Discover Ripon: Museums, Canal Walks and Nature

Ripon combines an impressive urban history with waterways, gardens and varied landscapes in Yorkshire. If you are looking for a holiday apartment as a base for your trip, you can enjoy very different kinds of days here: historic museums offer insights into past ways of life, paths follow the Ripon Canal and the River Skell, and Thursdays bring regional produce to the market square.

History to See and Experience

Ripon’s Workhouse Museum is one of the most completely preserved Victorian workhouses in Britain. At the museum, you can follow an inmate’s journey: from admission in the Guardian’s Room through the baths and delousing room to the cells where vagrants slept. This sequence makes the institution of the time tangible through its rooms and functions.

Another unusual perspective is offered by the Prison & Police Museum. It is located in the former Ripon Liberty Prison, which later became Ripon Police Station, and presents the history of policing in Yorkshire from Anglo-Saxon times to the emergence of the professional police force. A photo identification activity complements the museum visit. At the Courthouse Museum, visitors can stand in the dock, learn what took place there in the 19th century and discover the Liberty of Ripon. Anyone interested in law, order and social history will therefore find several distinct themes to include in their travel plans.

Exploring the Canal and the River Skell

Ripon offers several walks with different characteristics. The Canal Walk begins outside Ripon Town Hall and follows the Ripon Canal through the Yorkshire countryside and urban surroundings. The City Centre & River Skell Discovery Trail passes historic buildings and the Spa Gardens. It also follows a wildlife corridor alongside a section of the River Skell.

The waterside landscape can also be explored along various routes. The Navigator’s Walk follows the Ripon Canal and offers encounters with a diverse range of wildlife. The River Skell supplies the basin of the Ripon Canal with water; one section of the canal runs alongside a wetland for waterfowl. The Hell Wath Nature Trail follows the River Skell through woodland clearings, meadows and hedgerows. Hell Wath is home to more than 400 plant species.

Anyone who would like to see the Ripon Canal by more than just walking can take a narrowboat trip on the canal with Ripon Scenic Cruises. This provides another way to view the surroundings from a different perspective, without limiting the trip to a single type of experience.

Market Square, Gardens and Regional Impressions

The Ripon Obelisk has stood in the centre of Ripon’s market square since 1702 and was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor. Every Thursday, the square hosts a market featuring craftspeople and regional produce. Market day is therefore particularly suitable for anyone who wants to include local products and crafts in their trip alongside history and landscapes.

The Workhouse Kitchen Garden cultivates historic food crops using horticultural techniques from the 1860s. Ripon Walled Garden includes a plant nursery, an old orchard and a woodland area; the garden was once part of the Bishop’s Palace. These places complement the museums with living garden and landscape themes. As an additional excursion, Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Water Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a short drive from Ripon.

Choose Ripon as a Suitable Base for Your Trip

Ripon is suited to a trip where you do not want every day to be the same. Museums and historic sites provide cultural highlights, while the Canal Walk, Navigator’s Walk, Hell Wath and the paths along the River Skell offer other ideas for days out. When looking for a holiday apartment, you can therefore first decide which combination matters most for your trip: more urban history, more wildlife watching, a market day or a journey along the canal. This keeps your choice of accommodation focused on your actual interests, without requiring you to commit to just one type of holiday.

Compare More Destinations

For further comparison, you can also visit the pages for Muker, Sherburn In Elmet, Malham, Thornton Dale, Burton-In-Lonsdale, Whorlton, Thornton-le-Moor and Thixendale.

For the higher-level travel overview: North Yorkshire.