Raydale

Hotel choice directly in Raydale is limited, reflecting its status as one of the smallest and quietest valleys in the Yorkshire Dales. What accommodation there is tends to be traditional: farmhouse bed and breakfasts, small guesthouses, and self-catering cottages scattered around Countersett, Marsett and Stalling Busk, often run by families who have farmed the dale for generations. For a wider choice of proper hotels and inns, Bainbridge at the mouth of the dale is the obvious first stop, with the Rose and Crown offering rooms alongside its bar and restaurant. A short drive further up Wensleydale, Hawes and Askrigg both have a good spread of hotels, coaching inns and boutique stays, many with views over the dale and easy access to walking routes.

Booking ahead is sensible at almost any time of year, since the number of beds in and around Raydale is genuinely small, and demand from walkers and cyclists using the surrounding National Park can be high in the summer months. Those wanting to stay closest to Semer Water itself should look at Countersett or Stalling Busk; for more choice of restaurants, bars and shops in the evening, Hawes makes a practical base with Raydale as a day-trip destination.

Raydale rewards slow travel: walking, watching wildlife, and taking in views that get relatively few visitors compared with the honeypots elsewhere in the National Park.

• Semer Water — Yorkshire's second-largest natural lake, ringed by fells and known for its clear water, native white-clawed crayfish, and a striking show of yellow water-lily flowers in July.
• Semer Water circular walk — a popular low-level route around the lake and up towards Stalling Busk, taking in the ruined old chapel above the water and wide views back down Raydale.
• Bainbridge village and the Forest Horn — at the mouth of the dale, Bainbridge sits on the site of the Roman fort of Virosidum; the Rose and Crown pub still keeps up the ancient custom of sounding the Bainbridge Horn nightly through the autumn and winter months.
• Countersett and Marsett — two of the quietest hamlets in the Dales, both good bases for exploring the surrounding fellside on foot or by bike.
• Wensleydale Creamery, Hawes — a short drive up the dale, the working creamery and visitor centre tells the story of Wensleydale cheese, with tastings and a shop.
• Aysgarth Falls — a triple set of limestone waterfalls on the River Ure, one of Wensleydale's best-known sights and within easy reach by car.
• Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes — housed in the town's old railway station, covering the history and traditions of Wensleydale and the wider National Park.

The Rose and Crown in Bainbridge is the natural focal point for food and drink at the mouth of the dale, a traditional Dales coaching inn serving pub meals. Options within Raydale itself are limited, so most visitors combine a stay here with trips into Hawes, where Wensleydale Creamery's shop and café sell the local cheese, or Askrigg and Aysgarth, both of which have well-regarded pubs serving Dales produce.

Camping around Raydale means camping properly: on a recognised site, with the landowner's permission, since wild camping without consent remains illegal in England and Wales. That said, the dale is well suited to a tent, with a small campsite near Semer Water itself offering pitches within walking distance of the lake, along with other options around Bainbridge and further up Wensleydale towards Hawes. Facilities on the more remote sites can be basic, so it is worth checking what is provided, particularly around water, showers and mobile signal, before setting off.

The terrain here is classic Yorkshire Dales: open fell above the dale, drystone-walled pasture lower down, and the lake itself sitting in a natural bowl surrounded by hills. It is exposed ground, and weather can turn quickly even in summer, so a good four-season tent and proper waterproofs are worth having whatever the forecast says at the campsite gate. Midges can be an issue by the water on still summer evenings.

Late spring to early autumn is the most reliable camping season, when daylight hours are long and the hay meadows and lakeside paths are at their best; the water-lilies on Semer Water flower in July, making a midsummer visit particularly rewarding. Outside these months, nights lengthen and turn cold quickly this far north, and some smaller sites reduce services or close altogether over winter.

For those who would rather leave the tent poles at home, glamping pods, shepherd's huts and static caravans are available at sites around Semer Water and Bainbridge, offering a similar sense of being out in the dale with rather more comfort. These tend to book up well in advance for the summer holidays, so early planning pays off for anyone set on a stay by the lake itself.