Hawes is a town in North Yorkshire in the Yorkshire Dales in Wensleydale on the River Ure. It is on the Pennine Way footpath and has two waterfalls. Wensleydale Creamery makes Wensleydale Cheese made famous by Wallace of Wallace and Gromit a British claymation comedy.

Get in

By bus

Bus connection with Garsdale Head on the Settle to Carlisle railway. Bus from Leyburn. Dales and district bus 156/157 from Bedale via Leyburn.

By foot

Hawes is on the Pennine Way between Horton-in-Ribblesdale and Keld.

Get around

Car based Dales explorers have grand if steep and narrow, roads to Swaledale and Wharfedale.

See

• 1 Dales Countryside Museum, Station Yard, DL8 3NT. Museum run by the National Park Authority in the former Victorian railway station. Adults £4.80. (updated Nov 2020)

• 2 Gayle Mill (very close on the main road down Wensleydale.).  

• 3 High Clint. A limestone edge on the southern shoulder of Lovely Seat, just above Sedbusk. (updated Feb 2021)

Waterfalls

• 4 Aysgill Force, Beggarmans Rd, DL8 3SF. on Gayles Beck that flows into the River Are (updated Feb 2021)

• 5 Hardraw Force, Hardraw, Leyburn, DL8 3LZ, ☏ +44 1969 667 572. 10AM-5PM. England's highest single drop waterfall. (updated Feb 2021)

As seen on screen

• Cheese Made in Great Britain Series 1, BBC2. Shows how Wensleydale Cheese is made throughout history and Wensleydale Creamery. (updated Feb 2021)

Do

The home of Wensleydale Cheese has a visitor centre with a shop, coffee shop and restaurant 1 Wensleydale Creamery, Wensleydale Creamery, Gayle Ln, Wensleydale, DL8 3RN. Wensleydale Cheese is a crumbly hard cheese. (updated Nov 2020)

• 2 Wensleydale Creamery Museum. (updated Feb 2021)
• 3 Calvert's Restaurant, ☏ +44 1969 667 664. (updated Feb 2021)
• 4 1897 Coffee Shop. (updated Feb 2021)

Try to get to 5 Great Shunner Fell, DL11 6LR (North of Hawes on the Pennine Way). 2,349 ft (716 m) high (updated Feb 2021)

Buy

Some good antiques.

• The market is on Tuesdays

• 1 Outhwaite Ropemakers. See rope being made in the factory which has a 100ft ropewalk, then buy some rope or a dog lead in the shop.  

Eat

• 1 The Chippie, Market Pl, DL8 3QX, ☏ +44 1969 667 663. W Th 5-7:30PM; F Sa 11:30AM-2PM, 5-8PM; closed Su-Tu. (updated Feb 2021)

• 2 Spar. Small grocer (updated Nov 2020)

Drink

• 1 Rose & Crown Hotel, Bainbridge, DL8 3FD (faces Bainbridge Green), ☏ +44 1969 650 225. Black Sheep and Theakston (updated Feb 2021)

• 2 The White Hart Inn, Main St, DL8 3QL, ☏ +44 1969 667 214. (updated Feb 2021)

• 3 Cornmill Tea Room, Newkin, Bainbridge, DL8 3EH, ☏ +44 1969 650 769. (updated Feb 2021)

Sleep

• 1 YHA Hawes, Lancaster Terrace, Turfy Hill, ☏ +44 845 371 9120. 

• 2 The Crown Hotel, Market Pl, ☏ +44 1969 667212. (updated Nov 2020)

• 3 Low Mill Guest House, Bainbridge, Leyburn DL8 3EF, ☏ +44 1969 650553. Just 3 bedrooms in this functioning 18th century watermill, a lovely quirky place. Mostly B&B but serves excellent dinners 2 or 3 nights a week. No children under 15. B&B double £110. (updated Jul 2020)

• 4 Yorebridge House, Bainbridge DL8 3EE, ☏ +44 1969 652060. Grade II Upscale stylish hotel in Victorian schoolhouse, eclectic decor, great dining. B&B double £220. (updated Aug 2020)

Connect

As of March 2024, Hawes and its approach roads have 4G from EE, Three and Vodafone but no signal from O2. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

• South east to Grassington 22.5 mi (36.2 km) via B6160 through the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park
• South to Settle 22 mi (35 km) via B6255 and B6479 passing the Ribblehead Viaduct and between the 3 peaks
• West to Kendal 26.7 mi (43.0 km) via A684

Routes through Hawes

Edale ← Malham ←

S  N

→ Keld → Kirk Yetholm