Yorkshire Dales Itinerary for families with young children
As someone who prides herself on herself on being fairly well-travelled within the UK, I'm ashamed to say that this summer was my first venture into the Yorkshire Dales in all my 34 years! And my God, what I've been missing - for me it felt a little like an untouched Cotswolds (which I know the locals will disagree with on I'm sure - they definitely raise the odd eyebrow at the number of tourists, but maybe they haven't spent a summer Saturday trying to get parked in Bourton-on-the-Water before!).
Now I don't know about you, but nothing beats that feeling of travelling to a new place and you just know you've arrived because the landscape and the house styles change almost instantly. It's like one minute you're on a motorway and the next you're winding through country lanes, bordered either side with miles and miles of gorgeous dry stone walls and a backdrop of vast moors. You can't fail to notice you're definitely 'not in Kansas anymore'.
Lucky enough to be staying with extended family in the heart of the Dales, here's how we spent a family weekend in Yorkshire in mid-August:
Stop #1: Ilkley
Recommendation for a great pub in Ilkley
First stop en-route was lovely Ilkley, where we met family for a pint and a bite to eat at The Hermit. With gorgeous views from the outdoor terrace, The Hermit feels like the perfect Friday pub - cosy and traditional inside but with plenty of casual outdoor seating for the summer months. Reasonably priced for the Dales, the food was delicious - I opted for a chicken and quinoa salad, Oli a traditional steak and ale pie and chips (when in Yorkshire and all that) and Henry has the tomato soup. Side note, watching my brother in law tuck into the beef and halloumi burger I did have to question my salad I must admit.
Discussing supplies we'd need for the weekend we agreed that we just had to stop off at Booths in Ilkley. Some will say we couldn't resist popping in to check out our Yorkshire and Lancashire candles, reed diffusers and soaps that are stocked there, others will say we went for the fancy picky bits. Like the love child of a Waitrose and an M&S Food Hall, Booths is the perfect mix between up-market supermarket and gift shop. Proud to see our own products stocked alongside the likes of Biscuiteers and Selbrae House, we stocked up for the weekend on cured meats, ciders and some dinosaur shaped pasta for Henry.
Home for the weekend: a farmhouse in the 'middle of nowhere'
Because rural in Yorkshire really does mean rural! When you can name all of your neighbours within a 4 mile radius on one hand, you know you're in the 'middle of nowhere' - or perhaps more like 'nowhere I'd rather be'! Surrounded by the most unreal views of the moors, we're told the only disturbance from neighbours is the odd invasion of sheep from the farm next door.
Stop #2: Grassington
Just 4 miles from where we were staying, Grassington felt like something out of a story book - in fact, with a strangely aesthetic Royal Mail depot on the outskirts, we did tell Henry 'that this must be where Postman Pat lives!'
A beautiful cluster of independent shops, cafes and restaurants, we spent the morning exploring a high street we probably could have spent all day in (but if you've ever tried to mooch with a 3 year old you'll understand why we couldn't!).
For a more child-friendly activity in the Yorkshire Dales, take a walk down to the water. Head from the high street to the car park for the visitor centre (where there a public toilets - essential for anyone travelling with a newly potty-trained toddler like us) and walk down the winding lane between the beautiful quintessentially Yorkshire stone walls. Just beware, if walking with a buggy like we were, the lane is mostly single-track, so prepare for the odd hold up whilst other walkers squeeze by. It won't be long before you get to a beautiful wooden bridge overlooking the water, though I'm sure the water levels were much lower than they should have been given this summer's drought. Continue on and you'll get to the water's edge, where we had a paddle and Henry stalked some ducks. Some more organised families were enjoying a picnic on the grass across the water too. On a hot summer's day I'm sure we could have spent a whole afternoon here.
