Yorkshire Dales Pubs and Cosy Stays for a November Trip

Dark nights, open fires and short drives between Swaledale, Wensleydale and Wharfedale — how to pick a base that works in November.

Why a Dales pub-with-rooms beats a big hotel in November

In November the Dales shut down early. Light goes by about 16:15, Tan Hill and the Buttertubs Pass can be snow-shut without warning, and most of the visitor attractions — the Forbidden Corner, Bolton Castle, Wensleydale Creamery's viewing gallery — run winter hours or close midweek. What still works is the pub. A room over a bar in Reeth, Hawes, Askrigg or Grassington means you eat where you sleep, no taxi on unlit lanes, and a landlord who knows which road is gritted.

Expect roughly £95–£150 for a double with breakfast midweek, £120–£180 Friday and Saturday, and noticeably less from Sunday to Thursday in the first fortnight of the month. Book direct where you can: Dales pubs hold few rooms, often four to eight, and the good ones fill for the November food and beer weekends in Masham and Richmond. If you want a spa, pool or lift, stay in Harrogate or Ripon and drive in — 40 minutes to Pateley Bridge, an hour to Hawes.

Swaledale and Wensleydale: the classic pub bases

Reeth is the best first-time base. The village green has three pubs within 100 metres, the Swaledale Museum opens Thursday to Sunday, and Reeth to Richmond is 12 miles of good B6270 driving. From there Keld is 20 minutes, Muker 15, and the Muker to Keld riverside path — the Swale's best short walk — is walkable in two hours even in drizzle. Askrigg, 30 minutes east, has the Kings Arms and the White Rose, plus Wensleydale's best-known village setting.

Hawes is the busiest Wensleydale option and the only one with real year-round momentum: the Wensleydale Creamery, the Dales Countryside Museum, Ropemakers and a Tuesday market. It is 25 miles from Kendal over the A684, roughly 50 minutes in clear weather. Between the two, I would book Askrigg for a quiet two-night break and Hawes if you want shops and a choice of dinner. Skip Leyburn as an overnight base in November — it is a fine lunch stop but thin on evening food midweek.

Wharfedale, Nidderdale and the eastern edge

Wharfedale holds up best when the weather turns. Grassington has the Devonshire Arms and the Black Horse, a small square of independents, and the Grassington Moor lead-mining walks above the village; Skipton is 11 miles south, about 25 minutes, with a castle, a market four days a week and a rail link to Leeds in under an hour. Kettlewell, six miles north, is quieter and sits under Great Whernside.

Nidderdale is the sleeper. Pateley Bridge has the Oldest Sweet Shop, a decent riverside walk and rooms around £90–£130; from there Brimham Rocks is 15 minutes and How Stean Gorge 25. This is the area I would pick for a three-night November stay with a dog, because the lower altitude means less snow than Swaledale and the roads stay open. Avoid weekend-only stays in the smallest hamlets — if a pub closes for the winter, you are driving 20 minutes for dinner.

Booking it: what to sort before you go

Book accommodation first and dinner at the same time. Dales pubs serve food roughly 17:30–20:30 in November and stop taking orders earlier than in summer; a table for eight o'clock in a six-table dining room is not a given. Check opening days on each pub's own website, not an aggregator — Monday and Tuesday closures are normal. If you are arriving by train, Northallerton, Skipton and Harrogate are the useful stations; from London, King's Cross to Northallerton is about 2h20, then 40 minutes by car into Wensleydale.

Pack for 4–8°C days and near-zero nights, bring a torch, and plan one indoor day: the Dales Countryside Museum, the Yorkshire Dales Lead Mining Museum in Earby, or a brewery tour in Masham. Petrol stations thin out fast west of Leyburn — fill at Bedale, Richmond or Hawes. The best November window is the first three weeks; by the last weekend the high passes are genuinely unpredictable.

Questions, answered

Is November a good time to visit the Yorkshire Dales?

Yes, if you accept short daylight and some closures. Expect 4–8°C, quiet roads and lower midweek rates of roughly £95–£150 for a pub double with breakfast. Go in the first three weeks; the highest passes, including the Buttertubs, become unreliable later.

Where should I base myself for a November trip?

Reeth for Swaledale walks, Askrigg or Hawes for Wensleydale, Grassington or Skipton for Wharfedale, and Pateley Bridge for Nidderdale. Grassington and Pateley Bridge stay accessible most reliably in bad weather because they sit lower.

Do Dales pubs close midweek in winter?

Several do. Monday and Tuesday closures are common from November, and some kitchens stop serving by 20:30. Check each pub's own site for opening days before booking, and reserve a dinner table when you reserve the room.

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