Wetherby grew up as a half-way staging post for travellers on the Great North Road between London and Edinburgh. It since developed into a busy market town, being granted a Royal Charter in 1240.
It has been a crossing point on the River Wharfe since Roman times and is well worth exploring with good riverside walks and picnic areas.
The Shambles, built by the Duke of Devonshire as a row of butcher shops, later converted to a covered market where farmers brought their produce to trade, now boasts specialist craft shops, quaint tearooms and restaurants. Wetherby Racecourse holds popular steeplechases as well as exhibitions and arts, crafts and antique fairs. The nearby village of Boston Spa is renowned for its fine Georgian architecture.
Wetherby is 12 miles from Leeds, 12 miles from York and 8 miles from Harrogate. It makes a wonderful, central base for days out to the Yorkshire Dales, the North Yorkshire Moors and the East Coast.
