Arncliffe is everything a Yorkshire Dales village should be – limestone cottages and farmhouses surrounding a village green which shimmers with wild flowers in the spring and summer. At its heart is the parish church of St Oswald, on the banks of the River Skirfare. There has been a church here since Norman times, although the present building is mainly nineteenth century, built onto a fifteenth century tower. Charles Kingsley was a visitor to the village, and it is said that he wrote part of The Water Babies here. More recently, the valley has been the setting for scenes from the popular television soap opera, Emmerdale Farm.