18 lovely things to do in Skipton: a pretty market town in North Yorkshire

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Here are my personal recommendations for some of the best things to do in Skipton, a picture-perfect market town in North Yorkshire (UK). Known for being the ‘gateway’ to the Yorkshire Dales, Skipton is dead popular with tourists and locals alike, and it’s not hard to see why. Visitors are drawn in by the town’s beautiful position on the Leeds-Liverpool canal, its imposing 900-year old castle, and its plethora of cute cobbled streets. Oh and then there are all the brilliant places to eat and drink, which Skipton has more than its fair share of. If you enjoy a beer and a pub meal or a good cuppa and a scone, you’re in the right place.

Skipton is always topping polls of the best places to live in the UK. But if you’re not quite poised to up sticks and move there, then it also makes a lovely place for a day trip. It’s surrounded by the stunning Yorkshire Dales, so you could combine an afternoon in town with a morning walk out in the hills. Or you could extend your time into a weekend break to enable more exploring (and eating) in the surrounding countryside and towns.

If this all sounds up your proverbial street, read on for my ideas for things to do in Skipton…

Things to do in Skipton, North Yorkshire

1. Visit the fairytale Skipton Castle

I have to begin with this, the focal point of the town. When you arrive, you can’t miss the massive castle at the top of Skipton High Street, with its imposing gatehouse looming over the high street.

Skipton Castle is known for being one of the best-preserved medieval castles in the country. No crumbling ruins here. It’s really impressively intact, to the point you almost feel like it can’t be real. It’s a bit like being on a period drama filming set or stepping into a Philippa Gregory novel. In fact, I’ve not been to another castle in the UK that feels so ‘real’ as you walk around. Edinburgh Castle is a good’un but it has significantly more tourists to contend with so you don’t get the same atmosphere.

When you visit, you’ll learn that Skipton Castle was built in 1090 by a Norman baron and later came into the Clifford family’s possession. The Clifford family are a big deal in Skipton and crop up again and again in the town’s history. Lady Anne Clifford planted a yew tree in the castle’s courtyard in 1659. And she obviously had a good compost as the tree is still there.

Even if you’re not a history buff, it’s worth calling into Skipton Castle have a look round and imagine yourself as a medieval queen strutting around the banqueting hall. You can easily spend an hour there doing the self-guided tour. Check the official website for opening times and ticket details.

2. Sample a local craft beer (or three) 

I always enjoy trying local beers wherever I go. Skipton is no exception as Yorkshire has so many independent breweries offering up something for everyone, from hoppy IPAs to traditional cask. And if you want to have a natter with some locals, who will most likely be more than willing to share their tips for where to go in Skipton, a pub or bar is the place to do that.

Here are a few beery delights around Skipton that I like:

• The Beer Engine – A friendly, tiny micropub that does local craft beer. Full of chatty locals and a generally nice atmosphere.
• The Mess Room – Another nice micropub with a good selection of craft beer, cask and keg. It also has a small beer garden, which is perfect if you’re lucky enough to visit on a sunny day.
• Early Doors – Yet another micropub (Skipton obviously specialises in them!) with local beers to try in a no-frills but warm and friendly setting.
• The Narrow Boat – More of a traditional pub than the rest in this little list, this also does food but you’ll be fine for just a drink. A good selection of beer and cosy vibes.

3. Get yourself a bargain at Skipton Market – one of the most unique things to do in Skipton

One of the best things to do in Skipton is to visit the popular outdoor market, do a bit of browsing and take in the bustling atmosphere.

Skipton Market is unusual because it doesn’t have fixed stalls. Traders have to wake up early and nab a spot wherever they can find one. This sounds stressful to me, but it’s what makes the market unique. The stalls line both sides of the High Street along a special cobbled strip between the pavement and the road, known as ‘the setts’.

It’s no surprise that the market has literally been ingrained in the High Street through the setts: it’s been going since medieval times. A royal charter from King John granted consent to the ‘Lord of the Honour’ of Skipton Castle to hold a ‘fair’ on the High Street four days a week. This consent still stands through the current owner of Skipton Castle, although you’ll be pleased to hear that the market now sells a bit more than mead and sheep. You’ll find different stalls on different days, but expect to see plenty of local food, arts and crafts, clothes and plants.

