Pateley Bridge

Pateley Bridge’s long, narrow main street has attractive shops, a couple of pubs, cafés, and a visitor centre. Along King Street in a building which once housed the former workhouse, you’ll find the outstanding Nidderdale Museum, rich in artefacts which illuminate the past social and industrial life of the Dales.

An hourly (approx. every two hours on Sundays) bus service from Harrogate and Ripley via Hampsthwaite, Birstwith, Dacre and Summerbridge links the villages of Nidderdale and provides some attractive linear walks along Nidderdale Way and other routes.

From Low Laithe near Summerbridge you can walk to Brimham Rocks with its fantastic wind sculptured crags. Return to Pateley Bridge on the Nidderdale Way via White Houses and Blazefield.

Another popular route is to Ramsgill and Lofthouse along the line of the former Nidd Valley Light Railway, or up to the ruined church of St Mary’s above Ripley Bank and via Knott to the disused Scot Bank quarries.

Other routes lead via Glasshouses to Guisecliffe Wood up to Yorke’s Folly, to Sun Side and Ashfold Side, two narrow tributary valleys dominated by their extensive lead mining remains. Alternatively you can walk as far as Greenhow with its evocative church.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden is also a nearby attraction.

Bus times can be checked on the Dalesbus website.

Local services: toilets, accommodation, cafes, pubs, shops, tourist information centre