If you want to stretch out those final hours of summer as we head into Autumn, Otley is the perfect place to visit thanks to its superb great outdoors offering that offers tonnes of things to do. Here are just some of them

Take to the river
Otley’s Wharfemeadows Park is a great family-friendly venue next to the River Wharfe with a host of fun stuff. Head out onto the water with a pedalo or rowing boat thanks to Otley Boats, tuck into ice cream at the park’s café, play around on the adventure playground, or make like you’re Andy Murray on the tennis courts. Lots of green space makes it ideal for picnics, and you can play Pooh Sticks on the White Bridge over the river.

Head to the Chevin
From low down in the Wharfedale Valley by the river, head 282m up to the Chevin. Active folk will want to take the challenging Chevin Steps on a walk that starts from the ginnels after passing the footbridge at Station Road. They lead all the way up to the Surprise View summit. Alternatively, you can drive to the Surprise View car park, or leave the motor at any of the three car parks along East Chevin Road.

Go back to the Courthouse
Otley’s prime arts venue Otley Courthouse had to be mothballed during lockdown but it is cautiously re-opening for some events this month. First up is a lunchtime recital by Asuka Sumi in the afternoon of September 10, followed by a screening of Oscar-winning South Korean movie Parasite on the same evening. Later in the month, French period drama Portrait of a Lady On Fire will be showing on September 24. Look out for more performances as they are confirmed by visiting https://otleycourthouse.org.uk/

Watch a virtual gig
One of the highlights of the Covid crisis in Otley was the inventiveness of local music fans who took the Otley Music Festival and turned it into a successful digital event raising money for good causes. At the time of writing, the line-up for the next event on September 25 was still under wraps, but check out their Facebook page for details over the coming days. https://www.facebook.com/OtleyMusicFestival/

Dine al fresco
Another positive of the Covid crisis was re-opening of the town when lockdown was eased. As part of that, many of our bars and restaurants have become positively continental and, on days when the weather is nice, one could be excused for thinking they were in Otley Del Sol. Everywhere from high-end restaurants such as the riverside Buon Apps, to local cute cafés such as Little Corner of the World on Boroughgate seems to now have an outside seating area. Highlights include the ever-popular Bowling Green pub, the newly opened Otley Tap House (where you can grab a fab burger from the Otley Burger Company), the Rookery and Manor House (re-opening September 11) with their beer gardens and many more.