Conistone

North Yorkshire

Conistone is a small village in Wharfedale in the former Craven district of North Yorkshire

The village is around 2.5 miles north-north-west of Grassington and 3 miles south of Kettlewell. It is about 11 miles by road north of Skipton.

Conistone is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The village is just above the eastern bank of the River Wharfe and less than half-a-mile away, just across the river bridge, is the neighbouring small village of Kilnsey, the first building there being a shared village hall.

A succession of river bridges carried ancient tracks across the area from at least the 12th century. However, the present stone bridge dates from the end of the 18th century.

The area has a long history as a farming community and there is still evidence of medieval farming in the area in the form of preserved field terraces known as lynchets.

The Church of St Mary has Norman origins and two original Norman arches are retained, however its appearance today owes much to a rebuild in 1846 in neo-Norman style.

The village also had a Wesleyan Methodist Church, built in 1885. When it closed as a chapel and was due to be sold in 1980, funds were raised to convert the chapel into a hostel, which is still run by The Methodist Church for youth groups.

Conistone also has a trekking and riding centre which offers pony trekking and horse riding lessons and holidays.

An interesting feature of the village is the wind vane-topped maypole at the centre of a triangular junction of minor roads which cross the village green.

Find out more about Conistone at the

Conistone with Kilnsey Community Website.
Details of the Conistone Hostel can be found at

The Methodist Church - Conistone Hostel web page.

Village features

The village is at a bridge over the River Wharfe.

Conistone is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Conistone has an old parish church - St Mary's Church.

Conistone has a village hall - shared with and located in nearby Kilnsey.

Place of worship: Anglican, Methodist.

Conistone has hostel accommodation.

Conistone was formerly in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Travel

Bus travel

The village has an infrequent bus service. - 15 minutes walk away in nearby Kilnsey.

Road travel

Conistone is reached on minor roads , just off the B6104 .

Places to visit

Yorkshire Dales National Park

Much of the Craven district is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The National Park offers mountain peaks, beautiful river valleys, attractive villages with country inns, ruined abbeys and some of the finest limestone scenery in the UK with limestone pavements, dry valleys, potholes and underground caves. The area offers excellent hiking and walking territory with paths and trails for people of all abilities. It is a centre for potholing and caving, has mountain bike routes and offers plenty of opportunity to study its rich wildlife. For more information see our page dedicated to the Yorkshire Dales.

Malham Cove

Malham

Malham is a small village in a hill farming community in the Yorkshire Dales National Park which has for many years attracted tourists, walkers and geographers as the location of some of the country's most magnificent limestone scenery. Find out more about Malham.

Bolton Priory and River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey

Bolton Priory

Bolton Abbey, North Yorkshire
The beautiful setting at Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales National Park is one of the most visited monastic sites in Yorkshire. Beside the River Wharfe are the ruins of Bolton Priory, where the nave of the priory church still survives as a parish church. The Augustinian priory was founded in 1154 and continued until the dissolution in 1539. The abbey has been carefully managed by the Devonshire family since 1755 and now has day-fee car parking (£15 a car or £12.50 pre-booked, as at July 2023), also gift shops, tea rooms, restaurants and facilities for weddings and corporate events. There is an extensive network of footpaths around the estate and one ancient right of way is the 60 stepping stones across the River Wharfe. Other paths lead into the ancient Strid Wood beside the river. Bolton Abbey is 5 miles east-north-east of Skipton (7 miles by road) and 5 miles north-west of Ilkley.

More information at

Bolton Abbey visitor website and at the

Priory Church website.
Find on map:

Bolton Abbey

Skipton Castle

The Bailey, Skipton, North Yorkshire
Skipton Castle is one of England's best restored medieval castles, standing between the town of Skipton and the top of a rocky cliff over the Eller Beck. The castle was first built as a Norman fort at the end of the 11th century, but was replaced in stone and in the early 14th century turned into a formidable stronghold after being granted to the Clifford family by King Edward II. Inside, the castle reveals how it was modified over the centuries, including a charming early Tudor courtyard with a yew tree growing at its centre. The castle was the scene of a Royalist last stand in the north during the English Civil War when it withstood a three-year siege until 1645. After the castle yielded, it was ruined by the Parliamentarians in the winter of 1648-9, but between 1657 and 1658 Lady Anne Clifford saw it carefully restored. The castle is open daily.