It’s normally on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday between 10am and 4pm, but check the official website just in case.

4. Treat yourself in Skipton’s independent local shops

As well as the market, Skipton also has some gorgeous independent shops where you can pick up some wee treasures for your friends and family yourself. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you won’t be surprised to hear that mooching around the shops is one of my favourite things to do in Skipton and I rarely come home empty-handed.

There are nice shops on the High Street and tucked away down narrow side streets and alleys too, so it’s worth doing a little bit of research before your visit so you don’t miss any gems.

Here are a few Skipton shops I really like:

• Lighthouse Lane – This has to be my favourite: a quirky gift shop selling homewares, art, greeting cards, jewellery, handmade soaps, and mugs/coasters with amusing Yorkshire phrases on them. It’s all nicely curated and I always find something I ‘need’. The earring selection is excellent, and I’m wearing a pair I bought on my last visit as I type this.
• Kibble Bakery – If you have a pooch, pop into here for some treats for them as well as for yourself. It’s a special doggy café mainly (as in, the menu is great for dogs as well as humans) but you can also buy treats and doggy accessories in their little shop area.
• Sarsaparilla Sweet Shop – It’s rare to find a proper traditional sweet shop that sells by the quarter, scooping sweets out of retro glass jars. This one has been going since the 1920s and does all the traditional favourites like rhubarb and custard, lemon sherbert and humbugs. It also serves local ice cream and American sweets that you can’t readily find in normal shops. 

5. Visit the Craven Museum

This is a small and eclectic museum focusing on the local area’s social history, archaeology and art. It’s a good shout for something to do on a rainy day and you can easily spend an hour taking in its treasures, from retro clothing to fossils. Keep an eye out for the paintings of amusingly square cows. Were they really that shape once…?!

The Craven Museum is also home to one of Shakespeare’s first folios, which is one of only four of his first folios that you can see in the whole world. How cool is that? It’s incredible that this is in Skipton and hasn’t been snaffled up by a museum in London or something. If you’re a Shakespeare buff or just a literature fan in general, what a thing to say you’ve seen.

Check the official website for opening times.

6. Try the amazing menu at Two Sisters Bar and Kitchen

There are so many good places to eat in Skipton that I’m not even going to attempt to go into too much detail on cafés and restaurants in this post. But I have to mention the fabulous Two Sisters Bar and Kitchen, which not only does gorgeous wood-fired pizzas but also has some brilliant veggie and vegan options. You can probably tell from the photo above that this makes me very happy.

Oh and it does a gorgeous Aperol spritz, which I have to order every time. It’s the law.

If you sit outside on a sunny evening, the atmosphere is great and there are plenty of fairy lights going on. What more could you ask for?

7. Check out the waterwheel at High Corn Mill

Located on the canal, this beautiful old mill is now mainly used for offices, but the historic waterwheel is still there. It’s free to get in and although you only need a brief visit, it is worth popping up to see.

The mill dates back to 1310 so is a real slice of Skipton history, and like the castle was owned by the Clifford family. In recent years, the waterwheel has been restored. There’s a little display on its history and it still works, although it doesn’t ground any corn in the mill these days. You can operate it with a handle yourself and the water starts gushing through! So that’s quite entertaining. You may get a wet sleeve. Consider yourself warned.

8. Do a boat trip on the canal in true Rosie & Jim style

I feel like the Rosie & Jim reference above may be lost on my blog readers from around the world. But hopefully my British readers will appreciate it. Who was driving their barge anyway, the duck or the random man?

Anyway, getting back to the subject in hand, the Leeds-Liverpool Canal runs through the centre of Skipton. This is the longest canal in the UK (at 127 miles, fact fans). Originally used to transport goods around the north, it’s now mainly used for leisure. And what could be better than bimbling along on a boat, passing the occasional duck, and enjoying the lush Yorkshire countryside rolling by? Doing that while tucking into some afternoon tea? Well, that’s also an option. A canal boat trip is definitely one of the best things to do in Skipton, especially on a nice day, and some scones will be the cherry on the proverbial cake.. 

