Inside Settle, the rugged Yorkshire Dales market town that inspired composer Sir Edward Elgar

You can’t go to Settle without travelling at least one stop on the Settle-Carlisle railway line. 

After all, it crosses some of England’s most inhospitable (or inspirational, you choose) landscape.

The train trundles through tunnels and over the 24-arch Ribblehead Viaduct, passing waterfalls and caves, drystone-walled single-track roads wreathing among sheep-scattered fells and smaller paths leading across lonely moors. 

At intervals it stops at smart red-and-cream-painted stations complete with gas lamps, well-tended flower gardens, banks of cowslips and primroses.

But before getting too carried away, let’s take in Settle itself.

Above, one of Settle’s many traditional cobbled streets

Even though runners on the Three Peaks Challenge (Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent) may race through it, this is a grand little place to spend a few days.

A rugged market town by the River Ribble and surrounded by limestone crags, it has a sturdy history of social reform. Among the 17th and 18th Century houses that line the steep streets and lurk down alleys and around cobbled courtyards is the birthplace of Benjamin Waugh, founder of the NSPCC. Another Grade II listed building was the home of Dr George Birkbeck, founder of the Mechanics’ Institutes.

Then there’s the house Sir Edward Elgar stayed at when visiting his friend, physician and fellow musician Dr Charles Buck. It’s said the composer drew inspiration from Settle and the Dales for his Enigma Variations.

Clare Jenkins reveals that composer Sir Edward Elgar was a visitor to the town

Victoria Hall is the world’s oldest surviving music hall, founded in 1853 

There’s a Social Club, a Quaker Meeting House, and the Victoria Hall, the world’s oldest surviving music hall (founded 1853). With a glass-topped canopy outside and painted drop curtain inside, it offers a wide-ranging programme of theatre, music and cinema, ranging from Royal Opera House screened productions of Madama Butterfly and Carmen, through ska punk to talks on Florence Nightingale.

The market has been held here on Tuesdays since 1249, in a square dominated by the Town Hall and the 17th Century Shambles, whose six arches once housed the town’s butchers but are now given over to independent shops, among them the fine Limestone Books. Nearby, The Folly houses an award-winning cafe and the Museum of North Craven Life. Here you can learn about the townspeople’s historic activities – from blacksmithing through cotton spinning to quarrying.

Where to stay: The Golden Lion in Duke Street is a 17th Century coaching inn with a wood-panelled bar, not to mention hearty food and real ales. B&B doubles from £130 (goldenlionsettle.co.uk).

A room at The Golden Lion, where B&B doubles cost from £130