Leyburn, United Kingdom

Leyburn is situated approximately 19 miles (31 km) west of the county town Northallerton, on the northern banks of the River Ure, near to the eastern border of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, at the edge of a valley or dale known as Wensleydale, which takes its name from the village of Wensley, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) to the west. Leyburn is close to a meadow nature reserve called Leyburn Old Glebe.

Leyburn is a gateway town to the Yorkshire Dales National Park and relies heavily on tourism, the national park attracted 520,000 overnight visitors in 2017.

The market place is home to several shops, pubs, and restaurants, including national retailers Co-op Food and One Stop, as well as notable independent businesses such as the department store Milners of Leyburn, which opened in 1882 and is currently in its fifth generation of family ownership, and Campbell's of Leyburn, a grocers dating back to 1868. A traditional outdoor market is held in the square every Friday, along with a livestock auction mart that started in 1918.Other businesses and industries located outside the market place include a local brewery, a chocolate maker and a Royal Mail delivery office.

Tennants Auctioneers, situated on Harmby road, is one of the largest auction houses in the UK, holding more than 80 sales each year and attracting buyers and sellers from around the world. Adjacent to Tennants is The Garden Rooms, a multi-purpose events and exhibitions venue with a capacity for 640 people.

The town's football club, Leyburn FC, play in the Wensleydale Creamery League, an affiliate league of the North Riding County Football Association, another local team, Leyburn United FC, once reached the Harrogate and District Football League, until their resignation in 2016. United no longer have senior representation and has rebranded as Leyburn United JFC, for players aged 4 to 14.

Wensleydale RUFC, a rugby union club based in Leyburn currently play in Yorkshire 2, having been promoted from Yorkshire 3 as champions in the 2018–19 season.

Leyburn once had a golf club, founded in 1895 and lasting until the late 1950s.

The Tour de Yorkshire in May 2018 started in Richmond and finished in Scarborough, the cyclists travelled through Leyburn. The town was also due to be the finishing point for stage 2 of the 2020 Tour de Yorkshire, however, on 17 March it was announced that the event would be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The torch relay for the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London passed through Leyburn.

The town's secondary school, The Wensleydale School, has just over 500 pupils, with a catchment are spanning through most of Wensleydale. The school previously had a sixth form, however this was closed in August 2025.

In 2006, Wensleydale School became a Specialist Science College under a programme discontinued in 2010.

The town's primary school is Leyburn Community Primary School, from where a vast majority of the pupils proceed to the Wensleydale School for secondary education, in 2017 the school became an academy. Leyburn's second primary school, St Peter and St Paul RC primary school dated back to 1835, but in 2011 it was closed due to financially unviable pupil numbers, having just 15 pupils in its last academic year.