Skipton Boat Trips organises different boat trip options like short guided tours, fine-dining experiences, and the aforementioned afternoon tea cruise. There’s even a roast dinner one, of course, which features plenty of Yorkshire pudding.

9. Check out some local art

Wherever I travel to around the world, I try to find somewhere to see some local art. In Skipton, you’ll find plenty of this at the impressive Mill Bridge Gallery, which prides itself on showcasing the talent of local artists from Skipton and Yorkshire more widely.

The gallery building itself is from the 17th century so full of beams and proper character. This makes a nice backdrop for the eclectic collection of photography, sculptures and art. There are two floors of art inside plus a pretty canal-side garden, which is full of interesting sculptures.

Oh and they do a feature on a different artist’s work that changes regularly so even if you’ve been before, it’s worth popping back again. Check their official website for opening times.

10. Have a chippy tea – one of the best things to do in Skipton for food lovers

Skipton has more than its fair share of decent fish and chip shops. In fact, having a day out in Skipton and not having a chippy tea is like visiting Rome and not having a pizza. Criminal.

I’m sure everyone who visits or lives there has their own personal favourite chippy in Skipton. Mine is definitely Bizzie Lizzie’s, which is ideally located by the canal. You’ll spot the queue of locals and tourists outside from a mile off.

The mushy peas are a solid 10/10. 

11. Go for a walk in Skipton Castle Woods

Seeing as you’ll inevitably consume your own bodyweight in food and drink while in Skipton, walking it off while exploring some ancient woodland is a must-do. This is one of the nicest things to do in Skipton if you have a doggy friend with you and they’ll love splashing in the water and bounding through mud, sniffing lots of exciting smells.

Skipton Castle Woods are in a valley next to the castle, so dead handy to get to from the town centre. There are upper and lower paths that go just over two miles and you can pick from three mapped walking routes (yellow – easy, blue – moderate, or red – hard). They’re all quite doable though. Even the more strenuous ‘red’ route only takes about two hours. 

There are plenty of streams through the woods, so keep your beadiest of eyes out for herons and kingfishers. They even have a ‘Kingfisher highway’ between the Springs Canal and Eller Beck, which is apparently the best place to spot them. So far I’ve been unsuccessful but we live in hope. The woods are also a great place for photographers. In spring, there’s a rather Insta-worthy carpet of bluebells in the woods, as well as loads of lovely wild garlic.

And of course, a walk through the woods means you’ve earned a drink in one of Skipton’s pubs afterwards.

12. Enjoy the shops and eateries in Craven Court

I’ve already mentioned Skipton’s independent shops but I thought I’d also mentioned its very quaint shopping centre, Craven Court. It’s a Victorian-style arcade very reminiscent of Barton Arcade in Southport, with a beautiful old wrought-iron staircase and a similar olde-worlde look and feel.

If it’s chucking it down, it’s worth ducking in here to stay dry and peruse some of the shops and eateries inside. My top tips are the Cake ‘ole, a very quirky café specialising in equally quirky cakes, and Strange Games, which sells a good selection of board games (including my favourite, Ticket to Ride, the best board game of all time).

13. Treat yourself to an evening meal at Phoebe’s

Sadly I don’t have any decent photos of the food here (the perils of always forgetting to shoot pictures before we start eating – this is why I’m a travel blogger, not a food blogger!). But I recommend it to anyone I know visiting Skipton so I have to include it here. Phoebe’s (formerly Elsworth Kitchen) is a gorgeous independent restaurant that does a locally sourced and seasonal menu. It’s won awards and everything.

This is a nice choice for your evening meal when in Skipton as it feels a bit more special than your average restaurant or pub (and you’re on your hols, after all). But they also do a good brunch (with an excellent vegan full English, too).

Given how popular it is, it’s best to book if you want to eat there, especially on a weekend.

14. Take some pretty photographs along the canal

One of the best things to do in Skipton is to just wander along the canal towpath, take in the scenery and put your photography skills to the test. It’s what Rosie and Jim would have wanted.

You can head towards Leeds or Liverpool, but either way you’ll spot lots of water birds (including cute fluffy ducklings and baby moorhens in spring). Obviously there are loads of brightly coloured boats too, with gorgeous flowerpots overflowing on their rooftops. A photographer’s dream.

