Settle

Settle is a village in North Yorkshire in the Yorkshire Dales, with a population of 2714 in 2021.

Understand

Visitor information

• Visit Settle by Vibrant Settle Community Partnership.
• Settle Town Council.

Get in

Trains from Leeds run every couple of hours, and take an hour to Settle via Shipley, Bingley, Keighley, Skipton, Gargrave, Hellifield and Long Preston. They continue to Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Ribblehead, Dent, Garsdale, Kirkby Stephen, Appleby, Langwathby, Lazonby, Armathwaite and Carlisle, another 1 hr 40 min. Carlisle is on the London Euston - Preston - Glasgow main line.

1 Settle railway station is central in the village, and has a staffed ticket office and machines. The waiting room is closed until further notice but the toilets are open. There is step free access to Platform 1 towards Leeds. Platform 2 towards Carlisle is reached by a footbridge with no lift, and the level crossing can only be used during staffed hours.

See below for the museum in the old station signal box. Heritage trains sometimes run up this line and make a brief halt, then continue to Ribblehead viaduct and Appleby.

Another service from Leeds diverges at Long Preston and stops at Giggleswick every two hours. These trains continue to Clapham, Bentham, Wennington, Carnforth, Lancaster and Morecambe.

2 Giggleswick railway station is a mile west of Settle on Brackenber Lane. It's just an unstaffed halt with no toilets, waiting room, ticket office or machines, buy on board or at Settle if your journey starts here. There is step-free access to Platform 1 towards Leeds, but a barrow-crossing to reach Platform 2 towards Lancaster.

Kirkby Lonsdale Bus 580 runs hourly M-F from Skipton, and takes 40 min via Gargrave, Hellifield and Long Preston. Bus 581 runs M-Sa hourly from Kirkby Lonsdale, and takes 40 min via Ingleton, Clapham, Austwick and Giggleswick. Buses make several stops in Settle and turn around in the marketplace.

Dales Bus 11 runs M-Sa every two hours from Clitheroe, taking 80 min via Whitewell, Dunsop Bridge, Slaidburn, Tosside, Wigglesworth and Giggleswick, and continuing to Langcliffe, Stainforth and Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

By road follow A65 from Leeds northwest past Skipton, then B6480 the bypassed old loop of road through the village. These roads are congested on fine summer weekends.

Get around

"Settle is the capital of an isolated little kingdom of its own surrounded by barren hills" according to Daniel Defoe (1660-1731)

You need wheels to explore the Dales and reach the trailheads.

Settle Taxi (☏ +44 1729 824824) is erratic, it's a one-man-show covering a scattered area.

See

Settle Station Signal Box

• 1 Town Hall stands on Market Square in village centre. Completed in 1832, it housed the local government until this merged into Craven District in 1974. It's now mixed use.
• 2 Museum of North Craven Life, The Folly, Victoria St, Settle BD24 9EY, ☏ +44 1729 825185. April-Oct Tu-Su 11AM-4PM. Mansion built in the 1670s containing an informative local history museum. (updated Mar 2024)
• Settle Station Signal Box, Settle BD24 9AA (south end of station car park). Sa 10AM-4PM. Volunteer-run museum in a timber signal box built in 1891 and closed in 1984. The box was moved 150 yards to its present position in 1997, straddling flat-bed trolleys on both lines and shoved by volunteers. Ten of the lever mechanisms have been restored and you can have a go at pulling these and see the adjacent signals change. These are not on the operational line so you can't divert the Carlisle-bound train to Morecambe or vice versa. Donation. (updated Mar 2024)
• 3 Victoria Cave, Langcliffe Scar. This was discovered on the day of Queen Victoria's accession in 1837, and contained 130,000 year old mammal fossils. It's not a show cave, enter at your own risk. (updated Mar 2024)
• 4 The Listening Gallery, Duke St. 24 hours. An old red phone box has been converted into an audio gallery. You dial a number to listed to an audio track on the phone. free, donations welcome. (updated Mar 2024)
• 5 Gallery On The Green, The Green, Upper Settle, BD24 9HG. summer only. An art gallery in an old red phone box, used for temporary exhibitions. (updated Mar 2024)

Do

• 1 Victoria Hall, Kirkgate BD24 9DZ, ☏ +44 1729 825718. Concert hall built in 1852, which now shows drama, comedy, music and films. (updated Mar 2024)
• Castleberg is the limestone crag east of the village, a 15 minute ascent.
• Golf: Settle & Giggleswick GC is two miles northwest on B6480. It's nine holes, twice around off white tees is 5988 yards, par 70.
• Yorkshire Festival of Story is held in November in Settle, Skipton and online.

