Leyburn is the main market town of lower Wensleydale, with a wide market place and a Friday market. Just west of the town, a limestone terrace called the Shawl gives a long walk with views right up the dale.
It sits between two castles. Two miles south is Middleham Castle, the childhood home of Richard III, in a village famous for its racehorse stables. Five miles west, Bolton Castle, where Mary Queen of Scots was held prisoner, still stands almost complete. The Wensleydale Railway, a heritage line, stops at Leyburn.