Settle

Settle makes a practical, well-connected base for exploring the southern Yorkshire Dales, with the advantage of its own railway station on the scenic Settle-Carlisle line. The town itself has a handful of traditional inns and B&Bs around the market square and along the roads leading out towards Langcliffe and Giggleswick, many in stone buildings that are part of the town's historic core. For those wanting a quieter base, the surrounding villages of Stainforth, Horton-in-Ribblesdale and Austwick offer farmhouse B&Bs and small inns within a few miles, closer to the start points for the Yorkshire Three Peaks and the limestone scenery around Malham.

Self-catering cottages are plentiful across Ribblesdale, ranging from converted barns and farm buildings to terraced cottages in Settle itself, and tend to suit walkers, cyclists and families wanting flexibility after days out on the fells. Booking ahead is strongly advised for spring and summer weekends, when the town fills with Three Peaks walkers and cyclists tackling the surrounding routes, and again during the autumn when the Dales draw visitors for the changing colours. Prices and availability tighten noticeably around bank holidays and the Yorkshire Three Peaks charity walking season. Whatever the choice, Settle's compact centre means most accommodation is within easy walking distance of the station, market square, shops and pubs, making a car useful for reaching the wider Dales but not essential for exploring the town itself.

Settle rewards a slow wander as much as a day trip into the surrounding fells. Highlights include:

• Castleberg Rock - a limestone crag right above the town centre, reached by a short, steep path, with panoramic views over Settle's rooftops and the Ribble valley beyond.
• The Folly and Museum of North Craven Life - a striking 17th-century Grade I listed merchant's house on Church Street, now home to a museum covering the archaeology, geology and social history of the Craven district.
• Gallery on the Green - a tiny converted telephone kiosk on the green, reputed to be one of the smallest art galleries anywhere, showing work by local artists.
• Settle-Carlisle Railway - one of England's most scenic lines, opened in 1876 after a brutal six-year construction that cost over a hundred lives; a short ride north takes in the Ribblehead Viaduct and the high fells around Blea Moor.
• Ribblehead Viaduct - around nine miles north of Settle, this 24-arch limestone viaduct carries the railway 104ft above the moor beneath Whernside and is one of the most photographed structures in the Dales.
• Malham Cove and Gordale Scar - a short drive or a good day's walk away, this dramatic limestone amphitheatre and adjoining ravine, with cliffs up to 330ft high, are among the most spectacular natural features in the national park.
• Settle Tuesday Market - stalls selling local produce, baked goods, fish, crafts and household goods have gathered in the market square every Tuesday for centuries.

Ye Olde Naked Man Cafe, a bakery and cafe occupying a building dating to 1663 on the market square, is Settle's best-known spot for breakfasts, sandwiches and home-baked cakes. The town's independent shops include a traditional butcher and greengrocer, useful for self-catering stays, while several pubs around the square and along Duke Street serve as evening gathering points for locals, walkers and cyclists finishing a day on the Three Peaks routes.

Settle sits at the southern edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, where the gentler pastures of Ribblesdale give way to the limestone uplands of Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside, and the ground underfoot shifts quickly from valley meadow to exposed karst scenery of scars, potholes and dry-stone-walled fell. It is classic Dales camping country: campsites here tend to be small, farm-based sites rather than large holiday parks, often with direct access onto the Ribble Way or Three Peaks routes, and views towards the distinctive flat-topped hills that define this corner of the national park.

Weather in the Dales is changeable at any time of year and can turn quickly on the higher ground, so it is worth packing for rain and wind even in summer; the exposed limestone plateaus around Malham and the Three Peaks are notably more exposed than the sheltered valley floor around Settle itself. As with the rest of England, wild camping is not legal here without the landowner's permission - this differs from the more permissive access rules in Scotland - so pitching up on open fell or common land without asking first is technically trespass, even though enforcement in remote areas can be inconsistent. Farmers and the National Park Authority generally ask that anyone wanting to camp off an official site seeks permission first, and campsites remain the reliable, welcomed option.

May to September is the most comfortable and driest window for camping around Settle, with long daylight hours well suited to the area's popular walking routes, though midweek in June and September tends to be quieter than peak school-holiday weeks. For those who prefer a roof over a tent, glamping options in Ribblesdale and neighbouring valleys - shepherd's huts, pods and static bell tents on working farms - have grown steadily in recent years, offering a comfortable way to experience the same fell-edge scenery without needing full camping kit.