Cracoe

Waterless pond and waterfall, Cracoe

Cracoe is a small village and civil parish in the former Craven District of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near to Rylstone and about 6 miles south-west of Grassington. Cracoe has an estimated population of 160 residents, measured at 178 in the 2011 census.[1] Cracoe is a village which is also situated near Rylstone beneath Barden Fell and the twin skyline landmarks of Rylstone Cross and Cracoe Pinnacle in the Yorkshire Dales.[2]

Evidence of an army training camp can be seen on the south-east edge of the village. The circular earthworks visible from Fell Lane are searchlight battery emplacements. The village is located 5 and a half miles north-west of Skipton. The name of the village can be seen as famous in geological circles - for the nearby Cracoe Reef Knolls, a series of limestone hills which are geological remnants of an ancient coral reef.

Cracoe can also be seen as a township in Burnsall parish. It has a post office under the Skipton area. The parish covers roughly 2,370 acres. The parish has a population of 139 and has 32 houses.[3]

The parish has a village hall.[4][5]

Cracoe was the home of the original Calendar Girls, who raised money to support Leukaemia Research Fund, by posing nude for a calendar.[6]

On 5 July 2014, the Tour de France Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through the village.[7]

A railway branch from Skipton terminates at Swinden Quarry in the north of the parish. This is a remnant of the Yorkshire Dales Railway, which used to continue to Grassington.

  1. ^ UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Cracoe Parish (1170216740)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Cracoe, near Skipton - Gateway to the Dales". yorkshire-dales.com. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  3. ^ "History of Cracoe, in Craven and West Riding | Map and description". visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  4. ^ "THE CARBONIFEROUS SEQUENCE OF THE CRAVEN LOWLANDS SOUTH OF THE REEF LIMESTONES OF CRACOE". pygs.lyellcollection.org. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Cracoe Village Hall, Skipton, North Yorkshire | Hall and Function Room to Hire". cracoevillagehall.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  6. ^ Barton, Laura (25 October 2001). "A village affair". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Tour de France Stage 1". Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.