Place:Hawes, Yorkshire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Hawes is a small market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, being granted its market charter in 1699. Historically within the North Riding of Yorkshire, Hawes is located at the head of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, the River Ure runs through the town and the dale which is one of the honeypot tourist attractions of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The parish of Hawes also includes the neighbouring hamlet of Gayle. The hill of Great Shunner Fell stands over the town. The town is famous as being the home of Wensleydale cheese.

Local tourist attractions include the Dales Countryside Museum, based in the old Hawes railway station of the Wensleydale Railway; nearby Hardraw Force waterfall; and the Buttertubs Pass, which links Wensleydale to Swaledale. Further down the dale is Aysgarth Falls. Hawes itself has a regular market, as well as many shops, pubs and tearooms. The Hawes Promotion/Relegation party for fans of Sunderland AFC takes place there every summer. It is well attended and organised, and grows year upon year.

Hawes is at the centre of great walking (hiking) country and the Pennine Way (the UK's first National Trail) passes through.

Originally the town was known as The Hawes, deriving from the Old Norse word hals, meaning "neck" or "pass between mountains".

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