Bedale

Bedale is a market town on the edge of Wensleydale, west of Thirsk. Henry III granted its market charter in 1251, and Tuesday is still market day. The market cross stands where the Wynd, Emgate and the Market Place meet, and the town's visitor site dates it to the 14th century. The old burgage plots still run down to Bedale Beck.

Bedale Hall is Grade I listed. John Peirse bought the estate in 1638, and in about 1730 Henry Peirse turned the 17th-century house into a Palladian mansion. The saloon he built that year is now the Ballroom, restored by 1961. A charitable trust runs the hall, and it holds the library, Bedale Museum, the Tourist Information Centre and the town and parish councils.

Late November is a good time to go: the Christmas festival is on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November 2026, with the lights switched on at 4.30pm on the Sunday.

From Tea Time Cafe at 87 Market Place, Bedale is about 30 minutes by car, heading west. Park on the Market Place for up to 2 hours free with a disc, which you can pick up at the Tourist Information Centre or from local shops. For a longer stay, Bridge Street car park (DL8 1UP) has 47 spaces and costs 2.70 for the day, charged 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and free on Sundays. It takes cash, card and PayByPhone. The town council also lists a car park at the Auction Mart with two EV charging spaces.

Bedale's buses run to Northallerton, Masham and Leyburn, so a car-free trip from Thirsk takes two legs. Get to Northallerton by train or on the Hodgsons 70 bus, then take the Dales and District 73 from the Buck Inn to Fitzallan Road in Bedale. The 73 runs Monday to Saturday, 17 times a day from 7.45am to 6.35pm, and takes about 25 minutes. Check both legs of the timetable before you set off.

Come on a Tuesday for the market, then walk to the market cross where the Wynd and Emgate meet the Market Place. Pick up the Heritage Trail leaflet from the Tourist Information Centre in Bedale Hall and follow it round the town, including the walk down to Bedale Beck along the line of the old burgage plots.

St Gregory's Church is open to visitors every day of the year. Bedale Hall is worth a look for the building itself, and Bedale Museum inside it opened in 1959. Bedale Museum's current opening times are not published online, so ask at the Tourist Information Centre in Bedale Hall before planning round it. On Saturdays from March to October there is a car boot sale in Bedale Park. There are places to eat in the town.

The 1251 charter gives Bedale's Tuesday market a long pedigree, and the charter passed to Bedale Town Council in 2006. Bedale Hall is the standout building, a Grade I Palladian house that now holds the town's library, museum and councils. The Heritage Trail ties the cross, the church, the hall and the beck together into one easy walk. At the end of November the Christmas festival brings the town together for a weekend, with the lights switched on at 4.30pm on the Sunday.

Tuesday is the day to go, for the market. Pick up a parking disc from the Tourist Information Centre or a shop and you get two free hours on the Market Place; Bridge Street is free all day on Sundays. If the museum is the reason for your trip, ask the Tourist Information Centre for its opening times first. For the Christmas festival on 28 and 29 November 2026, aim to be in town before 4.30pm on the Sunday for the switch-on. Thorp Perrow Arboretum is just south of the town, and the road on into Wensleydale leads to Jervaulx Abbey, so Bedale fits easily into a longer day in the dale.