Carperby in Wensleydale in the glorious Yorkshire Dales

Carperby is a pretty, linear village, stretching over half a mile, with a mix of traditional terraced and detached houses intermittently embracing the minor road as it passes between Askrigg and Redmire. 

Tucked into the escarpment below the scars of Great Weyber and Ponder Ledge the village faces south over middle Wensleydale to view spectacularly across to Penhill and the deep valley cuts of Walden and Bishopdale.  A market cross stands on the small green at the east end of the village announcing its commercial status since 1674 but there are much older settlements dating back to the Iron Age on the fells above. 

Also on the higher fells is Locker Tarn, a small upland lake, reminding us of an even earlier glacial past.  Carperby was the first home of the famous breed of ‘Wensleydale Sheep’ which were originally called ‘Mugs’ and are still referred to locally by that ignominious name.  Today a quiet village of community and pride and an excellent start point for the beautiful footpath walks to Aysgarth Falls, Castle Bolton, Redmire and the fells above.  The road through Carperby is colloquially known as 'The High Road' and the name of the Wheatsheaf Hotel, the local inn, suggests a corn-growing past. The inn itself is now famous as to where James Herriot, who once was the local vet, and from the television series All Creatures Great and Small, and his bride spent their honeymoon in 1941.

The village also boasts a thriving village hall with concerts and other events held throughout the year.

Research and most of the words by Geoff.