Across Ribblesdale from Moughton Nab - geograph

Ribblesdale is one of the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

in England. It is the dale 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 a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

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

Horton-in-Ribblesdale Horton in Ribblesdale is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Ribblesdale in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the Settle-Carlisle Railway, Settle–Carlisle Railway to the west of Pen-y-ghe ...

, Stainforth,

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

Giggleswick Giggleswick, a village and civil parish in 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. Until 1974 it was part ...

Settle Settle or SETTLE may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an in ...

Long Preston Long Preston is a village and civil parish in the county 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, increasing to 74 ...

and

Hellifield Hellifield is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England (). Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the village was once an important railway junction on the Settle-Carlisle Railway between ...

. Below Hellifield (sometimes below Settle) the valley of the river is generally known as the Ribble Valley. Ribblesdale is the setting of the medieval Harley lyric "

Most I ryden by Rybbesdale "Most I ryden by Rybbesdale" ('If I were to ride through Ribblesdale'), also titled "The Fair Maid of Ribblesdale", is an anonymous late-13th or early-14th century Middle English lyric poem.Fein, ed. 2014. The text forms part of the collection ...

" ('If I were to ride through Ribblesdale'). 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 as 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 Pennines, Pennine range, encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales ...

rise to the east and west of the dale. The

Ribble Way The Ribble way is a long-distance walk between the Lancashire coast and the Yorkshire Dales National Park largely following the course of the River Ribble. The route begins in Longton, Lancashire, Longton and ends at the source of the Ribble at ...

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 s ...

, crossed by the

Settle to Carlisle railway Settle or SETTLE may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), a ...

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 Horton Quarry is a limestone quarry near to Horton-in-Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire, England. The quarry, which is some north of Settle, has been operating since at least 1889, and produces limestone for a variety of purposes. Stone used to be ...

produces limestone. The dale was historically in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Craven, it is now administered by the unitary

North Yorkshire Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the council has been a unitary authority, being a county coun ...

References

External links

Yorkshire Dales National Park website: Ribblesdale
Yorkshire Dales {{Craven-geo-stub