Drove the van down to Skipton for the day. Found a car park in the centre of the town where motorhome can stay overnight for £5 – noted for potential future use. The town bills itself as the gateway to the dales and was certainly very attractive with the Leeds-Liverpool canal running through it’s centre and plenty of cafes and bars overlooking the waterway. There was even a ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest in the High Street. The town is dominated by Skipton Castle – a massive fortress dating back 900 years. One half of the building is open to the public and the other half, unusually, was bought by a private family who spent 3 generations restoring it to use as their own residence – quite an impressive address! Behind the castle a path leads along the river to Skipton Castle Woods, a wonderful oasis of peace and quiet now run by the Woodland Trust.