and Bradford lie to the south, while Kendal is to the west and Darlington to the east.

Over 20,000 residents live and work in the park, which attracts over eight million visitors every year. The area has a large collection of activities for visitors. For example, many people come to the "Dales" for walking or exercise. The National Park is crossed by several long-distance routes including the Pennine Way, the Dales Way, the Coast to Coast Path and the latest national trail - the Pennine Bridleway. Cycling is also popular and there are several cycleways.

The Park has its own museum, the Dales Countryside Museum, housed in a conversion of the Hawes railway station in Wensleydale in the north of the Park. The park has 5 visitor centres located in major destinations in the park. These are at:

Aysgarth Falls
Grassington
Hawes
Malham
Reeth


Other places and sights within the National Park include:

Clapham
Cautley Spout waterfall
Gaping Gill
Hardraw Force
Horton in Ribblesdale
Kisdon Force waterfall in Swaledale
Sedbergh
Settle
The Yorkshire three peaks