Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival
Scarecrows, Cake and a Day Out For a Fiver.

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Posted on 12th July 2026

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The Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival returns to the Yorkshire Dales this August, continuing a community tradition that originally began in 1994. The nine-day event transforms the Upper Wharfedale village into an open-air trail featuring more than 100 themed scarecrows created by local residents.

Running from Saturday 8th to Sunday 16th August 2026, the festival functions as a major local fundraiser, with proceeds directly supporting Kettlewell Primary School, the village hall, and the local parish church.

Exploring the Scarecrow Trails 🗺️

The festival has two self-guided paths that wind through the village’s lanes, gardens, and hidden corners. The streets will be filled with scenes and famous people (in scarecrow form) which will amuse and delight.

• The Adult Trail: A main trail featuring hidden clues placed alongside specific scarecrows. Solve the clues to find the answer.
• The Children's Trail: A simplified version designed for children, with their own clues and puzzle to solve.

Food, Drink, & Local Amenities ☕🍰

Kettlewell features permanent and pop-up food options to accommodate visitors throughout the nine-day event. Plenty of options to take a seat and just admire the fantastic views in Kettlewell.

• The Village Hall & Church Hall: Local volunteers serve homemade cakes, traybakes, sandwiches, and refreshments daily, with all sales contributing directly to the festival's charity funds.
• Local Pubs & Cafés: The village’s established businesses—including The Blue Bell Inn, The Racehorses Hotel, The King's Head, and Zarina's Traditional Tea Room—operate standard services alongside the event footprints.

Photo Gallery

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Plan Your Visit

• Admission Cost: Free to walk around the village, but official trail sheets cost £1.00 per person to participate in the puzzle trails.
• 2026 Event Dates: Saturday 8th to Sunday 16th August 2026.
• Daily Timings: Stalls and trail map hubs generally open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily.
• Cash & Connectivity: Due to Kettlewell's rural location in the Dales, mobile phone signals can be highly inconsistent. Visitors are advised to bring physical cash, as some volunteer-run trail huts and cake stalls are unable to guarantee card machine connectivity.
• Facilities & Toilets: Public toilets are located in the main Yorkshire Dales National Park car park. Additional facilities are opened inside the Village Hall during peak event hours.
• Terrain & Accessibility: Kettlewell features flat central lanes mixed with narrow, sloping back streets, small stone bridges, and gravel paths. The main pathways are accessible for standard wheelchairs and pushchairs, though some of the scarecrows placed on higher grass banks or narrow dirt tracks may require minor detours.

Getting There

Location Hub: Kettlewell, Near Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 5QZ.

By Car & Parking 🚗

Kettlewell is situated on the B6160, roughly 14 miles north of Skipton and 6 miles from Grassington. Because the village roads are exceptionally narrow, central street parking is strictly prohibited for non-residents during the festival. A large, dedicated event car park is managed by volunteers on the village perimeter for a fixed daily fee, £4.00 per vehicle in 2026, with all proceeds funding the local community projects.

By Public Transport 🚌

Public transport options to this part of Upper Wharfedale are limited. Visitors can take a direct train to Skipton Railway Station. From Skipton, the DalesBus 72 service operates scheduled transits through Grassington and drops passengers directly at the Kettlewell village boundary.