Settle is a small market town situated within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. The local travel links are located less than a mile from the town centre at Settle railway station and 29 miles further on to Leeds Bradford International Airport. The main road running through Settle is the B6480, which links to the A65, linking Settle to Skipton. The town had a population of 2,421 in 2001 according to the Census of that year.
Settle is a popular Yorkshire tourist destination attracting many visitors from around the world each year.
Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and located in Ribblesdale, the town lies at the southern edge of the Yorkshire Dales, a few miles from the Three Peaks and is perhaps best known for its railway station which can be found at the southern end of the scenic Settle to Carlisle Railway.
Settle's market is held weekly, each Tuesday, in the market place in the centre of the town, which is surrounded by local businesses, most of which are family-owned, with some offering items for sale unique to the local area.
The district includes numerous caves where prehistoric remains have been found, the most notable being Victoria Cave, so called because the inner chamber was discovered on Queen Victoria's accession day in 1837. Victoria Cave contained remains of mammoth, bear, reindeer and, suprisingly, hippopotamus as well as stones, flint, bone and other implements and ornaments. The discovery of flint is especially noteworthy since it is not a substance that is found naturally in the area and would probably have been used for arrowheads.
Other nearby points of interest are Malham Cove and tarn, the Clapham and Weathercote caves, the chasm of Hell Pot and the waterfall of Stainforth Force, pronounced in the local dialect as 'Stainforth Foss', the ravine of Gordale Scar, the cliffs of Attermire, Giggleswick Scar and Castleberg, which is the largest outcrop of limestone in Britain, standing immediately above Settle itself.
Settle itself has three schools, and works on a middle school principle, with Settle Primary School, Settle Middle School, and Settle College. To the west of the town is Giggleswick School, one of the main public schools in the north of England, founded in 1512. The museum at Giggleswick contains many of the artifacts discovered at Victoria Cave.
Settle is twinned with the French mediterranean seaside resort of Banyuls-sur-Mer.
