Austwick

Austwick sits quietly on the western fringe of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, a cluster of stone cottages and green becks about five miles northwest of Settle. Cottages here were built from stone hauled out of local quarries, and the village still gathers around a scatter of small greens and a beck that runs through its centre. It is an old place: the Domesday Book recorded a dozen manors in the area back in 1086, and archaeologists have turned up evidence of Bronze and Iron Age settlement on the surrounding fells, long before the weavers who later gave the village its steady trade for several centuries.

What draws most visitors today is the landscape rising up behind the rooftops. Around a quarter of Austwick's parish is open, uncut moorland, and the village is ringed by the pale limestone scenery the Dales are famous for — scars, pavements and dry valleys carved out since the last ice age. Ingleborough, one of Yorkshire's Three Peaks, looms to the east, and the walking straight from the village is some of the best low-key hiking in the National Park, with barely any need for a car once you arrive.

Top things to do in Austwick

Austwick rewards walkers more than any other type of visitor, though there is enough packed into the village itself to justify a slower look around too. Here is where to start.

• The Norber Erratics — a hillside scattered with dark, out-of-place boulders of Silurian rock, carried here by glaciers and left balanced on plinths of paler limestone as the softer rock eroded around them; an easy, well-signed walk up from the village.
• Crummackdale — the quiet valley beyond Austwick, threading between limestone scars and old lead-mining remains, popular with walkers looking for a longer loop away from the crowds.
• Ingleborough — one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, reachable on foot from Austwick via Clapham or Crummackdale, with a summit plateau that was once an Iron Age hillfort.
• Limestone pavement scenery — the exposed, fissured rock terraces around Moughton Scar and Thwaite Scars, some of the best examples of this rare habitat in England.
• Austwick village itself — a wander past the stone cottages, village greens and the beck that runs through the centre, with several original ducking stones and other reminders of its long history still dotted about.
• Ingleborough Cave, Clapham — a show cave a short walk or drive away, with guided tours through dramatically lit chambers of stalactites and stalagmites.
• Settle — the nearest market town, five miles off, with independent shops, cafes and the start of the famous Settle–Carlisle railway line.

Getting to Austwick

Austwick lies just off the B6480 between Settle and Clapham, roughly five miles from Settle and within easy reach of the A65. There is no railway station in the village itself, but Settle and Giggleswick stations sit on the scenic Settle–Carlisle line, while Bentham station on the Leeds–Morecambe line is a similar distance in the other direction. From either, a local bus run by Kirkby Lonsdale Coaches connects to Austwick, though services are infrequent, so most visitors find a car the more practical option, particularly for reaching the surrounding walks and villages.

Best time to visit Austwick

Late spring through to early autumn is the easiest time to visit, when the fell paths are driest and the days long enough for a full walk up to the Norber Erratics or over towards Ingleborough. Summer brings the busiest weekends, especially around the Three Peaks routes, so early starts help avoid the crowds. Autumn colours the becks and hedgerows and often brings clearer long-distance views, while winter can be atmospheric but demands proper preparation, since the limestone paths turn slick and the higher fells see snow and exposed winds.

Where to stay in Austwick

Accommodation in the village is small-scale and characterful, running from period cottages and farmhouse B&Bs to a handful of rooms above its pubs. Austwick Hall, a historic manor house on the edge of the village, offers a grander stay set in its own gardens, while self-catering cottages built from the same local stone as the rest of the village are popular with walking groups. Nearby Settle and Clapham widen the choice considerably if Austwick itself is booked up, both within easy driving distance of the fells.

Food and drink in Austwick

The Game Cock Inn anchors village life, a stone-built pub known for its French-inflected menu, in-house bakery and log fires, alongside a changing line-up of local ales. The Traddock, a small country house hotel on the green, runs a well-regarded restaurant and cafe open to non-residents, making it a popular stop for walkers coming down off the fells. Beyond the village, Settle and Clapham offer a wider spread of cafes, tearooms and pubs for those exploring further afield.