Dales Encounters: The Sheep That Thought It Was a Tour Guide

5th September 2025

There are many things you expect when you book a stay in Skipton. A cosy cottage (tick). A cracking pint (tick). Maybe even a scenic canal walk or a trip up to the castle (double tick).

What you don’t expect, however, is to be escorted along a footpath by a sheep with a sense of purpose.

On a recent wander just outside Skipton, one of our guests reported that a particularly confident ewe decided they were clearly in need of direction. Step for step, gate for gate, the sheep kept a careful pace ahead—pausing occasionally to check they hadn’t wandered off the “correct” route (or stopped to admire the view for too long).

Now, we can’t guarantee that every guest will get their own woolly guide, but it’s a reminder of what makes the Yorkshire Dales so wonderfully unpredictable. Around here, encounters aren’t just about the scenery—it’s the characters, both two-legged and four, that make the adventure.

Back at Thisledo Holiday Cottage, there’s plenty of space to laugh about your day’s encounters—sheep, cows, or the occasional pheasant that thinks it owns the road. After all, every ramble deserves a cosy ending.

So, lace up those boots. Who knows? Your next Dales encounter might just have four legs and a better sense of direction than your sat nav.