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Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes

The Dales Countryside Museum is in Hawes, roughly nine miles east of Garsdale, housed in the town's former railway station on the Wensleydale Railway. It has exhibitions on the geology, farming history and natural history of the Yorkshire Dales, including material on local industries such as lead mining, sheep farming and dry stone walls. There are family-friendly events throughout the year. The museum is a useful rainy-day retreat and works well in combination with the Wensleydale Creamery, the market on Tuesday mornings and the craft shops and cafes of Hawes town. Hawes itself is also the western end of a section of the Pennine Way, and a fifteen-minute drive from Garsdale.

The Dales Countryside Museum is housed in Hawes' former Victorian railway station and tells the story of the Yorkshire Dales and the people who have lived, worked and shaped this landscape over thousands of years. It is run by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, and the galleries cover farming, lead mining, dairying, and the domestic life of Dales communities, with hands-on exhibits and an outdoor trail. There are changing exhibitions through the year in the John Richard Baker Exhibition Hall, and a programme of events including guided walks around Hawes.

The museum shop stocks work by local artists and makers inspired by the collections. The National Park Centre is based here too, so it is a good first stop for maps, information and advice on walks in the area. The Little White Bus stops adjacent to the museum, connecting with Garsdale train station on the Settle-Carlisle line and with Hawes itself.

Dales Countryside Museum

Stay Near Dales Countryside Museum

We have three holiday cottages in Garsdale you can use as a base for visiting Dales Countryside Museum.

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