Townapedia

Pateley Bridge, United Kingdom

Pateley Bridge is a town of 1,432 people in England, United Kingdom.

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Population1,432 GeoNames
RegionEngland
Elevation390 ft 119 m
Time zoneEurope/London
Nearest airportLeeds Bradford Airport (LBA) 16 mi
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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.

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 Playhouse

Cinema and theater

Theatre in the UK

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Pateley Bridge

Bridge

Road bridge in High and Low Bishopside, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3

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Pincher Hill

Scenic view · 0.8 mi

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Riggs Top

Scenic view · 1.2 mi

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Silver Hill

Scenic view · 0.7 mi

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Strawberry Hill

Scenic view · 0.9 mi

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Sugar Hill

Scenic view · 0.6 mi

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Museums and landmarks12

Nidderdale Museum

Museum

King Street, Harrogate

Mo-Su 13:30-16:30

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Yorke's Folly

Monument and historic site · 1.3 mi

Grade II listed C18th folly. 2 remaining pillars of 3. Built by Yorke family.

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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.

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Hollin House Mill

Monument and historic site · 1.3 mi

"Corn & Bobbins" mill. Source: OS 1849-50 survey

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old lead mine workings

Monument and historic site · 1.4 mi

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Bale Bank Level

Monument and historic site · 1.4 mi

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Bridgehouse Gate Congregational Chapel Burial Ground

Cemetery

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Eagle Level

Monument and historic site · 0.8 mi

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lime kiln

Monument and historic site · 1.3 mi

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old shaft

Monument and historic site · 1.5 mi

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War Memorial

Monument and historic site

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water mill

Monument and historic site · 0.8 mi

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Parks, trails and playgrounds1

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Restaurants and cafes19

The Pateley Club

Bar and pub

Members club with visitors welcome. Serves John Smiths beer

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The Old Granary Tea Shop

Cafe

17 High Street, Harrogate

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Chinese Japanese Restaurant

Restaurant · Asian

High Street, Pateley Bridge

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Teacups

Cafe

Formerly the village school

Bridgehousegate, Pateley Bridge

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Olley's Pizzeria

Restaurant · Pizza

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The Pancake House

Cafe · Pancake, Milshakes, Ice Creams, Breakfast

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The Willow

Restaurant

Park Road, Pateley Bridge

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Wildings

Cafe · Tea Room

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Park View Stores

Bakery

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Royal Oak

Bar and pub

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Tea Rooms

Cafe

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The Birch Tree

Bar and pub · 1.4 mi

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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

Born in Pateley Bridge, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.

Where to stay6

Churches and places of worship10

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Shopping3

Schools, colleges and libraries4

Healthcare1

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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

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Page built November 10, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.