Dales Countryside Museum

The Dales Countryside Museum sits beside the old Hawes railway station in the small town of Hawes, at the head of Wensleydale in North Yorkshire. It is run by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and tells the story of the people who have lived and worked in the Dales for more than a thousand years. The museum began with a collection of artefacts put together by Marie Hartley, Ella Pontefract and Joan Ingilby. The museum stands on the site of the former Wensleydale Railway, and its outdoor display features a real steam train and carriages on the old track bed. The station building itself remains part of the museum, with part of it now used by a bike shop and a café. The steam engine on show was built in 1955 for a power station and later moved to several heritage railways before arriving at Hawes. It carries the number 67345, the same as the locomotive that took the last passenger train out of Hawes in 1959. Visitors find the museum’s outdoor displays easy to explore, with the steam train and carriages set against the backdrop of Wensleydale. Inside, the station building houses exhibits that bring the Dales’ past to life. The bike shop and café offer a place to rest after a walk through the town. The surroundings include the quiet streets of Hawes and the open landscape of the Yorkshire Dales.