Hawes is a popular market town in North Yorkshire’s Richmondshire region and a tourism hotspot in Yorkshire Dales National Park. The town is a good base for exploring Wensleydale, Swaledale, Cotterdale, Dentdale, Garsdale, Wharfedale, and Chapel-le-Dale. Walk the Hawes Town Trail, Millennium Walk, Pennine Way, or River Ure. Hawes won “Best Day Trip” from the English Tourist Board in 1998. Modern traffic has replaced coaches and horse-drawn waggons on its small streets, but market day (Tuesdays) in Hawes is as busy as ever, with a farmers’ auction bringing sheep farmers from throughout northern England. Traditional stores, cafés, and inns serve Dales visitors and locals. The award-winning Wensleydale Creamery, made famous by Wallace and Grommit, is now open to guests who can see the cheese being made and sample it in a café. National Park Centre and Dales Countryside Museum are in the old station yard. Marie Hartley and Joan Ingilby collected Dales artefacts for the Museum.
