The world's biggest story. England's smallest Town of Culture.

This morning (31st March 2026), Settle Stories submitted Settle’s Expression of Interest to the UK Town of Culture 2028 competition. The bid covers Settle and the whole of Upper Ribblesdale,  the town, the surrounding villages, and every community this market town has served as its historic capital for centuries. We are leading the bid because the government asked for our town’s story, and as the story experts, we wanted to help out.

Thank you to all the people who completed the survey and to those who attended meetings and commented on the application form.

If successful, Settle would become the smallest place ever to hold a title like this. We think that’s exactly the point.

When a town like this tells its story with confidence, it doesn’t just restore local pride. It expands what the nation knows about itself.”

The bid draws on what Settle and the surrounding area carries: Victoria Cave, the Settle-Carlisle Railway, the Hoffman Kiln, Ribblehead Viaduct, Victoria Hall – the world’s oldest continuously operating music hall and the W.R. Mitchell archive of Dales voices. These are not curiosities. They are chapters of the national story that have never been properly told.

The programme we’ve described centres on The Kiln, an immersive experience where audiences move through the chambers of the best-preserved Hoffman Kiln in England, alongside a young people’s production skills strand, international partnerships, intergenerational storytelling, and story trails that will remain in the landscape long after 2028.