Skipton: England's New Epicentre of Happiness and Community Spirit
When should one visit Skipton, the celebrated 'Gateway to the Dales' and England's newly crowned epicentre of national happiness? Perhaps on a radiant summer's day, with narrow boats gleaming along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and otters playfully bobbing in the water. Or during the annual Sheep Day in June, when roads close, the town embraces ovine madness, and local Julian Kaye crafts his special Sheeptown gin, declaring, 'We use water from the canal and chuck in a few botanicals.' Alternatively, the big Christmas lights switch-on and Santa Run might be ideal, when roughly one-sixth of the town's 15,500 residents don full Father Christmas outfits and dash through cobbled streets.
Instead, I arrived on a cold, grey, wet February week. Café windows dripped with condensation, and market stalls—selling everything from cauliflowers to scones the size of your head and dog beds—were battened down against the drizzle. Flat caps were pulled down firmly. Yet, George the fishmonger, who had been up since 1am and was now serving from his van, roared cheerful greetings to passersby.
'Good morning, Brian! How are you? Morning, Mary! How's your mum? This is Rebecca, her parents are the local undertakers!' he exclaimed, waving a pink langoustine. 'I've been doing this for 38 years, so I know them all, and they're all lovely, lovely people. The very best. Of course they're happy. They live here!'
A Town Built on Warmth and Welcoming Faces
Through the drizzle, George shared his love for his job, recounting how he once worked with his wife until she broke her shoulder on New Year's Eve, and now he partners with his son-in-law Nikky. He noted they bicker gently, but it's better than working with his wife. He revealed that 80% of his fish comes from the Shetlands via his cousin, who also supplies Pep Guardiola's Manchester City football squad because Pep dislikes farmed fish.
Donald Ripley, nearly 92 and out buying teacakes to share with his 'darling wife Kathleen,' was equally perky. 'What's good about Skipton? Everything! I've lived here all my life. Never wanted to live anywhere else—why would I?' he said. 'It's the people. It's always the people—though, like anywhere, you always get one or two baddies. And sometimes you get free beer at the Working Men's Club, so that's quite a bonus. So yes, I'm happy.'
Julian Kaye, of Sheeptown gin fame, who runs the brilliant Wright Wine and Whisky Co., echoed this sentiment. He recounted being one of the original sponsors of the Calendar Girls, members of the nearby Rylstone Women's Institute who, in 1999, famously stripped naked for charity with carefully placed spider plants and buns, later immortalised in a film starring Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, and Celia Imrie. 'Ros, who ran a dress shop from what is now our whisky room, was Miss November!' he said.
Why Skipton Topped the Happiness Charts
It's easy to see why a recent survey by property website Rightmove saw the pretty town of Skipton in North Yorkshire pipping the London boroughs of Richmond-upon-Thames and Camden, as well as Woodbridge in Suffolk and nearby arch-happiness rival Harrogate. 'We've come second to Harrogate before,' said Joe Langley of Hardisty estate agents. 'But they're different—flashier, more obvious money. There are a lot of full pockets here, but we don't walk about in Gucci loafers. This is proper Yorkshire, so you'll always find someone to stand with and talk.'
This camaraderie is crucial, as the glory wasn't just for happiness and access to nature and green spaces—revealed this week in another survey as key priorities for families—but also for the friendliness of residents and access to essential services like schools and transport. Skipton boasts a few less essential delights too, including the 900-year-old castle off the High Street, one of the best-preserved medieval castles in the country. For centuries, it was the seat of the Clifford family, but since the 1950s, it has been home to the Fattorini family—Italian jewellers who, as at least five locals proudly noted, made the original FA Cup trophy.
Not Just Happiness: The Realities and Challenges
There's also the teeny but exquisite museum, shortlisted in a national contest alongside the National Portrait Gallery and the Young V&A, which displays a priceless Shakespeare first folio discovered in a backroom cupboard under a sink only a few years ago. As Jenny in Kutters hair salon put it, 'Nowhere's perfect, is it? But there's a lot to go at here. And at least people are friendly.'
She's right. Stand in the street looking lost, and people will rush to help. Pop into one of the town's 50-odd pubs and restaurants alone, and you'll be surrounded by friendly faces in minutes, sharing stories about how world-famous pie makers Stanforth's lost their crown to rivals Farmhouse Fare—apparently due to a fallout when the business was sold and the seller took the recipe. Or how tickets for the annual ferret race extravaganza in nearby Appletreewick sell out in one minute flat—'It's like Glastonbury!'—with some furry runners perked up with a little tot of whisky.
In Donald's case, conversations might turn to the shocking shrinkage of teacakes. 'They used to be twice the size. They're going to be scones before we know it!' he cried. But most of all, everyone discussed happiness—what it means and why it matters. 'You don't have to be jumping about saying, I'm happy, I'm happy, clapping your hands,' said Debbie Brooksbank behind the bar in the Boat House. 'It's about being content.'
