Cracoe is a small village and civil parish in the former Craven District of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near to Rylstone and about 6 miles south-west of Grassington. Cracoe has an estimated population of 160 residents, measured at 178 in the 2011 census. Cracoe is a village which is also situated near Rylstone beneath Barden Fell and the twin skyline landmarks of Rylstone Cross and Cracoe Pinnacle in the Yorkshire Dales.[1]
Evidence of an army training camp can be seen on the south-east edge of the village. The circular earthworks visible from Fell Lane are searchlight battery emplacements. The village is located 5 and a half miles north-west of Skipton. The name of the village can be seen as famous in geological circles - for the nearby Cracoe Reef Knolls, a series of limestone hills which are geological remnants of an ancient coral reef.
Cracoe can also be seen as a township in Burnsall parish. It has a post office under the Skipton area. The parish covers roughly 2,370 acres. The parish has a population of 139 and has 32 houses.[2]
The parish has a village hall.[3] [4]
Cracoe was the home of the original Calendar Girls, who raised money to support Leukaemia Research Fund, by posing nude for a calendar.[5]
On 5 July 2014, the Tour de France Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through the village.[6]
A railway branch from Skipton terminates at Swinden Quarry in the north of the parish. This is a remnant of the Yorkshire Dales Railway, which used to continue to Grassington.