Your 60-second guide to Grassington, Yorkshire Dales, made famous by the television programme All Creatures Great and Small.
Where is Gressington
The much-loved Yorkshire Dales settlement of Grassington is set on a hillside that slopes gently down to the River Wharfe, about 10 miles from Skipton.
Grassington in All Creatures Great and Small
Some will recognise Grassington as the small market town as ‘Darrowby’ in Channel Four's All Creatures Great and Small television series, based on the humorous stories of James Herriot's life as a vet before the Second World War.
Grassington is the perfect location for the period series with its cobbled market square, lanes, ginnels and pavements along with its small traditional shops with their multi-paned fronts.
What to see in Grassington
Herriot-lovers will recognise some of the film locations: The Stripey Badger Bookshop, Coffee shop and Kitchen; Helen Midgley’s tripled- fronted shoe shop; The Rustic Rabbit giftshop; Walker’s Bakery; Grassington Post Office along with a smattering of historic houses. You can spend hours browsing the shops, dipping into cafés, inns and bakeries or simply wandering the cobbled streets.
Drop into Grassington Folk Museum to see how the Dales people lived in days of yore.
Where to eat in Grassington
Enjoy a midday meal on the cobbled Garr Lane outside the Corner House Café, renowned for its tasty nutritional lunches and less healthy but equally tasty cakes.
Countryside around Gressington
Spend the afternoon exploring the countryside around Grassington with its criss-cross of drystone walls, ancient woodlands, hay meadows, limestone pavements, blustery moorlands, tumbling becks and waterfalls. You can take an easy stroll alongside the river to Linton Falls, taking in the weirs from the wooden footbridge, or hike all the way to Hebden along the riverside, returning over higher ground.
Where to stay in Grassington
Back in Grassington, rest up at The Devonshire in Market Square, the eight classically furnished rooms named, perhaps unsurprisingly, after the All Creatures Great and Small characters and places. Before climbing the stairs, enjoy an evening meal in the bar, many of its ingredients sourced locally.
You could easily spend a week in these small Dale settlements or even a month. The Dales may be rural but there’s a lot to see. For more fantastic things to do read our guide to the best villages in the Yorkshire Dales to visit
