Walk in and around Ripon

Ripon is perfect for exploring on foot to discover its many points of historical interest or using it as a base for a longer walk to enjoy the surrounding North Yorkshire countryside.

Explore Ripon's History

For an enjoyable walk, you do not even need to step outside the city centre. The medieval street layout of hidden snickets and historical buildings include a trio of buildings originally used for the purposes of law and order that are now museums.

There are nearly 60 commemorative plaques across the city that tell the story of how it came to be and some of the people who have called Ripon home over the centuries.

You can also walk the boundary of the city’s area of sanctuary as created in the 7th century, to encompass the monastery founded many years earlier.

Explore Ripon's Waterways

As well as a beautiful city centre with fascinating buildings, there is a canal and three rivers that converge to leave the city as one. These are the Skell, the Laver and the River Ure which is the central river to the valley of Wensleydale.

The Ripon Canal takes its own route out of the city, joining the River Ure downstream once the river has become wider, deeper and slower, making it navigable to river traffic.

Discover Ripon's Wildlife

This provides yet another route from the centre of Ripon following the corridor of green that has flourished around it. Along the way you can enjoy the locks, the gentle ‘chug’ of a narrow boat and access the Ripon City Wetlands nature reserve.

As well as enjoying riverside walks with all the wildlife that makes the water its home, you can enjoy a walk out to a destination or attraction. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is just three miles away and makes a great destination to enjoy lunch in one of the cafés or you can take a picnic from some of the great food shops in Ripon city centre.

Rambling from Ripon

Ripon also has a long-distance loop, the Ripon Rowel Walk, a waymarked tour of the countryside that surrounds Ripon taking in rolling hills, pretty villages and magnificent historical sites. The walking route reaches all the way to Masham, and includes the country park of Studley Royal, beginning and ending at Ripon Cathedral.