What to do and see in Ripon, England: The Best Sights & Landmarks

We've loved having you back! Please note that you need to pre-book your ticket to visit at the moment via the website. Explore a great abbey and elegant water garden at this World Heritage Site near Harrogate. Cistercian monks chose this place to establish Fountains Abbey in 1132, and the walls echo with centuries-old stories. Follow the riverside path to Studley Royal, a playful water garden designed by visionaries John and William Aislabie in the 18th century. You can spend a day amongst statues, follies and cascades before venturing beyond the lake to Studley Royal deer park, with ancient lime tree avenues and red, fallow and sika deer. Eat, shop, stay Restaurant serving select range of hot food. Picnics welcome but please leave BBQs at home. Large shop with gardening section. Stay at one of 14 holiday cottages, including a cosy waterside lodge and elegant apartment inside Jacobean Fountains Hall. No drones please. Bikes and scooters welcome for children under 5.

Markenfield Hall – tucked privately away along a mile-long winding drive, just three miles south of Ripon, has been described as Yorkshire’s best-kept secret. Not visible from the road, a glimpse of the imposing east wall cannot be seen until visitors reach the old Mediaeval road near to the top of the drive. But for a quirk of fate – and the turnpike act of 1777 – Markenfield would be one of the most recognisable houses in Yorkshire and the nearby A61 would run along this now-Bridleway just 100m from its façade.As it is, the house is approached from the A61 Ripon to Harrogate Road along a humble farm track, past agricultural buildings and farm workers cottages. Parking at the side of the moat, visitors approach the building on foot – walking over the bridge that now serves the house in place of the former drawbridge – and the moment the Mediaeval Courtyard opens up as visitors pass beneath the Tudor Gatehouse never fails to astound. Open to the public for just 28 days each year - or to groups by appointment at virtually any other time - the Hall is still privately owned and in the hands of dedicated custodians.

Ripon Cathedral traces its history back to its foundation by St Wilfrid in 672AD. The Anglo-Saxon crypt of St Wilfrid's church remains and is open to visitors. Choral evensong takes place Tuesday to Friday at 6pm and Sundays at 3.30pm. Details of all services may be found on our website. We are open to visitors daily throughout the year and entry is free, though we rely on generous donations to continue this practice. Most of the building is wheelchair accessible with the exception of the Library and the Anglo-Saxon crypt. There is a touch-screen computer interpretation of the crypt at ground level for those unable to access it.

NORTON CONYERS is a historic house. Winner of the HHA Sotheby’s Restoration Award 2014 Norton Conyers, house and garden, have belonged to the Grahams since 1624. Recent excavations have revealed that parts of the house are Anglo-Saxon. The house’s exterior has distinctive Dutch-style gables; its interior contains fine 18th century plaster ceilings in the principal rooms. The garden is five minutes' walk from the house. Laid out in the mid 18th century, it retains the essentials of its original design, together with sympathetic replanting in the English style.