Nidderdale, historically also known as Netherdale, is one of the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills ri ...

(although outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park) in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is the upper valley of the

River Nidd The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. In its first few miles it is dammed three times to create Angram Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir, which attract a total of aroun ...

, which flows south

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

and then along the dale, forming several reservoirs including the

Gouthwaite Reservoir Gouthwaite Reservoir is a reservoir in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, England. It is one of many in the area, others include Roundhill Reservoir and Angram Reservoir. Gouthwaite's sole purpose is a compensation reservoir for the River Nidd, i.e. ...

, before turning east and eventually joining the River Ouse. The only town in the dale is

Pateley Bridge Pateley Bridge (known locally as Pateley) is a small market town in Nidderdale in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Nidd. It is in the Yorkshire Dales and ...

. Other settlements include

Wath Wath may refer to: Places in England * Wath, Cumbria, a U.K. location * Wath (near Ripon), a village in Harrogate district, North Yorkshire * Wath, Ryedale, a village in North Yorkshire * Wath-in-Nidderdale, a village near Pateley Bridge in Har ...

Ramsgill Ramsgill is a small village in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, England, about south-east of Lofthouse, located near Gouthwaite Reservoir. It is chiefly known for the Yorke Arms, formerly a Michelin-starred restaurant on the village green which t ...

, Lofthouse, and

Middlesmoor Middlesmoor is a small hill village at the head of Nidderdale in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Middlesmoor is the principal settlement in the civil parish of Stonebeck Up, historically a township in the ancient parish of ...

above Pateley Bridge, and

Bewerley Bewerley is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, about twelve miles west of Ripon. The parish includes the urban area of Pateley Bridge west of the River Nidd (known as Bridgehouse Gate), and the vil ...

, Glasshouses, Summerbridge,

Dacre Dacre may refer to: Places *Dacre, Cumbria, England **Dacre Castle *Dacre, North Yorkshire, England *Dacre, New Zealand, in the Southland Region * Dacre, Ontario, Canada People *Baron Dacre, an English hereditary title *Charlotte Dacre (1782–184 ...

, Darley,

Birstwith Birstwith is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Nidderdale, and is situated on the River Nidd. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 756 and increased to 868 ...

Hampsthwaite Hampsthwaite is a large village and civil parish in Nidderdale in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Nidd north west of Harrogate. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 1, ...

and Kettlesing below Pateley.

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Nidderdale was designated an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

in 1994. The AONB covers a much wider area than Nidderdale. In addition to Nidderdale itself (above Hampsthwaite), the AONB includes part of lower

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is the valley of the upper parts of the River Wharfe and one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated within the districts of Craven and Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire. It is ...

, the

Washburn valley The River Washburn is a river in Yorkshire, England. It originates high in the Yorkshire Dales and ends where it meets the River Wharfe. It lies within the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Name The earliest recorded form of the r ...

and part of lower

Wensleydale Wensleydale is the dale or upper valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines, one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of only a few Yorkshire Dales not currently named after its principal river, but th ...

, including

Jervaulx Abbey Jervaulx Abbey in East Witton, 14 miles north-west of the city of Ripon, was one of the great Cistercian abbeys of Yorkshire, England, dedicated to St Mary in 1156. It is a Grade I listed building. The place name ''Jervaulx'' is first atteste ...

and the side valleys west of the

River Ure The River Ure in North Yorkshire, England is approximately long from its source to the point where it becomes the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only major dale now named after a village rather than its ...

. The highest point in the Nidderdale AONB is

Great Whernside Great Whernside is a fell in the Yorkshire Dales, England, not to be confused with Whernside, some to the west. Its summit is the highest point of the eastern flank of Wharfedale above Kettlewell. Great Whernside forms the watershed between Wh ...