Stop #3: Skipton
For a more bustling town atmoshphere we headed to Skipton and stopped off for lunch at Walker's Bakery. With what feel like homely, traditional bakeries (the staff were so cute) in both Grassington and Skipton, it was one of those places where the longer you're there, the more you see that you want to order. Whilst waiting for our rolls (sorry, I should say cobs) we couldn't help but order a cheese and onion pasty and a proper pork pie. We resisted the desert counter but the caramel cups looked right up my street too! Next, we walked up to Skipton Castle and grabbed an ice cream from the Yorkshire Dales Ice Cream Company (this is unintentionally becoming a food blog). Whilst we didn't stay long in Skipton, we definitely would have visited more of the pubs and bars there if we were on a solo trip, and my sister and brother in law had enjoyed a peaceful, child-free pint in The Beer Engine before meeting us.
Stop #4: Burnsall
En route back to the farmhouse, it would have been rude not to pop into the Red Lion in Burnsall - if only to enjoy some of the best views we saw all weekend of course. A lovely pub in an even lovlier setting, we spent the afternoon in the beer garden, directly next to the canal watching the dogs cool off in the water. A great option for a relaxed pub atmosphere with plenty of space for the kids to run around (just be sure to keep an eye as when I say directly next to the canal, I do mean directly next to it!).
Our favourite of the stops on day two, Burnsall is super popular with locals and tourists alike, but it still feels like a place you've stumbled upon by accident. There's not much there besides the pub, an ice cream parlour and a large green where families were playing cricket - the perfect combination of activities if you ask us!
Stop #5: Kettlewell
The following day we accidentally stumbled into probably my favourite Sunday activity yet - the Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival. Running since the 90s, Kettlewell have been hosting an annual scarecrow festival which has now gained so much popularity we had to queue for the carpark, which filled an entire field on the edge of the village. Each year villagers are given two themes for their scarecrows, and honestly hats off to them for the effort they go to - we were seriosuly impressed. This year's themes were Sports or Thrillers - we chose sports and so we were given a sheet with clues to find the sports-themed scarecrows, each holding a different letter to spell out a word once we got to the end. Whilst Henry loved spotting all the different scarecrows (his favourites were Buzz Lightyear and Lilo and Stitch), the highlight for us was having an excuse to walk around every inch of the most beautiful Yorkshire Dales village. Home to a tea room, two busy pubs, a village store and a beautiful church, we also got to marvel at the gorgeous houses and perfectly manicured gardens. Kettlewell is one of those places that you visit and then run straight to Rightmove whilst mumbling "I could definitely live here." After a few hours scarecrow spotting we stopped off at the Racehorses Hotel for a drink in another lovely riverside beer garden - you are seriously spoilt for choice with good old-fashioned pubs in Yorkshire!
Stop #6: A Sunday roast in Appletreewick
And because no weekend away is complete without a trip to (yet another) pub for a roast dinner, off to Appletreewick we went! I won't lie, it did seem like everybody else within 5 miles of Appletreewick had the same idea as both pubs were BUSY! We didn't actually go into the New Inn, but from the outside it looked equally as busy as the Craven Arms.
There is a campsite in Appletreewick that I'd imagine keeps the pubs full of punters all summer long. For somewhere as busy as they were, we couldn't fault the service in the Craven Arms at all. We hadn't booked a table, and so we were prepared to be turned away or told they'd run out of roasts, but they bent over backwards to get us seated in the restaurant. However, if you've ever eaten out with an overtired toddler and baby, you'll know why I quickly panicked and told Oli we'd better just 'grab some food at home' once both started crying. The restaurant was lovely, but being so busy, and with tables of diners on all sides, I felt a little overwhelmed that our tired kids would end up ruining their time, and more likely, mine! When the manager saw us getting up he couldn't have been sweeter, reassuring us that the kids were fine and that 'we've all been children once'. Nevertheless, when I spotted a secluded picnic bench at the back of the garden I jumped at the chance to move there instead.
The food was great (beef roast dinners all around) and the service was even better, so we would definitely recommend the Craven Arms for a family friendly Sunday Roast in the Yorkshire Dales.