UKC

Hello everyone.

I'm starting a new job soon around Skipton. My wife and I will be looking to rent a place while we sort everything out. While I realise that Skipton isn't that big, are there any areas in or around Skipton that are best avoided? Are there any areas or pockets that are especially good?

Infact, if anyone knows of someone with a 2 bed house to rent in Skipton, please get in touch!

Plus, what is the 'scene' like, e.g. friendly climbing / mountain bike / cycling clubs, decent pubs and cafes etc?

Give me your top tips please.

Rich

In reply to rlines:
Hello,

I live just outside Skipton, in Embsay (the village next to Crookrise). I've lived here for three years now (to the day!) and I have to say I think it's a cracking place to live. As far as I can see, most of Skipton's pretty nice - Greatwood is the town's council estate and even that has nice views over the surrounding countryside. The surrounding villages all seem friendly enough - if anything, from what I hear the one I live in is possibly the least friendly, and I've never had any issues with anyone here.

Regarding pubs and cafes, the Narrowboat is a cracking real ale pub, complete with folk nights and dog-friendliness, and Bean Loved does a very good coffee.

Skipton Cycling Club set up a couple of years ago and is very friendly, from what I see (my husband is a member) and there's a brilliant bike mechanic in town, by the name of Stuart Rider (Riders Cycle Centre).

Depending on where you're moving from, you do have to adjust to a certain 'small town' mindset, but to my mind that's as much a benefit as a detractor - it makes for a friendly place to live.

The coach parties will do your nut in though.

Oh, and we rent through the big local building contractor, Woolers - they have a large rental portfolio, and they're pretty amenable to long-term lets, so they seem to be okay about pets and that sort of thing. If I was looking for a two bedroom house I'd probably want to be in the terraced streets by Ermysteds Grammar School - those streets are close to the town centre, close to the train station, and right next to Aireville Park, which a) almost makes up for the lack of garden, and b) is home to Skipton Leisure Centre, which is a pretty good one as these places go.

In reply to rlines:

p.s. just looked at your profile - after Vancouver, I imagine Skipton might lack a certain cosmopolitan charm...

In reply to Tall Clare:

Close enough to keighley to make up for it though

In reply to graeme jackson:

We don't mention the K word...

In reply to Tall Clare:

Thanks very much for your detailed reply, this is just the kind of info I was after.

Ah, my profile is out of date by some years now, we're actually moving from Glasgow, so the transition back to UK living has been made!

In reply to rlines:

If there's anything else I can help with, just let me know!

andy and Bob have both lived around here for a lot longer than I have, and both are keen cyclists, so are likely to have more useful things to say than I can offer.

In reply to rlines:
Seconded the Narrowboat for a decent pub with cracking ales - was in there last Saturday and it was like being at a party at a mate's house.

Don't bother with the Spice Grill curry house.

In reply to rlines:

This is the thread I put up on here to ask about Skipton before I moved to the area - most of it's still true, apart from that Skipton now has its own (aforementioned) cycling club:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=476303

In reply to Rigid Raider:

So what is the best curry house in the area? Important to know. Anywhere in Bradford worth the trip?

In reply to rlines:

I think Clare has covered most of it. I live to the other side of Skipton from her in another outlying village.

Small country market town with all that implies really. There's the usual clannish type behaviour but if you aren't one of those clans then there's not a lot to worry about - long family feuds: "Your great-great-great grandad nicked my great-great-great grandad's butty" sort of thing.

Not sure if Craven Climbing Club are still going, you'd have to do a web search to check or maybe check the BMC listings. There's quite a few climbers around though.

There's Skipton Cycling Club - everything from 30 mile social rides to 80/90 milers, time trials in summer and a few race locally. Most rides would be classed as "hilly" - there's not much flat around here!

Mountain biking: there's a few of us head out regularly - I've mostly been mountain biking this year rather than road biking for example. There's the Dales just to the north and the South Pennines, err to the south. Nearest trail centre is Gisburn which is fine, some good features.