, 704 metres above sea level, on the border with the

Yorkshire Dales National Park The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England covering most of the Yorkshire Dales. Most of the park is in North Yorkshire, with a sizeable area in Westmorland (Cumbria) and a small part in Lancashire. The park was designat ...

. The AONB Web site provides directions for popular walks and offers information on canoeing and kayaking, caving, climbing, cycling, fishing and horse riding.

Local government

Nidderdale was historically in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, and in the Lower Division of

Claro Wapentake Claro was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was split into two divisions. The Upper Division included the parishes of Farnham, Fewston, Hampsthwaite, Kirkby Malzeard and Pannal and parts of Aldborough, Knaresborough, Otl ...

. In the 19th century local government reforms most of the dale fell within the Pateley Bridge Poor Law Union, later the Pateley Bridge

Rural Sanitary District Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

and from 1894 Pateley Bridge Rural District. In 1937 the rural district was merged to become part of

Ripon and Pateley Bridge Rural District Ripon and Pateley Bridge was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1937 to 1974. It was created in 1937 by a County Review Order, by a merger of the Ripon Rural District and the Pateley Bridge Rural District. The rural ...

. Hampsthwaite and Felliscliffe in the lower dale fell within Knaresborough Poor Law Union, later Knaresborough Rural Sanitary District and from 1894 Knaresborough Rural District, which merged in 1938 to become part of

Nidderdale Rural District Nidderdale was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1938 to 1974. It was created from the combination of most of the disbanded rural districts of Great Ouseburn and Knaresborough The district covered villages in the lower valley ...

. Since 1974 the whole dale has fallen within the

Borough of Harrogate The Borough of Harrogate is a local government district with borough status in North Yorkshire, England. Its population at the census of 2011 was 157,869. Its council is based in the town of Harrogate, but it also includes surrounding towns and v ...

in North Yorkshire.

Transport

A Nidderdale Omnibus started operating on 1 August 1849 and ran between

and Ripley Station. In 1862 the North Eastern Railway opened the

Nidd Valley Railway The Nidd Valley Railway was a long single-track branch railway line that ran along the valley of the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. Built by the North Eastern Railway, it ran from Ripley Junction, on the Harrogate to Ripon Line, to ...

from Nidd Valley Junction near

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

to Pateley Bridge. Between 1907 and 1937 the

Nidd Valley Light Railway Nidd Valley Light Railway was a light railway in upper Nidderdale in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was owned by Bradford Corporation Waterworks Department and the corporation also operated its public passenger services. Power & Tracti ...

served the dale above Pateley Bridge. The Pateley Bridge branch closed in 1964. Nidderdale is now served by the buses of

Harrogate Bus Company The Harrogate Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire ...

. In 2020, the AONB Web site provided these specifics. The area can be reached by bus "from Harrogate to Pateley Bridge; The Transdev Harrogate & District number 24 service runs regularly from Harrogate to Pateley Bridge. Nidderdale is also well served by

DalesBus DalesBus is a network of bus services, which operate in and around the Yorkshire Dales, England. The network is managed by Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company – a volunteer-run subsidiary of the Yorkshire Dales Society. History Dal ...

services". The nearest train station is at Harrogate. Highway access is via "A1(M) and the A61 to the east, and the A65, A59, M65 and M62 to the south".

Filming location

All Creatures Great and Small (2020 TV series) ''All Creatures Great and Small'' is a television series, set in 1937, based upon a series of books about a Yorkshire veterinarian written by Alf Wight under the pen name of James Herriot. The series was produced by Playground Entertainment for ...

was filmed mostly in the

with many of the Dales scenes filmed in Wharfedale and Nidderdale. For example, the crossroads that are so important in the Christmas episode are "on the roads above

" in Nidderdale.

References

External links

Visit Nidderdale

Visitors' guide to Nidderdale

Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Churches of Nidderdale
{{Coord, 54.086688, N, 1.757728, W, source:dewiki_region:GB-ENG_type:forest, format=dms, display=title Valleys of North Yorkshire