'It's not about having money or cars or stuff,' added Peter Lockwood of Pennine Cruisers. 'Not for us.' The town's mayor, Councillor Winston Feather, put it differently: 'I'm not always the happiest person, but I'm so, so grateful to live here.'
The Flip Side: Struggles and Shadows in Skipton
And there's much to be grateful for: good schools, including two grammars and a recently turned-around academy, sports teams, a leisure centre, walking groups, book clubs, bridge clubs, a market four days a week, an actual bank and post office (albeit in a Subway branch), a theatre, and a cinema where the premiere of Calendar Girls reportedly took place the day before the one in Leicester Square. Crime figures are relatively low, though the police station is open only four hours a day, with officers commuting from Harrogate and no holding cells remaining. Occasionally, the head of North Yorkshire Police, who lives in Skipton, dons full regalia on his day off to walk through town, showing a police presence.
Yet, not everyone here is happy. How could they be? Illness, grief, depression, poverty, and loneliness affect some residents. Jodie, a hairdresser with pink-rinsed hair, insisted crossly, 'It's not a happy place. My customers are always moaning—about everything from the world to the weather to the fact we've put our prices up from five pounds a cut to six—after five years!' Claire, 54, rightly pointed out that behind 'all that bloody happiness,' the local food bank is in hot demand. Another unnamed woman whispered about a stabbing and even a murder 'only a few years back.'
While Skipton Building Society head office employs 900 people and transport links to Leeds and Bradford are good, access to decent jobs could be better, house prices are higher than in surrounding villages, and young people struggle. 'There's a dark side to Skipton, like there is everywhere,' said Debbie in the Boat House Bar. 'A lot of youths smashing about in the bus station. I think there was even a glassing. They're bored. No youth clubs. Not enough for them to do, like anywhere else.'
Youth Perspectives and Visitor Impact
At the bus station, 16-year-old Charlie, studying business and waiting with mates, said, 'It's all right here, I suppose. There's cafés and a cinema and somewhere to play football. But it's quite boring. It can't be the happiest place, surely? There's got to be happier places than this!' Asked what he'd change with a magic wand, he replied without hesitation, 'Make the weather better. Or move to Monaco. Which sounds much nicer.'
Matt, who works in Bek's Electrical shop and moved here after his wife threw him out of their Castle Hill home, isn't a huge fan either. 'I wouldn't die if I didn't live here. My customers are a merry bunch, but prices are always rising. People keep going on about how bloody happy it is—but it's all about visitors.' Those visitors arrive by the coachload from spring onwards, bringing their wallets, which benefits the town despite some empty shops.
In the beautiful Holy Trinity Church, dating back to the 12th century, the heating hasn't worked for three years, leaving the congregation cuddled up with hot water bottles and blankets. Even the famous narrowboats have faced challenges with canals drying up, leading hire companies to switch from holiday rentals to day trips on boats named Bill and Ben, Jack and Jill, and Wallace And Gromit. 'It's the end of an era,' said Peter Lockwood. 'But you've just got to get on with it, haven't you.'
Vibrant Nightlife and Haunting Tales
Happily, the endless pubs, microbreweries, and clubs are thriving—two more opened just this week. But don't call it Little Ibiza, as some newspapers did last year when reports of the great nightlife hit the press. 'We didn't love that—that wasn't really our thing,' said Gerry, 54, eating a Farmhouse Fare pie on the bridge with her dog. 'We're more about the chat here, really. We love to chat, about anything.'
In the Castle Inn, Alison, 62, claimed half the town is haunted—including The Woolly Sheep Inn, where I stayed. She insisted there are secret tunnels, big enough for horses, running under the High Street and that she attended school with one of the Yorkshire Ripper's early victims. 'Ooh, it was terrible. We weren't allowed to walk around the town at all,' she recalled.
The Heart of Skipton: Music, Dance, and Life Lessons
Skipton is an extraordinary place—not perfect, but warm, straightforward, and incredibly friendly, partly because people actually look at you rather than their mobile phones while walking. The highlight might be Skipton Sound Bar, a live music venue near the bus station with a special oldies afternoon on Wednesdays that, by 2:15pm, is rammed and booming with Northern Soul music. 'You have to get here by two to get a seat,' shouted Doreen, 84, looking gorgeous in a sparkly top with a perfect blow-dry. 'My friend Joan's coming on the bus from Ilkley Road, and we usually stay till about nine, then go to a speakeasy round the corner afterwards, then a taxi home just to be safe! Come and dance,' she cried, boogying off with her pal Justine.
So, what advice would they give to perk up the rest of us? For Doreen, it's: 'Life's too short to moan about the weather. Mind your own business, get out and enjoy yourself, have some fun.' George the fishmonger said, 'Just be content with what you've got. If you've got £100, don't spend £110.' But perhaps the best comes from Julian: 'I always say to my kids, "Your word's your word and be nice". If everyone lived by that, there wouldn't be so much strife in the world, would there? Just be nice, it don't take much.'