In reply to rlines:


Bradford's curry central

The Agrah is decent - the buffet is particularly good value. There's a couple of decent curry houses in Keighley as well.

In reply to Tall Clare:
Wow, that was a long thread, but thanks, lots of useful info there.

All looking good, I must say and a great way to waste my penultimate afternoon at work!

Really looking forward to it, thanks to all for your replies so far.

In reply to Tall Clare:

Had a night out in Skipton last Friday. Nothing has changed in the last 15 years although there seem to be more cafes on the high street and The Red Lion is more bar than pub. Skipton and the surrounding area are beautiful but even though I was born and bred in Yorkshire (Sheffield then Steeton) I was always and outsider amongst the true locals. I kind of don't really miss it.

In reply to ByEek:

The chap who sublets the field behind us for his sheep was saying that his mum moved to the village a mere 46 years ago and is *still* considered an incomer...

In reply to Tall Clare:

You mean she is still an off comed 'un?

In reply to ByEek:

An offcumden - yep! It's just the way of villages/small towns, though.

In reply to Tall Clare:

I dunno. I live in Cheshire (don't you know) now and once I had set up my inflatable Ferrari on the driveway I have been welcomed with open arms!

In reply to rlines:
We moved to Skipton 23 Years ago and have not regretted it in any way. You soon get used to the more relaxed pace of life. As Clare mentioned, the coach parties can be a bit of a challenge, mostly in the summer months though. It's a great place to live.

In reply to Tall Clare:



Visited there recently and thought it very pleasant. Enjoyed an evening in the Elm Tree.

In reply to rlines:
We've been in Embsay about 15 years and love it. Far prefer it to living in Skipton, and I reckon it's the best of the villages - near enough to town to walk in, but has a definite identity of its own.

Skipton's great - you can be in the lakes in 90 minutes (easy), Leeds is 40 minutes on a very reliable train, there's even a direct train to london once a day, and the airport's nearby.

If you have kids the schools are excellent (Embsay primary's brilliant too).

I've recently ditched Skipton Cycling Club and gone back to Ilkley - better organised and less daft politicking.

Craven MC used to be fairly active, but not seen anything of them for a while.

Would agree with Clare about places to rent in town, but I'd rent in Embsay if I were you!

In reply to rlines:

I'd agree with all that's been said except the insularity. I've lived in the area for 20 years and the people here are very friendly. I used to live in Kildwick, a village 5 miles out of town, and had more friends there in a week than I had in ten years of living in Ilkley, where everyone was nice enoough but it was commuter territory so people did not mix or mingle much. I find Skipton has a life of its own and that helps.

The climbing is very handy with grit (Crookrise, Rylstone, Earl and Ilkley) on the doorstep and Caley and Almscliffe just a bit fiurther out. There's easy limestone half an hour up the road round Settle and tough-as-you-want limestone at Malham and Kilnsey even nearer. The Lakes just over an hour or so up the road, the Peak is 2hrs and North Wales 3.

If want to cycle just re-run your Tour de France video.

Great walking too - I nipped up to Malham for the afternoon and it was gorgeous.

If you want hot clubbing action you will be disappointed but there are lots of good pubs in the area. Narrow Boat as mentioned and Woolly Sheep in town and lots of pleasant pubs in the surrounding villages.

Enjoy!

In reply to Wiley Coyote:

That's a good point - Skipton and surrounds don't seem to suffer the same snobbiness that Ilkley and its surrounds can sometimes be accused of. Yes, there are lots of big 4x4s around, but they're as likely to be held together with baling twine as full of little Jocasta and Montgomery and their remarkably glamorous mother...

In reply to rlines:

Has anyone said Copper Dragon yet?

In reply to Tall Clare:

Skipton and surrounds don't seem to suffer the same snobbiness that Ilkley and its surrounds can sometimes be accused of.

