Holiday Attractions in SelbyHoliday attractions and places to visit while visiting Selby. Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated 12 miles (19.3 km) south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse. Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district and is historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Selby is expanding to become a larger town. New houses and shops are being built on the present town's outskirts with the expansion of the town stretching as far as the bypass. Meanwhile the river-front area is being revamped with modern housing and fashionable flats. Selby was also a centre for shipbuilding, with vessels launched into the river. This often required the more unusual technique of launching the vessels side-on into the river due to lack of space for a more conventional stern first or bow first launch. One famous vessel of the Cochrane and Son's shipyard of the town is the preserved trawler Ross Tiger at Grimsby's National Fishing Heritage Centre. Cochrane launched their last vessel into the Ouse in 1998, a historical occasion which people around the area went to see. Once Cochrane had closed, the massive cranes still stood over the skyline of Selby until 2001, when seriously strong winds blew them down. As of 2009 the area of the shipyard had been completely demolished but to the left of the yard parts of the cranes can be still seen. Selby lies on the tidal River Ouse in a natural area of Yorkshire known as the Humberhead Levels. The main roads which cross at Selby are the A63 from Leeds to Hull and the A19 from Doncaster to York, though the A19 and A63 no longer meet in Selby itself since the opening of the Selby Bypass in 2004. The River Ouse is navigable upstream as far as York so the old toll bridge by which the A63 crossed the river at Selby had to allow for this. For many years the swing bridge in Selby was a notorious local bottleneck but since the opening of the Selby bypass congestion in the town has been relieved. Selby is a commuter town with proximity to both York and Leeds. Its popularity as a tourist destination, due to Selby Abbey, has led to a large amount of development and renovation in the town and surrounding area. The residential areas of Selby have also been subject to expansion and development. A large number of new houses and apartments have been developed in the Holmes Lane area. More have been built at various points along the river-front, the result of an ongoing project to improve an area that had been largely derelict since the decline of the shipbuilding industry. More housing is currently under development on the south side of town between the Three Lakes retail park and the bypass. Although much of the infrastructure of the shipbuilding and coal mining industries remain both in and around Selby, both industries have long since been defunct. Present day, the main income for the area is derived from arable farming and as a commuter area for Leeds, Wakefield, and York. In recent years, Selby has seen the development of new shopping areas both in the town centre and on the outskirts. The Abbey Walk Shopping Centre was developed on recreational land that runs parallel to the town centre. The expansion not only increased the volume of town centre shops but also provided large scale, convenient parking for the town centre. In more recent years, the Three Lakes Retail Park has opened on the outskirts of town and continues to expand with more developments under construction. Two of the town's supermarkets, Tesco and Morrison's are both looking to expand their stores, the latter meaning the re-siting of the Abbey Primary School.Selby is the transport hub for the local area and has a bus and railway station running services to many places around the area. Train services from Selby railway station run directly to London King's Cross, Leeds, Manchester Piccadilly, York and other destinations. Arriva have a bus depot in Selby, from where they offer a range of local services, as well as longer services to Goole, Doncaster, Leeds, Pontefract, Wakefield and York. Thornes Independent of Hemingbrough also offer a range of services in the area. In July 2001 construction began on the Selby bypass which was authorised for development in 1993. The bypass runs from the A19 at Barlby along the southern perimeter of Selby, joining the A63 at Thorpe Willoughby. The project was delayed due to technical difficulties with the swing bridge over the River Ouse but was eventually completed in July 2004. Selby Town Hall is regarded as being one of the best live venues in the area (as officially recognised by winning the Yorkshire Evening Post's Nightlife Award). Selby Town Council has been running this venue since 2003, with regular performances of music, dance, drama and comedy. Especially popular are the local band nights, that regularly draw big crowds, as does the annual Battle Of The Bands. |