And while you’re strolling the towpath, you might also be lucky enough to see people who’ve hired a boat for the day and can’t quite fathom how to do a lock so are just screaming at each other. Always entertaining.

15. Pop into Holy Trinity Church

While the castle is undoubtedly the focal point in Skipton, you’ll also spot this beautiful church next to it. It’s worth popping into Holy Trinity to have a look at its small but pretty gardens and to admire its big stained-glass windows.

The church is obviously a very old building, with some parts dating back to the 1300s (according to a leaflet inside!). During the Civil War, it was damaged by cannon fire. The aforementioned Lady Anne Clifford (she of planting a tree in the castle courtyard fame) coughed up for the repairs herself in 1655. 

There’s also a café and a gift shop in the church, and sometimes they have small exhibitions about local history or art.

Things to do in Skipton, North Yorkshire: out of town

If you have a car and want to explore the outside the town centre, here are some things to do in Skipton’s nearby areas.

16. Parcevall Hall Gardens

About half an hour away from Skipton by car, Parcevall Hall Gardens are worth a visit. The hall itself isn’t open to the public but it’s all about the gardens anyway so that’s fine. They’ve even been shown on Gardener’s World.

There are 24 acres of them so it’s easy to spend an hour or so here. As well as formal gardens, there’s some woodland and amazing views across the Yorkshire countryside as you’re quite high up there. In summer, the garden is a total dream and bursting with colour, but even off-season it’s a pretty and peaceful spot.

There’s a tea room on site, too. Check opening times on the official website for that and the gardens7

17. Get the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway and visit Bolton Abbey Estate

Everything on my blog always seems to come back to trains at some point. One of the nicest things to do in Skipton is to go on the old steam locomotive all the way to the lovely Bolton Abbey Estate. 

Embsay station, where the journey starts, is less than a 10-minute drive from the centre of Skipton. From here, one of the two steam trains will take you through the gorgeous Yorkshire Dales on a short but sweet journey to Bolton Abbey station. Once you’re there, head into Bolton Abbey Estate itself. You can walk through the grounds for a good couple of hours and see the picturesque ruined priory.

A bit like the canal boats, the railway does themed journeys and afternoon tea. Have a look at the official website for running times and what’s on. At the time of writing, it’s £14 for a first-class ticket, which of course gets you a snazzier carriage.

Things to do in Skipton, North Yorkshire – useful information for your trip

Where to stay in Skipton

There are loads of lovely options for where to stay in Skipton. I’ve listed a few that I recommend below. All prices are correct at the time of writing.

• The Bailey B&B – At about £90 a night, you can’t go wrong with this little boutique B&B. It’s very central and the rooms are stunning. They also have a shepherd’s hut you can stay in. If you’ve never stayed in one of these, have a go – it’s SO cosy.
• Devonshire Arms Hotel and Spa – If you want to splash out and treat yourself, this gorgeous spa hotel at Bolton Abbey is about £300 a night. A nice one for a special occasion. 
• Dalesgate Lodge – Another boutique B&B, this is about £85 a night and has very pretty rooms. Again, it’s well located for the town.

How to get to (and around) Skipton

Skipton is well connected by rail, so there’s no need to drive if you fancy getting the train. It’s about a 40-minute journey from Leeds station. Then Skipton station is an easy stroll away from the town centre once you’re there.

It’s all very walkable within Skipton itself as it’s only a small place. If you want to do some of the things I’ve recommended just outside the town, you’re best off with a car or getting a taxi as the local buses to those places can be impossible or quite infrequent. 

When to go to Skipton

For the best atmosphere, make sure you visit on a market day – Fridays are especially bustling. Skipton can get quite busy in summer, so try to avoid school holiday time. Spring is a great time of year to plan a day out or weekend away in Skipton. The woods will be full of wildflowers and you’re likely to get decent weather but without the crowds. It’s also nice in the lead-up to Christmas, when you can cosy up in a pub and peruse the shops and market for presents.

Save and share: 17 things to do in Skipton, North Yorkshire

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If you’ve used one of my travel guides and enjoyed it, you can also buy me a drink. Cheers. 

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