I don't think it was snobbishness, Clare. Everyone in Ilkley was fine it was just that it did not seem to have any life of its own. It was just a dormitory and a shopping centre so there was little cause to meet anyone except the imediate neighbours. I was as bad as anyone else - get up, commute to Leeds, drink/eat out in Leeds, climb at Leeds Wall, come home, close door, go to bed. Repeat for 10 years

In reply to Wiley Coyote:

Ah - my perception is that there's definitely a sense of snobbery.

In reply to Tall Clare:


Well since I'm originally from Harrogate they probably recognised my natural superiority. A guy I used to work with always referred to Ilkley as 'Harrogate for beginners'

In reply to rlines:

I've lived in Skipton for the last eight years or so. It's fab!

It's pretty obvious where the decent bits are, and conversely where to avoid, but renting before you buy is probably a good idea. The Regent estate has lots of nice three-bed semis, there are lots of new flats in converted mills, and the Raikes area is the 'posh' bit with the best views. Embsay, as mentioned, is a nice satellite village, Carlton isn't bad as well.

I mainly MTB these days, you're spoiled for choice, with the whole of the Dales on your doorstep and the south Lakes also temptingly near. Not so sure about clubs, but you could definitely find riding partners on singletrackworld.

Friendliest pub in town IMO is The Castle, nice grub. Best coffee shop is Bean Loved, best restaurant is probably the Bistro des Amis, and I like the cafe down at the canal basin, but there's lots of choice.

In reply to Wiley Coyote: as I said I ride with Ilkley CC - really, really friendly club (and as well organised as you'd expect in a town populated almost entirely by management consultants) - and through the cycling club I've got a lot of mates in Ilkley - very normal folk, very down to earth.

But Skipton's a better place to ride a bike from - nearer to Forest of Bowland and the western Dales.

In reply to MHutch70:

Ah, seen you posting on STW.

Just got back from a moonlit ride on the moors above Threshfield - cold enough that the mud is still frozen to the frame!

Seems like there's a few on here in the area - more than I realised.

Not mentioned so far is the decent train connection to Leeds and Bradford plus it links on to the end of the Settle - Carlisle line so you can get up to the north Dales and ride back - makes for a different day.

In reply to Bob:

Not related to your point but something I've just remembered and feel is worth sharing - for those of a meat-eating persuasion, Skipton has a fine selection of butchers.

In reply to rlines:

I've actually just moved away from Embsay to Sheffield (I was only there for 6 months though - didn't realise there were so many people off here there!).

My wife and I loved living there. Easy to walk into Skipton. Great for running up on the crags/moor at the top. Pubs were okish. It is a very beautiful area and the dales don't feel as busy as the Peak district. It has a post office that sells milk, newspapers etc.

Skipton was great, we loved being able to get all our meat from the butchers, veg and fish from the market. Pubs: Narrowboat is excellent. I quite liked the beer engine as well. The Pie and Mash shop is a thing of wonder - they even do a loyalty card... I felt for the most part people were very friendly but I did meet a lot of people through work.

Local bouldering wall in Bingley (The Barn IIRC) is good but I think they are having to move at some point in the near future? Other walls in Harrogate and Leeds are good and not too far away.

If we hadn't needed to move because of work, we would definitely still be there!

Oh, and stay away from the place beginning with K.

In reply to dti:

Alas, the Barn has now closed down. It's one flaw of Skipton that I'm surprised someone hasn't addressed - it's kind of equidistant between Leeds, Harrogate and Ingleton walls, all of which are at least 20 miles away.

In reply to Tall Clare:

One was supposed to be built at Aireville Park - it was in the Renaissance Plan a few years ago but the recession put paid to it. Someone like PontiusPilate who posts on here is involved with the local BMC might know more.

In reply to Tall Clare: they got planning permission a few years ago to build a mega indoor/outdoor wall at Aireville Park, but the council had neglected to work out where the three million quid to build it was coming from.

I think I mentioned trains, Bobster - including the one each way direct London one - it's great hopping on a train in Skippers at 7am then getting off at KX at 10. The local ones are v reliable nowadays too - every half hour into Leeds or Bratfud.

