See Ewe in Skipton

So here we are in Skipton, which grew as a prosperous market town, trading sheep and woollen goods with its name deriving from “sceap”, meaning sheep and “tun” meaning town. In the C19th it developed into a small mill town, connected to the major cities by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The mill buildings remain, a testament to the hundreds of looms that once wove here, but many have been converted to flats and shops. Today, it’s more about tourism and with the Yorkshire Dales rising up just behind the town, they are on the doorstep.

We learnt quite a bit about the history during our hour long cruise along the canal, complete with comedic commentary from Skipton Boats.

Later we wandered a little in the town and down the High Street where the market is unusual as stall holders can just pitch up in any available spot.

After coffee and cake we went to the town hall, unfortunately covered in scaffolding, but look at the poster outside!

Inside, we looked round the interesting little museum. You can see from this display that Sylko thread was made here in Skipton by the Dewhurst mill, and I’ve still got a couple of old wooden spools just like these!