Across Ribblesdale from Moughton Nab - geograph

Ribblesdale is one of the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills rising from the Vale of York ...

in England. It is the

dale Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia * The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada * Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia *Dale (woreda), district ;Norway *D ...

or upper valley of the

River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...

. Towns and villages in Ribblesdale (downstream, from north to south) include

Selside Selside is a small village in rural Cumbria, England, about north of Kendal, close to the A6 road. It is now in the civil parish of Selside and Fawcett Forest, though it was formerly in the parish of Kendal. The population of Whitwell and Se ...

, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Stainforth,

Langcliffe Langcliffe is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, in England. It lies to the north of Settle and east of Giggleswick. The River Ribble runs along the west of the village. Langcliffe lies within one of eight ...

Giggleswick Giggleswick, a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, lies on the B6480 road, less than north-west of the town of Settle and divided from it by the River Ribble. It is the site of Giggleswick School. ...

, Settle,

Long Preston Long Preston is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, in the Yorkshire Dales. It lies along the A65 road, and is from Skipton and from Settle. The population of Long Preston in 2001 was 680, increas ...

and Hellifield. Below Hellifield (sometimes below Settle) the valley of the river is generally known as the Ribble Valley. Above Settle the dale is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is a popular tourist area, particularly for

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...

. The

Yorkshire Three Peaks The mountains of Whernside (), Ingleborough () and Pen-y-ghent () are collectively known as the Three Peaks. The peaks, which form part of the Pennine range, encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales Nat ...

rise to the east and west of the dale. The Ribble Way runs the length of the dale. At the head of the dale is the

Ribblehead Viaduct The Ribblehead Viaduct or Batty Moss Viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle railway across Batty Moss in the Ribble Valley at Ribblehead, in North Yorkshire, England. The viaduct, built by the Midland Railway, is north-west of Skipton and ...

, crossed by the Settle to Carlisle railway which runs through the dale. Quarrying has been an important industry within the dale, and three quarries are still being worked; Arcow and Dry Rigg quarries produce gritstone (greywacke), and Horton Quarry produces limestone. The dale was historically in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. In 1974 it became part of the

Craven Craven may refer to: * Craven in the Domesday Book, an area of Yorkshire, England, larger area than the district ** Craven District, a local government district of North Yorkshire formed in 1974 Places * Craven, New South Wales, Australia, see ...

district in the new county of North Yorkshire.

References

External links

{{commons category inline, Ribblesdale
Yorkshire Dales National Park website: Ribblesdale
Yorkshire Dales