Usha Gap Campsite

14/10/2026

🍻 We asked and you decided on the Top 10 Yorkshire Dales Pubs

10/10/2026

Mooker, Muck-er, mew-ker...* Muker in Swaledale is tiny yet full of charm. At the confluence of the River Swale and Straw Beck, it's a great base from which to walk. You might want to start with a tea or cake before you get started or take a look inside the lovely Old School Gallery.

Muker is beautiful all year round but it's particularly wonderful in June when the wildflower meadows are in full flower. Make sure you stick to the paths - there are flagstoned paths in some of the fields so you can get closer to admire the myriad varieties of wildflowers.

Over recent years the hay meadows have become even more precious. Farmers work with the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust to use more traditional haymaking methods and cut the hay after the wildflowers have had time to set their seed, ensuring future crops are just as lush.

One of the best insights into farming life is the Muker Show on the first Wednesday in September. It's one of the many times you'll get a chance to hear the marvellous Muker Silver Band , established in 1897 and still performing through out Swaledale and Wensleydale.

Make sure you peek inside the lovely St. Mary's Church in Muker. I'm fascinated by the pictures of previous vicars including the below on a tricycle. I love the idea of him free-wheeling and whooshing down the hills! From the graveyard you can peak over the wall into some of Muker's wonderful wild flower meadows. I especially like the abandoned door on the roof of one of the old farm buildings.

Muker Public Hall and Literary Institute is small but has an interesting story, in common with many other villages. At a time when formal education was a privilege, these buildings offered access to knowledge and learning. Muker Literary Institute was built in 1867, when the dale's prosperity came from lead-mining. Over time it's been adapted, becoming a home to the Muker Silver Band, once serving as a bank branch and now as a meeting space and exhibition area.

When you're ready for more substantial refreshments, it's time for the Farmer's Arms. It's a proper pub-pub, now community-owned (I'm proud to be a share owner along with many others), with stone flags on the floor, an open fire in Winter (and Spring, and Autumn, and sometimes even Summer...) and they welcome walkers, dogs and families

Why do you love Muker?

*it's pronounced mew-ker

09/10/2026

06/10/2026

James Rebanks explores the lives of rural workers in and around three English villages.

05/10/2026

Our youngest son James and others talking about living and working in Swaledale, well worth a listen

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0032ghl?fbclid=IwZnRzaAUw37dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mBWZkaWQWUPs0SmGyZwk9G3uFD2krxc8l1qKno3NydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5cqybQ3yy4mBtdxwX_VnDVTfvVoytvHPSn1lAfrMnsKc7Kia4WHCsCHf8XhQ_aem_XlBjdEYWDSJT3Mf9g1qiiA

James Rebanks explores the lives of rural workers in and around three English villages.

27/09/2026

A grand Yorkshire morning in the meadows between Thwaite and Muker, with the mighty bulk of Kisdon Hill rising above the dale.

The early light catches the green pastures, dry-stone walls and old paths, while two hardy ramblers head off into the fresh morning air. There’s a quietness to Swaledale at this hour — just the hills, the sheep and the sound of boots on the fellside.

Rugged, windswept and wonderfully Yorkshire. No frills, no fuss — just a cracking bit of countryside beneath a big Dales sky.

Swaledale at its finest. 💚⛰️

25/09/2026

Usha Gap Cottage has availability in October, November and December

Sleeps 4 people, (2 double rooms, 1 bathroom, 1 shower room, 1 downstairs toilet)
Weekly let £700 Friday to Friday, short breaks from Friday to Monday or Monday to Friday £400 up to 2 dogs welcome £10.00 each
Email for availability, information or to book at [email protected]