Buckden
- Not to be confused with Buckden, a village near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire..
Buckden is a village in North Yorkshire, near the head of Wharfedale, with a population of 174 in 2021. Other settlements in the valley described here are Kettlewell, Starbotton, Hubberholme and Cray. Places south downstream are described as part of Grassington.
The River Wharfe carves out one of the Yorkshire Dales. It forms by a confluence of streams 5 miles west of Buckden: this valley is known as Langstrothdale. At Buckden it's joined by streams from the Pike and turns south to Kettlewell and Grassington, where the valley broadens out. This area had lead mining in the 18th / 19th century but is now quiet farmland.
Get in
[edit]
By road follow B6160 north from Bolton Abbey. It continues over the moors to come into Wensleydale and join A684 near Aysgarth. A side lane west from Buckden ascends Langstrothdale to link up with the Horton-Hawes road. The moorland roads may be snowbound in winter.
Upper Wharfedale Bus 72B runs from Grassington via Kettlewell to Buckden, with four M-Sa. Grassington has hourly buses from Skipton.
On Sundays May-Oct Dales Bus 874 from Wetherby, 875 from York and 876 from Leeds run via Ilkley to Grassington, Buckden and Hawes.
Buses turn around at the Buck Inn in Buckden, and no public transport crosses the moors beyond.
Get around
[edit]You need wheels to get anywhere.
See
[edit]
- Hubberholme is centred on George Inn (below), which was originally the vicarage. St Michael and All Angels Church is Norman, and the ashes of playwright JB Priestley (1894 – 1984) lie there.
- 1 Middle Falls are a cascade above the village of Cray, where the venerable pub has closed down.
- 2 Buckden Pike
is a summit of 2303 ft / 702 m, with several approach paths. South of the summit is a memorial cross studded with fragments of the Wellington bomber that crashed here in 1942. The crew were six Polish airmen on a training flight lost in a blizzard. Four were killed instantly, the tail gunner dragged himself down to Cray by following a fox track, knowing it would seek food at a farmhouse. He survived, but the sixth crewman died on scene before help could arrive. - 3 Great Whernside at 2310 ft / 704 m edges Buckden Pike. It's 3 miles east of Kettlewell, an hour's hike each way. "Whern" means quern or grinding stone, as its millstone bedrock is ideal for making them. Not to be confused with Whernside 17 miles west, one of the "Three Peaks" above Horton-in-Ribblesdale.
Do
[edit]
- Maps: use OS Landranger (scale 1:50,000) Map 98 for Upper Wharfedale.
- Dales Way is 80 miles / 128 km from Ilkley to Bowness-on-Windermere. The local section is up the valley from Grassington to Starbotton, Kettlewell and Buckden, then west over the moors into Lonsdale.
- Buckden - Cray - Hubberholme is an easy low-level triangle when higher routes are blown out by the weather.
- Buckden Pike can be done as a 7 mile triangle via Starbotton.
Buy
[edit]For self-catering and camping, stock up at the supermarkets in Skipton.
Kettlewell village store is on Middle Lane, open M-Sa 8:30AM-4:30PM, Su 8:30-11:30AM.
Buckden village store has closed down.
Eat
[edit]No free-standing restaurants, but the pubs serve hearty meals for hikers.
Drink
[edit]Head for the pubs.
Sleep
[edit]
- 1 The Buck Inn, Buckden BD23 5JA, ☏ +44 1756 761933. Reliable choice for accommodation and food. B&B double £110.
- West Winds Cottage is a B&B just north of Buck Inn.
- Romany Cottage is a B&B on the road 50 yards north of Buck Inn.
- Buckden Camping, Heber Farm BD23 5JA (100 yards west of village), ☏ +44 1756 760304. Camping pods and pitches for tents and campervans. Pitches £20, pod £55.
- Redmires Farm offers B&B on Dubb's Lane half a mile west of the village.
- 2 George Inn, Dubb's Lane, Hubberholme BD23 5JE, ☏ +44 1756 760223. Grand trad pub for food and rooms. B&B double £125.
- 3 Fox & Hounds, Starbotton BD23 5HY, ☏ +44 1756 760269. Comfy pub with good food. B&B double £130.
- Cleveliot House is a B&B 50 yards north of Fox & Hounds.
- Sweetbriar Cottage is a B&B just north of Cleveliot House.
- 4 The King's Head, The Green, Kettlewell BD23 5RD, ☏ +44 1756 860086. Good pub lodgings in Kettlewell village, open Mar-Oct.
- Kettlewell Hostel is on Far Lane, 100 yards north of King's Head.
- Blue Bell Inn is west end of Kettlewell at the end of Middle Lane.
- Racehorses Hotel is opposite Blue Bell Inn on the main road.
- Wharfe Camp a quarter mile north of the village has pitches, hook-ups and pods, adults only.
- Kettlewell Camping is south edge of the village on Conistone Lane, open March-Oct.
Connect
[edit]As of Oct 2025, Buckden and its approach roads have a patchy mobile signal from EE, O2 and Vodafone, but nothing from Three.
Go next
[edit]- Grassington is a larger village 11 miles south down the valley.
- Skipton 8 miles further south is a pleasant market town with a castle and canal.