Buy

Shop on the Market Place

• Settle Market is held Tu 9AM-4PM in the square by Town Hall. Settle was granted a market charter by Henry III in 1249.
• Co-op Food in market square is open daily 7AM-10PM.
• 1 Courtyard Dairy, Crows Nest Barn, Austwick LA2 8AS, ☏ +44 1729 823291. Daily 9:30AM-5:30PM. Excellent cheese shop with wide-ranging stock. (updated Mar 2024)

Eat

• Ye Olde Naked Man, 2 Market Place BD24 9ED (opposite Town Hall), ☏ +44 1729 823230. Daily 9AM–5PM. Reliable bakery and café, filling portions. (updated Mar 2024)
• The Fisherman, 16 Church St BD24 9JE (just north of Market Square), ☏ +44 1729 823297. Daily 11:30AM-9PM. Quality fish & chips and pies, dine in or takeaway. (updated Mar 2024)
• Others around the square include Matteo's, Dales Deli, Waffle Cone, Royal Spice, Darling Thai and Bailey's.
• Ruchee serves Indian and Bangladeshi food on Duke St a block southwest of the square, open daily 5-10:30PM.

Drink

The Folly is now a museum

• Talbot Arms, High St BD24 9EX (just north of museum), ☏ +44 1729 823924. M-W noon-10PM, Th-Sa noon-11pm, Su noon-9PM. Good bar and food. (updated Mar 2024)
• Millers Bar is at 13 Duke St, open Su M 3-9PM, W Th 3-10PM, F Sa 3-11PM.
• Settle Brewery produces a range of cask ales.

Sleep

• Golden Lion, Duke St, Settle BD24 9DU, ☏ +44 1729 822203. 17th-century coaching inn, good meals and rooms. B&B double £150. (updated Mar 2024)
• King William the Fourth Guest House, High St, Settle BD24 9EX (by museum), ☏ +44 1729 268152. Clean comfy place. B&B double £95. (updated Mar 2024)
• 1 Falcon Manor Hotel, Skipton Road, Settle BD24 9BD, ☏ +44 1729 823814. Upscale hotel in a 19th century mansion, often a venue for weddings and other events. B&B double £160. (updated Mar 2024)
• 2 Valley Mead Guest House, Stackhouse Lane, Giggleswick BD24 0DL, ☏ +44 1729 822386. Small welcoming guest house. Two nights minimum stay. B&B double £90. (updated Mar 2024)
• 3 Harts Head Hotel, Belle Hill, Giggleswick BD24 0BA, ☏ +44 1729 822086. Cosy pub with rooms. B&B double £115. (updated Mar 2024)
• Craven Arms, Brackenber Lane, Settle BD24 0EA (by Giggleswick railway station), ☏ +44 1729 825627. Trad pub with comfy rooms and good grub. No direct access from A65, which rushes overhead. B&B double £130. (updated Mar 2024)
• Dales and Trails Campsite on Blaithwaite Farm near Giggleswick is only available for exclusive hire, with room for 14 tents.
• 4 Langcliffe Caravan Park, Langcliffe BD24 9LX, ☏ +44 1729 822387. Clean quiet site open March-Dec with good facilities but no bar, restaurant or the like. No tent pitches. Hook-up £32. (updated Mar 2024)
• 5 The Traddock, Graystonber Lane, Austwick LA2 8BY, ☏ +44 1524 251224. Splendid country house hotel, great comfort and cuisine, dog-friendly. B&B double £140. (updated Mar 2024)

Connect

As of March 2024, Settle and the A65 have 4G from EE and Vodafone but a poor patchy signal from O2 and Three. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

• North is Horton-in-Ribblesdale and Ribblehead Viaduct.
• Northwest on A65 is Clapham; stay on this road for Kirkby Lonsdale and the Lake District.

Routes through Settle

Lake District ← Kirkby Lonsdale ←

NW  SE

→ Skipton → Leeds