In reply to Bob:


Can you still have a grand day out in Morcombe from Skipton? I have fond memories of a direct train from Keighley via Skipton to Morcombe for a day on the beach as a kid.

In reply to Tall Clare:


It must be awful to live near snobs.

In reply to ByEek:


You can, and it can be a great way of sorting a one-way bike ride - train to Morecambe and ride back over the Trough, or up to Kirkby Stephen and back via Buttertubs etc. But they sometimes only allow two bikes per train so we have been turned away on busy weekends (despite the fact they'll allow massive baby buggies on).

In reply to andy:

Did a quick skim but didn't spot it. The only problem getting off at KX is the location

The climbing wall was part of the same plan as the Council getting new offices (which managed to go ahead)

In reply to Turdus torquatus:

Sorry - I know I sound like an arse.

In reply to Bob:
I'm the source of the route card that started your excellent cycling thread...although you dissed it by doing it the wrong way!

I was out today, too, up to Weets Top, Mastiles, round the back of Grassington etc - nearly all of it riding well.

I still think Skipton is a fabulous place to live, work, play, raise kids etc. Ilkley is growing on me a bit, but the prices there are just silly.

Can't believe I forgot to mention pork pies. I must be going soft.

Yes, you can still get the train direct to Morecambe, although it may be quicker to walk.

In reply to ByEek:
Having lived in Yorkshire for 30 odd years I'm still an off com,den. Mind you my neighbours are very local. Their surnames are traceable in parish records going back 600 years. I've a way go..........

I'm sure Skipton is a great place but you'll always find a belligerent element not unlike the League of Gentlemen. They think they're friendly approachable individuals but only to those folk they've known all their lives.

In reply to Removed UserDeleted bagger:

This is true. There are plenty of miserable old buggers in Skipton, but you get used to it.

In reply to rlines:

Transcript of Mark Steele's radio program about Skipton. I had me laughing out loud (mainly the bit about the horse). I think someone posted it on here in another thread that I copied it from:

And within Britain I find it thrilling that you get out at Birmingham New Street station, after a ninety minute rail journey from London, and they're all talking like that, different. And in Oldham they eat pie and red cabbage and in St. Helens they play rugby league, and everywhere has slightly difference reference points, creating that warm feeling of slight discomfort, as you're not quite sure what's going on, which makes a journey exciting. Which is why if you went to the South Pole and it was quite warm you'd want your money back.

So that, I suppose, is the premise for my radio show 'Mark Steel's In Town'. We started in the North Yorkshire town of Skipton because I did a show there last year, and thge place excelled itself at living up to a comically dour Yorkshire stereotype. I did one line that I'd done that week on television, and about twenty people yelled "You did that ont' telly." Then a woman called out "We don't like yer jacket - it's RED." So I retaliated with "I was just trying to bring a bit of colour to your otherwise grey miserable agricultural lives," and they liked that, before launching into more and more insults. Then, when I said I'd seen a road sign for Keighley and wondered whether that was their rival town, it went all quiet and in a chilling voice one woman said clearly "Keighley - is a sink of evil."

And yet the whole place looks like the sort of town where they film dramas for Sunday nights on ITV. So even at the curry house, you expect a farmer to come in and say "Ee I'll have a steaming hot bowl of your finest dopiaza please Betty love. And with extra chillies, I shall need warming up after inseminating that ewe." And at the brothels of Skipton they must go "Not the full session tonight Elsie love, I have to be up at dawn to take calf to vets at Otley, just 'and relief if that's a'right wit' thee love."

Then, after choosing Skipton for this reason, it won the award for High Street of the Year, largely, it seems, for resisting the tsunami of chain shops that have engulfed almost every town centre. And to allay any fears that it might not be the right place to start the series, when I arrived at the theatre, which is in fact the cattle market, a farmer was stood by the door in a thick green jumper and very muddy boots. "I like yer bag, love" he said to the producer.

