Things to Do in Knaresborough: A Local Dad's Guide to a Day Out

Getting here and parking

Before moving to Knaresborough, we used to come here on day trips by train. The train station is right in the middle of town — you step off and you're a couple of minutes from the Market Square, which makes Knaresborough an easy day out from Harrogate, Leeds or York without a car. You also get to go over the famous viaduct, and there are lovely views on the journey northwards from Leeds, where we used to live.

If you're driving, Knaresborough is just off the A1, so it's easy to reach from afar. There are two big car parks and they're the ones to aim for. Conyngham Hall is the main one, down near the riverside. York Place is the biggest, up at the top of town. Both are reasonably priced, and between them they'll cover you on most days.

There's also a smaller car park on Chapel Street, and you can park on the Market Square itself — but both fill up often on busy days, so I wouldn't plan around either of them. If it's a Wednesday (market day) or a sunny weekend, go straight for one of the big two and save yourself the loop around town.

On-street parking is free for a couple of hours using a parking disc for those who live in the Harrogate District.

Things to do with kids

Mother Shipton's Cave is the big obvious one — the oldest tourist attraction in the country. If I'm being honest, as a local I've only ever been twice as it's one of those 'big day out' venues rather than somewhere you go every week as a local. We went for Halloween and it was a great spooky day out; the "petrifying well" is genuinely strange and our six-year-old was fascinated. It's not just open for Halloween, though — they redesign it throughout the year for different seasons — our other visit was at Easter where the kids enjoyed hunting for eggs.

Hiring a rowing boat down by the riverside is great fun, and probably the most memorable hour you can spend here on a decent day — this would be one of the main things I'd do if I had family visiting for the first time. It's amazing rowing under the massive viaduct. I enjoy it so much I got myself a kayak for Father's Day one year! There's a couple of boat hire options, one of which is the fantastic Marigold's Cafe (pictured below) which doubles up as a great spot for lunch or ice cream. You may have to wait for a table as it's very popular.

If you want somewhere the kids can have a play whilst you grab a snack, I'd recommend the Kiosk at Conyngham, where there are games and activities for them — toys for the younger kids as well as tennis and golf hire for bigger ones — as well as the café with fresh food, drinks and ice creams that are really reasonably priced. Worth checking their Facebook page for what's on when, as their opening times vary throughout the year.

A picnic up by the castle is hard to beat, with the view of the viaduct as well as the castle museum, and there are a couple of great ice-cream shops nearby — Castle Creameries and Brymor's. In the summer, you can hire lawn bowls or do putting at the castle also.

Yorkshire Trading Co. on the high street isn't a tourist attraction, but my kids always want to go in and buy a toy. It's one of those shops that sells absolutely everything.

For wet-weather days there's obviously less to do here than in bigger nearby towns and cities like Harrogate and York, but there are a few decent options. Knaresborough Leisure Centre was rebuilt a few years ago and has a great modern swimming pool — a main pool plus a kids' pool with a slide for younger ones.

For a creative indoor option, my wife loves a trip to Painting Pots. They do pottery painting, glass fusion, squishie making, Foam Clay decorating and more, with kids' crafting sessions as well as adult nights.

Knaresborough Lido

I mentioned the castle as a nice place for a picnic, and the other place I love for this is Knaresborough Lido, on the edge of town. There's an M&S Food in the nearby retail park for picnic bits, but the Watermill Café at the Lido is also really nice, so do support them too. The Lido itself is a slow stretch of river by a luxury caravan site.

Cafés

There are too many to choose from! My two favourites: The Happy Barista, up near the Market Square in the arcade — this is where I'd go for a properly good speciality coffee; and The Black Mulberry, a lovely spot to sit if you're already down on the riverfront — it's opposite Marigold's that I mentioned earlier. The Black Mulberry do a parkrun special on Saturday mornings, so head there for breakfast if you're a parkrun tourist!

Bakeries and snacks

A trip to an old Yorkshire town wouldn't be complete without a visit to the bakery for a good pie! I go to Appleton's for a pork pie or a gourmet sausage roll, and Thomas the Baker for bread, sweet things, or the sausage rolls the kids prefer (which is handy, as it's cheaper). Hirst's on the High Street isn't somewhere I go every week, but their patisserie are great as a treat. And there's of course a Greggs across the road, as on every road in the UK! Whilst I do love a Greggs, when in Knaresborough I always go local :)

Pubs

Again, dozens to choose from. One day I'm going to make a pub-crawl route on the Yorkshire Adventure trail, but for now here's a list of the favourites I'd send you to:

• Blind Jack's on the Market Square — hard not to recommend, having been named Best Beer Pub in the UK at the 2025 Great British Pub Awards.
• The Mitre — owned by York Brewery and does really good beer. This is the one I'd point you at if you've just come in on the train, as it's right off the platform. If you don't want to venture that far, you could even go to Track and Sleeper, which is on the platform!
• Six Poor Folk in the middle of town — a big local favourite. Their Wednesday-night pub quiz is excellent.
• The Half Moon — not right in the centre, but if you're already down by the riverside and don't mind a short stroll, it's a nice walk over. This one is halfway between my house and town, and if my wife and I have an evening without the kids we'll walk down the picturesque Abbey Road to the Half Moon. Mother Shipton's Inn over the river is also good. Fun fact: every Boxing Day since 1968, the staff and drinkers at The Half Moon and Mother Shipton's Inn have had a tug-of-war contest to try to pull each other into the river.
• The World's End — if you're down by the riverside and want to stay near the viaduct, The World's End is a popular spot and has a great terrace overlooking the boat hire area.
• Carriages at the bottom of the high street — a nice beer garden overlooking the train tracks. I've not been for a while, but hear they do good food.

Which day to come

Wednesday is market day, and there's always good food and local produce on the stalls. It's also Six Poor Folk's quiz night if you're staying into the evening. As mentioned earlier, Knaresborough has a great parkrun on Saturday mornings at Conyngham — so welcome to any parkrun tourists!

The Bed Race

If you only come to Knaresborough once, make it the second Saturday in June. The Great Knaresborough Bed Race is the biggest day in the town's calendar, and it is, genuinely, absolutely mad.

It started in 1966 as a charity fundraiser run by the Knaresborough Round Table, and it's been held every year since apart from 2020 and 2021 — 2026 was the sixtieth running. Ninety teams of six runners and one passenger push decorated beds around a 2.4-mile course. It's half fancy-dress pageant, half properly gruelling time trial, and it finishes with the teams taking their beds across the River Nidd — which, given what I said about the water further up, tells you something about the spirit of the thing.

The town is packed for it. If you're coming, get here early or take the train — the car parks will not save you on Bed Race day.