Bishopdale

Hotels are scarce within Bishopdale itself, since the dale is made up of small hamlets rather than a town, so most visitors looking for a hotel base themselves in one of the larger villages nearby, such as Hawes, Leyburn or Aysgarth, all within a short drive over or around the dale. These offer traditional Dales inns and small hotels with cosy bars and restaurants serving hearty, locally sourced food after a day on the fells. Staying just outside Bishopdale still puts you within easy reach of the valley's quiet lanes and footpaths, as well as the wider attractions of Wensleydale and Wharfedale. Booking ahead is worthwhile in peak walking season, from late spring through early autumn, when rooms in the more popular Dales villages fill up quickly. For those who prefer a hotel with easy access to Aysgarth Falls, Buckden Pike and Wensleydale Creamery, a base just outside Bishopdale offers the best of both convenience and the quieter valley itself. Expect period stone buildings, dales hospitality and menus built around local lamb, beef and Wensleydale cheese rather than large-scale chain hotels, which are absent from this part of the National Park.

Bishopdale rewards slow travel – walking the valley floor, exploring its hamlets, and using it as a peaceful base from which to visit the bigger-name Dales attractions nearby.

• West Burton village green – often claimed as the largest village green in the Yorkshire Dales, ringed by stone cottages and a market cross, with a waterfall just below the green on Walden Beck.
• Thoralby – a small, largely unspoilt village of stone cottages about a mile from Aysgarth, with a network of footpaths leading out onto the fell.
• Walking the Bishopdale valley floor – a network of field paths and quiet lanes links Thoralby, Newbiggin and West Burton, with views up to Stake Fell and Naughtberry Hill.
• Aysgarth Falls – a short drive down the dale, three tiered waterfalls on the River Ure set among woodland, with a National Park visitor centre.
• Buckden and Upper Wharfedale – reached over Kidstones Pass at the head of Bishopdale, a classic Dales village with popular fell walks including Buckden Pike.
• Stake Moss and Haw Lane – a high-level track above Thoralby, part of the Yorkshire Dales Celebration Way, with wide moorland views back down the dale.
• Wensleydale Creamery, Hawes – a short drive away, the working creamery and visitor centre behind Wensleydale cheese, with tastings and a shop.

Bishopdale itself has no pub, so most visitors head down the dale to Aysgarth or Leyburn, or over to Buckden and Hawes, for meals out. Hawes in particular is well known for the Wensleydale Creamery and its cheese shop, alongside a handful of traditional Dales pubs and cafes serving hearty, locally sourced food.

Bishopdale sits within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, where wild camping is not permitted without the landowner's express permission, so campers should use one of the established campsites or farm-based sites in and around the dale and neighbouring valleys rather than pitching on the open fell. The valley's terrain is a mix of enclosed pasture on the lower slopes and open heather moorland higher up towards Stake Moss and Naughtberry Hill, with ground that can stay wet well into the warmer months after Dales rain, so a properly waterproofed tent and pegs suited to thin or rocky topsoil are worth packing. Most campsites in this part of the Dales are small, family-run affairs on working farms, offering simple pitches with basic facilities, and it is well worth booking ahead in summer as availability is limited compared with more heavily visited dales such as Wharfedale or Swaledale.

The best camping season here runs from late spring to early autumn, broadly May to September, when daylight hours are longest and the fell roads over Kidstones Pass are reliably open; the shoulder months of April and October can still be rewarding for quieter, cooler camping but nights turn cold quickly at this altitude. Weather across the Dales is changeable year-round, so campers should come prepared for rain and wind even in midsummer. For those who prefer a roof over their head without giving up the outdoor feel, glamping options such as shepherd's huts, pods and safari tents are increasingly available on farms around Wensleydale and Wharfedale, offering a comfortable alternative that still puts the quiet, pastoral scenery of Bishopdale on the doorstep. Camping here suits visitors after a genuinely rural, low-key base for walking the dale and its surrounding fells, rather than an on-site activity programme.