Grassington, Yorkshire; one of England's most beautiful villages

Visit Grassington

Grassington is a small town in Wharfedale, north of Skipton in the Yorkshire Dales National Park of northern England.

A pretty traditional Yorkshire village, Grassington developed as a mining village. It is now focussed on tourism, and it is commonly used as a base for exploring the Wharfedale region of the Yorkshire Dales.

Explore Grassington

Centred around a large open cobbled square lined with stone houses, Grassington has a decent selection of shops, cafes, hotels and pubs in the village to prepare yourself for your excursion into the countryside - or where you can recuperate afterwards!

The buildings are all built in the local stone and gardens and pots of plants all around the village add to the charm and wandering its cobbled streets is a real pleasure.

Grassington also has a riverside location and a walk by the river or a picnic on the river's edge are also very popular.

The Upper Wharfedale Folk Museum is situated in Grassington. Exhibitions range from farming in the Dales to lead mining and period costumes.

Every year in June the Grassington Festival successfully attracts a wide range of events, artists and performers to the town, transforming the town for two weeks each June. See Grassington Festival website for details.

We were lucky enough to visit during the festival and as well as some excellent performers there was a large food tent set up in the middle of the village, some excellent art exhibitions and of course all the pubs and cafes were open and thriving!

In the run up to Christmas the village also attracts a lot of visitors as the shop owners dress in period costume to recreate a shopping experience from the Victorian era. The Dickensian Festival takes place during the first two weekends of December. Music, dancing and street entertainment is all part of the fun.

Attractions near Grassington

Kilnsey Crag is a 50 metre high cliff a little way north of Grassington

Yarnbury Lead Mine, an interesting glimpse into this historically important industry

Grass Wood, an area of ancient woodland and designated 'site of special scientific interest' is also close to Grassington

Places to Visit Nearby

Another pretty Wharfedale village nearby is Burnsall which also has a charming riverside location. The town of Skipton is an attractive town and also has a castle you can visit.G

Grassington is of course very popular with walkers and there are many walks you can do in the area. It is also popular countryside for cycling and fishing.

You can find more local travel ideas in the Yorkshire Dales guide and the North Yorkshire guide.