Where to Stay in the Yorkshire Dales: Best Bases, from a Local

Working out where to stay in the Yorkshire Dales is harder than it looks. Each dale has its own character and its own towns, and if you pick a base in the wrong one, you’ll spend your trip in the car.

I live near Leyburn in Wensleydale, and Leyburn is where I’d tell a first-time visitor to stay. This guide explains why, then covers the other good bases (Hawes, Reeth, Grassington, Malham and the Settle area) with a few places to stay in each. The places to stay named below are researched picks, not places I’ve stayed myself.

Where to Stay in the Yorkshire Dales: Bases Compared

Base	Dale	Best for
Leyburn	Wensleydale	First-timers, the villages and Wensleydale waterfalls
Hawes	Upper Wensleydale	Hardraw Force, the Wensleydale Creamery, walking
Reeth	Swaledale	Views, the Keld waterfalls, a quiet village green
Grassington	Wharfedale	The southern Dales and the new All Creatures
Malham	Malhamdale	Malham Cove, Gordale Scar, Janet’s Foss
Austwick, near Settle	South-western Dales	Walks around Ingleborough

Places to stay last checked October 2026.

1. Leyburn: Best Base for a First Visit

Leyburn is my nearest town and my pick for first-timers. It’s a proper little market town, with shops, pubs and cafés around the market place and a market every Friday. From here you’re close to Middleham and its castle, Bolton Castle, Aysgarth Falls and the villages along Wensleydale, and the Shawl, a limestone ridge just west of town, gives you big views over the dale. Leyburn also has a station on the Wensleydale Railway, a heritage line.

• In town: the Golden Lion is a pub with rooms right on the Market Place. Check availability
• Nearby, West Witton: the Wensleydale Heifer, a restaurant with themed rooms and its own fish bar. Check availability
• Nearby, Carperby: the Wheatsheaf, a village pub with rooms in mid-Wensleydale, close to Aysgarth Falls and Bolton Castle. Check availability

Or see all places to stay in and around Leyburn. If you’re planning to see the falls, my guide to the Yorkshire Dales waterfalls starts right on Leyburn’s doorstep, and my Yorkshire Dales itinerary uses Leyburn as its base.

2. Hawes and Askrigg: Upper Wensleydale

Hawes is a working market town at the top of Wensleydale, with a market on Tuesdays and the Wensleydale Creamery on the edge of town. It’s the closest town to Hardraw Force. Stay here if you want to walk in the high fells or drive over to Swaledale.

• Simonstone Hall, just outside Hawes, is a country house hotel with views over Wensleydale, log fires and dog-friendly rooms. Check availability
• The Kings Arms, Askrigg, a former coaching inn from 1760 with 11 en-suite rooms, known to All Creatures Great and Small fans as the Drovers. Check availability

Or see all places to stay in Hawes.

3. Reeth: Swaledale

Reeth sits where Swaledale meets Arkengarthdale, around a big village green with three pubs. If a friend visits, the view from Reeth is the one I show them first. It’s the base I’d choose for the Keld waterfalls at the top of the dale.

• The Burgoyne, a country house hotel overlooking the village green. Check availability

Or see all places to stay in Reeth.

4. Grassington: Wharfedale

Grassington is the southern Dales village most visitors have heard of, as it plays Darrowby in the Channel 5 series of All Creatures Great and Small. I know it less well than my own dale, so this is a researched pick, but it’s a good base for Wharfedale, and bus 72 runs daily from Skipton.

• Grassington House, a hotel and restaurant on the village Square. Check availability

Or see all places to stay in Grassington.

5. Malham: for the Limestone Scenery

Malham is a small village with three of the Dales’ big sights on its doorstep: Malham Cove, Gordale Scar and Janet’s Foss. Stay here if walking is the main point of your trip.

• The Lister Arms, an inn in the village, close to Malham Cove. Check availability

6. Austwick, near Settle: the South-Western Dales

On the south-western edge of the Dales, the villages around Settle suit walkers, with Ingleborough and its limestone country close by.

• The Traddock, a boutique country house hotel in Austwick, well placed for walks around Ingleborough. Check availability

Or see all places to stay around Settle.

Hotel, Pub or Cottage?

As you can see from the picks above, a lot of Dales accommodation is pubs with rooms and small country house hotels, alongside B&Bs and holiday cottages. For a short stay, a pub with rooms means dinner and a drink downstairs and no driving afterwards. For a week or more, a cottage gives you more space and a kitchen.

Tips for Choosing Where to Stay

• Bring a car, or choose a bus town. Buses do run in the Dales, but services are limited. Leyburn, Hawes, Reeth and Grassington all have buses. Compare car hire on Booking.com.
• Stay in one dale at a time. If you have a week, split it between two bases (say, Leyburn and Grassington) instead of driving across the national park every day.
• Check parking. Parking in the villages is usually paid, so ask whether your accommodation has its own.
• Don’t count on phone signal. It’s terrible in much of the Dales, so download your booking details and offline maps before you arrive.
• Sundays are quiet. Many shops and cafés open short hours on Sundays, if at all, so book dinner ahead.
• Coming in winter? Pick a town where you can walk to dinner, so you’re not driving icy lanes after dark. See my guide to the Yorkshire Dales in winter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best town to stay in the Yorkshire Dales?

For a first visit with a car, I’d pick Leyburn in Wensleydale. Hawes is better for upper Wensleydale, Reeth for Swaledale, and Grassington or Malham for the southern Dales.

Where should I stay in the Yorkshire Dales without a car?

Choose a town with buses, like Leyburn, Hawes, Reeth or Grassington, and check timetables on DalesBus before you book. Services are limited, especially on Sundays.

Is it better to stay in Harrogate or York and visit the Dales?

It works for a single day trip, but if the Dales are the main reason for your trip, stay in the Dales. You’ll spend far less time driving. If you do want a city base, see my guides to where to stay in Harrogate and where to stay in York.

How many nights do you need in the Yorkshire Dales?

I’d suggest three to five nights, with a car. That gives you time for Wensleydale, Swaledale and a day in the southern Dales.

Plan the Rest of Your Trip

• Decide which villages to see with my guide to the Yorkshire Dales villages.
• Add the best falls from my guide to the Yorkshire Dales waterfalls.
• Start with my Yorkshire Dales guide and Plan your Yorkshire trip.