Why You'll Love the Settle Flowerpot Festival

Positioned on the far southwestern edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, in picturesque Ribblesdale, is Settle – a charming example of a traditional and historic Yorkshire Dales market town.

There is plenty to keep families occupied and it is especially recommended for a trip during the summer when you are certain to be vowed by the Settle Flowerpot Festival with fun flowerpot displays adorning the town.

This year, the Settle Flowerpot Festival will run from 12th July to 7th September 2025!

Images in this post are from the 2022 Settle Flowerpot Festival!

There are three Flowerpot Trails covering different parts of the town, each Trail sheet costs £3.00 or you can purchase all three for £7. Trails can be purchased from the Settle Information Centre or various locations around town. Alternatively, you can make your own way around, for free, discovering fabulous and imaginative creations as you go.

All the Settle Flowerpot Festival Trails are suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs and are on well-made footpaths, although there are a couple of steepish slopes to negotiate on each Trail.

boy in sunflower at Settle Flowerpot Festival

boy with the controller at Settle Flowerpot Festival

It makes a great way to explore this lovely town and was one of my kid’s best days out last summer; they absolutely loved it and have talked about it ever since.

Whilst you are there, the town is well worth further exploration. You’ll find loads of independent shops and cafes, along with a bustling market that takes place every Tuesday (the charter for the market dates back to 1249). The town itself is full of historical buildings and many of them are Grade II listed. The Shambles, with its six distinctive arches, is home to a variety of local shops, unusually with houses built above. The railway station, on the Settle to Carlisle line, also worth a visit, see if you can spot Sir Topham Hat overseeing operations.

The House That Jack Built is a lovely traditional toy shop and also has a bonus bathroom with baby changing facilities and a toddler toilet.

The intriguingly named Ye Olde Naked Man Café, dating back to 1663, is a family-run business specialising in homemade and seasonal produce. There is a cafe, onsite bakery and also a takeaway sandwich bar, it is a great place to grab items for a delicious picnic. There is no actual naked man that I have ever seen.

Then there is Settle Victoria Hall, a Victorian music hall that hosts a program of theatre, comedy and film throughout the year. They hold family film days and a production of Alice In Wonderland is showing in August. They also run an Emporium (shop) and Refreshment Gardens (outside cafe) which are really quirky and worth checking out.

Castleberg Crag is a 300-foot (91 m) limestone cliff that overlooks the town. You cannot stand in the marketplace and not want to climb it from a different perspective. A zigzag footpath leads to the summit, which offers a great viewpoint over the town. From the Market Cross, walk to the left-hand side of the Shambles and up Constitution Hill. After about 70 metres take the first passageway on the right.

After about 100 metres is the entrance to the Castlebergh Plantation on the left.

Go through the gate into the plantation and follow the made-up path to the summit, where there is a flag pole and an information board with panoramic views.

There is also a lovely Riverside Walk, following the River Ribble as it flows through the town. Suitable for wheelchairs, pushchairs and cycles, it’s about 0.6 miles and can be accessed at different points in town; by Settle Bridge at the northern end, from Mill Lane or Bankwell Road at the centre and from Station Road at the southern end. It also passes Settle Hydro, harnessing the river to create clean, green electricity for local homes.

There is plenty of pay and display parking in the town centre, so make the most of it and go potty this summer in Settle.