Pateley Bridge, United Kingdom
Pateley Bridge is a town of 1,432 people in England, United Kingdom.
Why visit Pateley Bridge
Townapedia lists 12 museums and landmarks, 1 park or trail, 19 places to eat, 6 places to stay and 7 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Pateley Playhouse, Pateley Bridge, Nidderdale Museum and Yorke's Folly.
Weather in Pateley Bridge
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Pateley Bridge
Pateley Bridge (known locally as Pateley) is a market town in the civil parish of High and Low Bishopside, in Nidderdale, in the county and district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Nidd. It is in the Yorkshire Dales and just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
From the Wikipedia article Pateley Bridge (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Travel tips from other travellers: Pateley Bridge on Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Things to do7
Pateley Bridge
Bridge
Road bridge in High and Low Bishopside, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3
Museums and landmarks12
Yorke's Folly
Monument and historic site · 1.3 mi
Grade II listed C18th folly. 2 remaining pillars of 3. Built by Yorke family.
Castlestead
Monument and historic site · 0.8 mi
Possible timber castle site, but all visible remains have gone now. Shown as oblong on OS 1854 map.
Hollin House Mill
Monument and historic site · 1.3 mi
"Corn & Bobbins" mill. Source: OS 1849-50 survey
Parks, trails and playgrounds1
Restaurants and cafes19
The Pateley Club
Bar and pub
Members club with visitors welcome. Serves John Smiths beer
7 more on the map.
History
In the early Middle Ages the site of Pateley lay in lands of the Archbishop of York, which came to be known as Bishopside. In the 12th century the principal settlement in Bishopside was at Wilsill, rather than Pateley. Pateley was first recorded in 1175 (though the document survives in a later copy), as Patleiagate, with 14th century forms including Patheleybrig(ge). The final elements are clear, deriving from Old Norse gata ('street') and the northern dialect form brig ('bridge') respectively. The bridge is Pateley Bridge over the River Nidd.
There is more debate about the Pateley section of the name: the usual explanation is Old English pæþ ('path') in the genitive plural form paða + lēah ('open ground, clearing in a forest'); paða lēah would mean "woodland clearing of the paths", referring to paths up Nidderdale and from Ripon to Craven, which intersected here. However, the Pateley name forms competed in the Middle Ages with forms like Padlewath (1227) and Patheslayewathe which could be from Middle English *padil ('a shallow place in water') + Old Norse vath ('ford') and it could be that they owe something to this name. The local story that the name comes from 'Pate', an old Yorkshire dialect word for 'Badger', is incorrect.
Read more of the history
In 1320 the Archbishop of York granted a charter for a market and fair at Pateley. From the 14th century until the early part of the 20th century, Scotgate Ash Quarry despatched hard-wearing sandstone from its site on the northern flank above Pateley Bridge. In 1862 the railway arrived in Nidderdale, and the stone was then exported by train and was used in railway platforms, national buildings and harbour walls. Scotgate Ash Quarry closed in 1915.
Pateley Bridge has had two railway stations. Between 1862 and the Beeching cuts in 1964, Pateley Bridge railway station was the terminus of the railway line running up Nidderdale from Nidd Valley Junction, near Harrogate. Between 1907 and 1937, the Nidd Valley Light Railway ran farther up the dale from a separate railway station. Access is now by road, with an hourly bus service from Harrogate.
All Creatures Great and Small TV series was filmed mostly in the Yorkshire Dales with many of the Dales scenes filmed in the National Park around Nidderdale. The crossroads that are so important in the Christmas episode are "on the roads above Pateley Bridge".
From the History section of Pateley Bridge on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Pateley Bridge
Mary Jane BennettNew Zealand's first women lighthouse keeperPhoto: Aidan Wojtas, CC BY-SA 2.0
Joseph HarknessNew Zealand politicianPhoto: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain- James SmethamBritish artist (1821-1889)
- William StoneyBritish swimmer (1898-1980)
- Noel StockdaleStockdale, Sir (Arthur) Noel (1920–2004), businessman
Born in Pateley Bridge, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay6
Churches and places of worship10
Shopping3
Schools, colleges and libraries4
Healthcare1
Map of Pateley Bridge
63 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 16 miles away.
- Ripon 10 mi east, about 16 min by car
- Harrogate 11 mi southeast, about 18 min by car
- Ilkley 11 mi south, about 18 min by car
- Stainburn 12 mi southeast, about 19 min by car
- Otley 13 mi south, about 21 min by car
- Knaresborough 13 mi southeast, about 21 min by car
- Skipton 14 mi southwest, about 22 min by car
- Guiseley 15 mi south, about 24 min by car
- Yeadon 16 mi south, about 25 min by car
- Keighley 16 mi south, about 26 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Pateley Bridge
Keep exploring
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Pateley Bridge (2), Cyberdemon007 ( talk ), Public domain
- Pateley Bridge (43127412771), Amanda Slater from Coventry, West Midlands, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Pateley Bridge (29255259788), Amanda Slater from Coventry, West Midlands, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Pateley Bridge (29255257208), Amanda Slater from Coventry, West Midlands, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Pateley Bridge (29255258648), Amanda Slater from Coventry, West Midlands, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Pateley Bridge (42408621094), Amanda Slater from Coventry, West Midlands, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Dacre Banks, Holy Trinity Church, Smb1001, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Church - panoramio (118), Immanuel Giel, CC BY 3.0
- St Mary's Church and Churchyard Pateley Bridge Nidderdale 01, Skizzwizz, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Nidderdale Museum has a large collection illustrating all aspects of life in Nidderdale. - panoramio, Immanuel Giel, CC BY 3.0
- Yorke's Folly, Xclucie, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bewerley Grange Chapel, Gpwitteveen, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Pateley Playhouse hosts Pateley Bridge Dramatic Society (PBDS) a small amateur company - panoramio, Immanuel Giel, CC BY 3.0
- Nidd Bridge in Pateley Bridge - panoramio, Immanuel Giel, CC BY 3.0
Page built November 10, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.