What is so special about the Yorkshire Dales?
Ancient dry-stone walls and field barns are defining features of the Dales landscape – shaped over thousands of years by people and nature. The iconic pattern of barns and walls in Upper Swaledale is recognised as being one of the most distinctive agricultural landscapes in Western Europe. Wensleydale – wide open valleys with lush green pastures, traditional villages and hidden waterfalls. Swaledale – the northernmost of the Yorkshire Dales has wild, unspoilt scenery and remote villages. Wharfedale – a U-shaped glacial dale with limestone scars towering high above the valley bottom.A controversial opinion: these six Yorkshire towns – Richmond, Whitby, Halifax, Ilkley, Rotherham, and Beverley – are the county’s very best! When most people think of Yorkshire, they probably picture our wonderful landscapes: moors, wolds, coasts and dales. Of course, we also have a fabulous and varied built heritage.Hawes is a great base to start your discovery of the Yorkshire Dales; with roads leading to all the corners of the Dales. From Hawes, you can access many of the special qualities of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
What is the most scenic drive through the Yorkshire Dales?
Buttertubs Pass. There are many high roads and passes in the Yorkshire Dales with fantastic views of the surrounding valleys and fells, but perhaps the best known is Buttertubs Pass. This road crosses the high moorland between Wensleydale and Swaledale – from the small market town of Hawes over to the hamlet of Thwaite . Hawes is a great base to start your discovery of the Yorkshire Dales; with roads leading to all the corners of the Dales. From Hawes, you can access many of the special qualities of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Is it expensive to live in the Yorkshire Dales?
The sheer demand for property in the park’s picturesque villages has resulted in rocketing house prices. The average house in the Yorkshire Dales National Park costs £226,096, that’s compared to £102,000 in Bradford or £188,766 in Craven*. House prices in Yorkshire have an overall average of £249,181 over the last year. The majority of properties sold in Yorkshire during the last year were semi-detached properties, selling for an average price of £233,244. Terraced properties sold for an average of £184,185, with detached properties fetching £396,575.Bransholme. Bransholme tops the list with an average asking price of £107,415. According to the Index of Multiple Deprivation in 2019, Bransholme was one of the most deprived areas of Hull, which could explain why prices are so low compared to other areas in Yorkshire.The average price of a home bought with a mortgage in North Yorkshire was £277,000 in August 2025 (provisional). This was higher than an average of £268,000 in August 2024 (revised). Across Yorkshire and The Humber, the average price of a home bought with a mortgage was £209,000, up from £203,000 a year earlier.