Hawes

North Yorkshire

Hawes is a market town in the Richmondshire former district of North Yorkshire.

The small Wensleydale town is about 17 miles by road west of Leyburn, 17 miles by road north-east of Ingleton and around 16 miles east of the historic Yorkshire town of Sedburgh, now situated in Cumbria. Reaching Richmond involves a road journey of around 30 miles, while the North Yorkshire county town of Northallerton is 35 miles distant.

Hawes is the location of the creamery famous for its production of Wensleydale cheese. The creamery has a visitor centre.

At the eastern edge of the town is a large livestock auction market, which has been established in Hawes for more than 100 years, selling sheep and cattle from a large area of the Yorkshire Dales.

The Dales Countryside Museum is situated in Hawes and tells how the landscape and people of the Yorkshire Dales have evolved over thousands of years. The museum incorporates the former Hawes railway station and an old train is preserved at the platform. A Yorkshire Dales National Park Centre is also housed at the museum.

Hawes merges at its southern edge with the small village of Gayle with its historic 18th century former cotton mill alongside Gayle Beck.

Just over a mile north of the town is Hardraw Force, a visitor attraction which claims fame as "England's highest single-drop waterfall". It was used in scenes from the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. There is now also a Heritage Centre in the grounds of the falls.

Town features

Hawes is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Hawes is on the Pennine Way long-distance trail.

The town is on the River Ure.

Hawes has an indoor and an outdoor market. Tuesday is market day. Craft fairs held on many dates from March - October.

Hawes has a good range of independent shops. Hawes offers bakery goods, butchers, antiques, books, clothes, crafts, gifts, jewellery and other goods.

The town has a Post Office branch.

Hawes has a building society branch.

The town has a pharmacy.

Hawes has a choice of pubs.

Cafe and pub food is available in Hawes.

Takeaway food outlets in the town include fish and chips, chinese, curries, sandwiches.

The town has a community library.

Hawes has a museum - Dales Countryside Museum.

Hawes has a preserved train station.

Hawes has a community centre.

There are public toilets in the town.
Locations of toilets and opening times can be found at this North Yorkshire Council - Public toilets web page.(20p entry)

Hawes has a school.

Place of worship: Anglican. (Methodist Church is in nearby Gayle).

Hawes has tourist information.

Places to stay in Hawes include guest house, inn, hostel accommodation.

Hawes was formerly in the North Riding of Yorkshire.

Travel

Bus travel

The town has a bus service.

Road travel

Hawes can be reached via the A684 B6255

Hawes has a filling station. The town has England's first community-run filling station.

Places to visit

Bolton Castle

Castle Bolton, near Redmire, North Yorkshire
One of Britain's best-preserved medieval castles was built as one of the finest homes in the land and is still in the ownership of a descendant of the castle's original owner. With a commanding view over Wensleydale, the castle is situated near Redmire, about 5 miles west of Leyburn and 6 miles east of Askrigg. Although partially slighted by Oliver Cromwell during a Civil War siege it has been preserved in excellent condition. The castle is opened to visitors daily except on dates when weddings are being held. Visitors can access much of the castle and its gardens and daily displays include birds of prey, archery and wild boar feeding. Full details can be found on the owner's website.

More information at the Bolton Castle website.

Find on map: Bolton Castle

Leeming Bar station

The Wensleydale Railway

Scruton - Leeming Bar - Bedale - Finghall - Leyburn - Redmire
A heritage railway service into Wensleydale running from Scruton and Leeming Bar, near the A1(M) , towards Bedale, Finghall, Leyburn and, if reopened, to Redmire at the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It operates mostly a heritage diesel service and steam on some dates. The line was extended eastwards to Northallerton West, but the effects of flooding on a bridge at the end of 2015 resulted in that section of line remaining closed to passenger services. The railway company currently has a goal of restoring by 2025 another section of the track westward from Leyburn into the National Park at Redmire. This section has also been closed in recent years.

Further information at the Wensleydale Railway website.