"Thanks," she smiled.

"Now all yer need to make it perfect is to fill it wit' bricks an' chuck it at Prime Minister," he said, and walked off.

Looking through the history of the place it's clearly been dominated by cattle. The mist and perennial damp made the land unsuitable for much vegetation so early settlers relied on livestock, and this distinction has driven the place ever since.

In the eighteenth century there was a famous market every Monday, in the High Street. According to W.H. Dawson, editor of the Craven Pioneer "The filth and odours of massed animals could be almost unbearable, so dangerous to public health."

Around the same time there was a circus, which advertised "For the first time in Britain come and see Tipster, the world's first clairvoyant educated talking horse."

That's how hard to please they are in North Yorkshire - it has to be an educated talking horse - otherwise they'd go "I shan't trouble myself with going to see stupid talking horse. Albert went down and asked it if he'd read much Russian literature, he said 'I can't say as I have, just snippets of Dostoyevsky', well I don't call that conversation, I shan't bother going."

Skipton is a funny place, I think, because it's different. But every time I allow myself to think these shows will make sense to most listeners, I remember a night in Winchester. It was while I was doing a show about the French Revolution, and I tried to find some way in which the town I was in was connected to those events. In Winchester, it seemed, the town was transformed because hundreds of wealthy priests fled France, and came to England as posh refugees, and many of them were put up in Winchester Cathedral.

So I did this thing about how locals probably complained "Bloody Catholic priests coming over here, you don't hear English round here no more, it's all bleedin' Latin. And they get straight out of the back of their lorry, go down the Town Hall and get given transubstantiation for free. My daughter's been on a waiting list three years, not been given so much as a f*cking wafer..." And I did a bit about this ugly statue of Alfred the Great they've got there, and about the twee shops near the theatre, and the people queuing up at the cathedral. And as I was leaving a middle-aged man approached me and said "Mark - lucky you were in Winchester tonight ay, seeing as you've got all that material about Winchester."

And he must have believed, that the next night I'd do all that again, while the audience muttered "Why does this mean anything to us, given that we're in Belfast?", on account of how I hadn't noticed that places are different

In reply to rlines:

The Wright Wine company...

But apart from that I prefer Settle!

In reply to Bulls Crack:


That reminds me - need to get some more malts in

In reply to rlines:

Skipton - very heavy (and normally yellow) big bin.

In reply to rlines:
Skipton is fascinating place. it only appears every 50 years and thanks to the philanthropy of Silas Gumbert, who owned nearby Broughton Hall, anyone over the age of 82 is allowed free cous cous.

some other fascinating facts about the town are as follows

It is still legal to gas a badger after midnight in Eastby

Michael Elphick was born in Kildwick and Nerys Hughes has a caravan just outside Embsay

It has the greatest number of left handed cunjurors in England, even more than Rawtenstall.

The river Aire provides the entire town with drinking water and regular bowel movements

Skipton is twinned with Allepo and nearby Keighley is twinned with Mordor

There are no Mexicans in Skipton through there re 3 in Lothersdale

Embsay was the subject of a documentary in 2009 about the infamous swinging scene and it's renowned "Tupperware" nights.

If the entire population of Skipton were laid end to end several would probably get run over

Nearby Silsden, though in West Yorkshire is often overrun with runaways, gunslingers and criminals all trying to make for the county line.

There is no birdsong in Thornton in Craven

Tall Clare is actually not that tall, which has resulted in several people asking for their money back.

In reply to Removed UserDeleted bagger:


My friend who lives very near to Skipton talks about how the local farmers will talk bluntly with her, and it's just their way of being friendly. She was quizzed very closely on her motives for getting a female Dalmatian. 'Are you going to sell the puppies to make money...?' It apparently seemed to go over his head that she'd have one for pleasure. ()

In reply to I can eat 50 eggs:


Copper Dragon ales, one of the best, up there with Joseph Holts of Manchester and Moorhouses of Burnley.