Ripon, United Kingdom Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

The unassuming market town of RIPON , eleven miles north of Harrogate, only really diverts by virtue of its relatively small but vital Cathedral (daily 8am–6.30pm; £2 donation requested), which can trace its ancestry back to its foundation by St Wilfrid in 672; the original crypt is still extant below the central tower. Despite a rather plain exterior, there's plenty that pleases here, from the subtle, twin-towered, thirteenth-century west front to the choir's misericords, full of painted figures of miserable clergymen, executed by the same team that carved the impressive stalls at … more »