Aysgarth Falls

Aysgarth
Aysgarth Falls have been a much-visited Wensleydale beauty spot and a tourist attraction for more then two centuries. The River Ure falls down a series of rocky steps near to the village of Aysgarth. The falls provided a dramatic film location for the 1991 film "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", starring Kevin Costner. A woodland nature reserve alongside the falls is run by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, which also runs a National Park Centre, cafe and car park there. Nearby is the Yore Bridge across the river and the Yore Mill, a grade II listed watermill on the site of a medieval fulling mill. The present mill dates from 1854 and was built to produce both woollen textiles and corn. It replaced an earlier 18th century cotton mill which was damaged by fire. There is now a tea shop and craft shop at the mill.

Find

Aysgarth Falls on map.

Hardraw Force

Hardraw, near Hawes
Situated about a mile north of Hawes in Wensleydale, this waterfall visitor attraction claims fame as "England's highest single-drop waterfall". The fall is around 30 metres (100 feet) high and was used as a backdrop to scenes in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. There is now also a Heritage Centre in the grounds of the falls, access to which is usually open from 10am to dusk with an admission fee.

Details can be found on the

Hardraw Force website.

Dales Countryside Museum

Station Yard, Burtersett Road, Hawes
The Dales Countryside Museum is located at the former Victorian station in Hawes and tells how the landscape and people of the Yorkshire Dales have evolved over thousands of years. An old locomotive and carriages are preserved at the platform as a reminder of the days that train services connected the isolated Wensleydale town to the rest of Yorkshire. A Yorkshire Dales National Park Centre is also housed at the museum.

Find out more at the

Dales Countryside Museum website.

Yorkshire Dales National Park

The western half of Richmondshire is all within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Leyburn is the gateway to the Wensleydale area of the National Park, the wide and beautiful upper valley of the River Ure into which many tributaries flow. There is a National Park Centre in Hawes. Find out more on our Yorkshire Dales National Park page.

Emergency services

North Yorkshire Police

North Yorkshire Police website.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service website.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust website.

Local government

Civil parish council

Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council
Provides some local services in the area.
Link to council website:

Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council

Unitary authority

North Yorkshire Council

The North Yorkshire Council is a new unitary authority formed from the previous County Council from April 1, 2023. It covers the existing county duties including highways, schools, libraries and transport planning over an area of 3,109 square miles while also taking over the responsibilities of the seven huge district authorities also created in 1974 — Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby — these including local planning, waste collection, street cleaning, parks and car parks, housing and markets serving a population of around 615,500*.

Councillors were elected to the County Council in 2022 and continue as councillors of the new North Yorkshire Council unitary authority. There have been a few by-elections to fill councillor vacancies since then.

Places in North Yorkshire

Link to council website: North Yorkshire Council

^ Area figure from ONS Standard Area Measurements 2022 (converted from hectares).
* Population figure from Census 2021 (combined total of former districts).
Contains public sector information licensed under the

Open Government Licence v3.0.

Political composition:

453CI 1311 NY Ind92 LC421

90 members

CI = Conservative & Independent NY Ind = North Yorkshire Independents group LC = Labour & Cooperative
Composition and groupings - source North Yorkshire Council (February 2024)

Strategic authority

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority was created in December 2023 combining the unitary authority of York and the unitary authority of North Yorkshire — that created in April 2023 after the abolition of the county authority and its seven district authorities. The combined authority will run some functions under the new mayor elected in May 2024 as part of the government's so-called "Devolution deal" which ties the availablity of funding to the new governance arrangements. As well as having powers over housing development, transport and boosting skills and education across the 3,214 square miles of York and North Yorkshire, the elected mayor also takes on the role and functions of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner across the area.

Elected mayor: ❚ David Skaith Labour & Cooperative

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority website.

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire
Covers the county of North Yorkshire and City of York. This role is being transferred to the new elected mayor of York and North Yorkshire in 2024.

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire website.

Parliamentary constituency

Richmond and Northallerton
Elected MP: ❚ Rishi Sunak Conservative

National government region

Yorkshire and the Humber

Ceremonial county

North Yorkshire

Historic

- 1974: Within the North Riding of Yorkshire.
1974 - 2023: In the Richmondshire shire district of the North Yorkshire county.

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