The A59 Between Hawes and Richmond: Where to Sleep, Stop and Stretch Your Legs

The 42-mile run over Buttertubs and down Swaledale is one of England's great short drives — here is how to break it up, and where to base yourself at either end.

Driving the A59 and the Buttertubs Pass in the right order

Run it east to west if you can. Leaving Richmond around 9am puts the sun behind you over Swaledale, and you reach Hawes before the Dales tourist traffic builds on the A684. The direct A6108 route between the two towns is only about 25 miles and 45 minutes, but the drive worth booking a day for is the detour: B6270 out of Richmond through Reeth, then the unclassified road over Buttertubs Pass to Thwaite and down into Hawes. Allow three hours with stops, more if you walk anywhere.

The Buttertubs themselves are 20 metres of limestone potholes just off the road at the top of the pass, roughly 5 miles south of Muker. There is a small gravel pull-in, no facilities, and on a clear day you can see across to Great Shunner Fell and Wild Boar Fell. Skip it in heavy rain — the verges turn to slurry, the drops are unfenced in places, and the hairpins above Thwaite stop being fun.

Between November and March the higher sections can be closed or gritted late, and the council does shut the pass in bad snow. Check before you commit; the A684 via Garsdale is the sensible winter alternative and still gives you the Howgills on the western horizon.

Where to stay in Hawes

Hawes is small — a main street, a market hall, the Wensleydale Creamery, and the Dales Countryside Museum in the old railway station. Most places to stay are B&Bs and small inns on or just off the A684, with a cluster of self-catering cottages towards Gayle and the beck. Expect roughly £90–£150 a night for a double in a decent independent, £140–£220 for the better-known inns in summer, and considerably less in late April or early October.

Book early for Friday and Saturday nights between May and September and during the first week of August. If you want quiet, look at Gayle or Sedbusk rather than the main street — you trade a five-minute walk for no delivery vans at 7am. The Wensleydale Pantry and the Crown do reliable evening food; the chippy on the main street is fine and closes early. Parking in Hawes is genuinely tight, so confirm your place has a space before you book.

Where to stay in Richmond

Richmond gives you more choice and more evening. The cobbled marketplace, the Norman castle and the Georgian theatre are all within five minutes of each other, and the station on the Darlington line at nearby Brompton-on-Swale means you can arrive without a car. Hotels and inns cluster around Market Place and Frenchgate; there are also good conversions along the river towards the Falls and in the old railway station building.

Budget roughly £80–£130 for a solid pub room, £120–£200 for the smarter independents and boutique conversions, with the best places hitting £200-plus on summer weekends. If you are driving the A59 onward towards the A1, staying in Richmond saves you 25 minutes the next morning compared with Hawes. Eat on Market Place or down in the Batts; the riverside walk under the castle is the best 20 minutes in town and costs nothing.

Reeth, halfway along the B6270, is a good third option if you want both ends of the drive within reach — three pubs around a village green, about 11 miles from Richmond and 22 from Hawes.

Stops, walks and what to skip

Muker is the stop most people remember: a cluster of stone barns, the Swaledale Woollens shop, and a footpath down to the river meadows that takes about 40 minutes return. Keld, four miles further up, has the waterfalls at Kisdon Force and Catrake Force — a steep but short walk from the village. Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in England at 1,732 feet, sits about nine miles north of Keld; it is worth the detour for the landscape, not the food.

Skip the A684 through Garsdale if you have already driven the pass — it is fast but dull. Skip Hardraw Force if you are short of time; you pay a small admission at the Green Dragon and the walk is brief. Skip the Creamery shop on a Saturday in August unless you enjoy queueing; the cheese is in every deli in Richmond anyway. Best months are May, June and September: heather on the moors from mid-August, fewer crowds, and daylight until after 9pm in June.

If you are only doing one overnight, I would book Richmond. You get the castle, the river and a proper choice of dinner, and the pass is then a full day out rather than a prelude to checking in.

Questions, answered

How long does the A59 and Buttertubs drive actually take?

Richmond to Hawes via Reeth, Muker and Buttertubs Pass is about 42 miles and takes 90 minutes without stopping. With photo stops at Buttertubs, a wander round Muker and a look at Keld, budget three to four hours. Add another hour if you detour to Tan Hill.

When is the best time of year to drive Buttertubs Pass?

Late May to early July and September are ideal — dry roads, long light and manageable traffic. Mid-August brings heather but also crowds and full car parks. Between November and March the high sections can be icy or closed by snow, so check conditions before setting off from Hawes or Richmond.

Should I stay in Hawes or Richmond for this route?

Richmond if you want choice of restaurants, a castle and easier onward links to the A1 and Darlington station. Hawes if you want to be inside the dales at dawn, close to the Creamery and Gayle Beck. Reeth splits the difference and sits right on the scenic road.

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