Find out more at

Skipton Castle website.
Find on map:

Skipton Castle

Embsay station

Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway

1903 Electric Autocar at EmbsayBolton Abbey stationEmbsay, near Skipton, to Bolton Abbey station
Operates from Embsay, about 1.5 miles from Skipton, to Bolton Abbey station about a mile away from the attractive priory ruins and beauty spot beside the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey. The railway runs trains on most days during the summer and at weekends at other times of year, except January. It also has a range of special weekend events, dining trains and footplate and signal box experience courses. Tank engines are the mainstay of steam operations on the line, but the railway also has a collection of historic diesel locomotives. Also running on the line some days is a restored hybrid electric railcar, which was way ahead of its time when built in York in 1903.

More information at the

Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway website.
Find on map:

Embsay Station

Ingleborough Cave

Near Clapham

This show cave about a 1-mile walk from the centre of Clapham village is one of the natural wonders of the Yorkshire Dales which has been attracting visitors over a period of 180 years. Underground tours along concrete paths in floodlit passages reveal a world of stalactites and stalagmites. The cave is open daily from mid-February to the end of October. Not to be missed if visiting the cave is Trow Gill, a short walk further up the valley from the cave entrance. The spectacular ravine was carved by the melt waters of the ice age.

More information at the

Ingleborough Cave website.
Find on map:

Ingleborough Cave

Kilnsey Park

Kilnsey Park Estate, off B6160 at Kilnsey
The scenic Kilnsey Park Estate has a cafe, local produce shop and an activity centre centred around its trout farm, offering fly fishing and family fun fishing lakes. It also offers an insight into nature through its trout raceways, reserve of wildflowers, red squirrel enclosure, butterfly gardens and bee observation hive and has farm animals and children's play areas.

More information at the

Kilnsey Park Estate website.
Find on map:

Kilnsey Park

Stump Cross Caverns

On B6265 Hebden Road, near Greenhow Hill

Situated around 5 miles west-south-west of Pateley Bridge, Stump Cross Caverns are show caves with some impressive stalactites and stalagmites among the limestone features reached by steps leading beneath the ground. A cafe with fine views across the nearby hills is also situated at the show cave entrance.

Find on map: Stump Cross Caverns

Emergency services

North Yorkshire Police

North Yorkshire Police website.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service website.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust website.

Local government

Civil parish meeting

Kilnsey and Conistone has a parish meeting.

Unitary authority

North Yorkshire Council

The North Yorkshire Council is a new unitary authority formed from the previous County Council from April 1, 2023. It covers the existing county duties including highways, schools, libraries and transport planning over an area of 3,109 square miles while also taking over the responsibilities of the seven huge district authorities also created in 1974 — Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby — these including local planning, waste collection, street cleaning, parks and car parks, housing and markets serving a population of around 615,500*.

Councillors were elected to the County Council in 2022 and continue as councillors of the new North Yorkshire Council unitary authority. There have been a few by-elections to fill councillor vacancies since then.

Places in North Yorkshire

Link to council website: North Yorkshire Council

^ Area figure from ONS Standard Area Measurements 2022 (converted from hectares).
* Population figure from Census 2021 (combined total of former districts).
Contains public sector information licensed under the

Open Government Licence v3.0.

Political composition:

453CI 1311 NY Ind92 LC421

90 members

CI = Conservative & Independent NY Ind = North Yorkshire Independents group LC = Labour & Cooperative
Composition and groupings - source North Yorkshire Council (February 2024)

Strategic authority

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority was created in December 2023 combining the unitary authority of York and the unitary authority of North Yorkshire — that created in April 2023 after the abolition of the county authority and its seven district authorities. The combined authority will run some functions under the new mayor elected in May 2024 as part of the government's so-called "Devolution deal" which ties the availablity of funding to the new governance arrangements. As well as having powers over housing development, transport and boosting skills and education across the 3,214 square miles of York and North Yorkshire, the elected mayor also takes on the role and functions of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner across the area.

Elected mayor: ❚ David Skaith Labour & Cooperative

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority website.

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire
Covers the county of North Yorkshire and City of York. This role is being transferred to the new elected mayor of York and North Yorkshire in 2024.

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire website.

Parliamentary constituency

Skipton and Ripon
Elected MP: ❚ Julian Smith Conservative

National government region

Yorkshire and the Humber

Ceremonial county

North Yorkshire

Historic

Craven district was one of seven large authorities abolished in 2023 as they were merged into a new North Yorkshire unitary authority- 1974: Within the West Riding of Yorkshire.
1974 - 2023: In the Craven shire district of the North Yorkshire county.

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