First trip to the Dales. Looking at Masham, Middleham, Hawes and Grassington. Will have a car rental and will arrive April 28th. Any advice on which would be the best base?

Grassington is a pretty small base but a lovely position and a great little wine shop. Masham is probably better with more options for staying and eating, it is where I would stay. You'll find that the roads around there are all slow.

Best base to do what? Walk, visit nearby towns? In any case, I think I'd go for Grassington-close enough to Skipton and Harrogate, as well as an easy run through Malham up to the Lake District, or 45 minutes away from Haworth.

All four places that you name will give access for walking.

I think we will be visiting some towns and doing some shorter hikes. Thanks for your input!

For walking, Grassington or Hawes would be the better base. Hawes is larger than Grassington with a bigger range of shops. It has plenty of places to stop and eat.

Another alternative would be Settle, a thriving small market town and centre for some excellent walking.

There are certainly many excellent choices here! I think Hawes or Grassington may be the better choice just because of the many activities nearby. Anyone have a rough guess on how long it would take to drive to London from either of these towns?

roughly five hours

>>Anyone have a rough guess on how long it would take to drive to London from either of these towns?<<

A LOT depends on where you are headed in London. The centre? Heathrow? Gatwick? Some suburb? . . . but sofarsogood is right - 5-ish hours.

I would also recommend the area around Settle. For a wonderful rural experience consider the Layhead Farm Cottages in nearby Rathmell. We've stayed in the Stables Cottage and loved it.
http://www.layhead.co.uk/

I live very close to Masham so I am biased but I'd definitely choose here. Two breweries in town, lots of pubs and an excellent restaurant called Vennels. Also much quieter than Hawes or Grassington although April is pretty quiet everywhere. Jervaulx is just downt the road from Masham and the walking everywhere is superb. Wensleydale has the best walking in my opinion but toucan also easily reach Nidderdale and Swaledale as well as the 'unknown' Dales such as Colsterdale.
There's a small tourist office in Masham with a good range of walking leaflets.
When we go to Lonson we travel by train from York or Northallerton.

Toucan means 'you can'! Apologies currently away from homeland typing on tiny screen! Was also going to suggest you look at the Visir Masham website. And the town is pronounced Mass 'em

Morgana, I think you sold me on Masham!

I want to do a loop drive/sightsee/hike trip. Does this look feasable in a day or is it too much? Jervaulx, Middleham Castle, Wensley, West Burton, Hubberholme, Grassington, Appletreewick, Bolton Abby Pateley Bridge, Hike in Nidderdale, Dinner at York Arms, Return to Masham.

Do you mean the Yorke Arms? If so , fabulous place. But the drive back to Masham afterwards will take about an hour -- hard after a nice dinner/any drinks.

Your day's route is VERY ambitious IMO. It is about 5 hours driving time plus the walks(s)/visits/meals. Driving in the Dales is beautiful but NOT fast.

Maybe I need to break it into small parts. Thanks Janisj!

Masham to the Yorke Arms is easily done in half an hour - we do it regularly but you need to go across the top of Masham Moor. We have a Landrover but any car will get you over there although it's a little steep and twisty as you drop down into Lofthouse. I can give you exact route details if you choose Masham. We love the Yorke Arms and go at least once a month for lunch!

Just asked my husband about the Masham - Yorke Arms route timings and he said he could do it in 20' mins! But he knows the road!

The Blue Lion http://www.thebluelion.co.uk/ is good. The Kings Head in Masham is sometimes a bit weak.

>>we do it regularly but you need to go across the top of Masham Moor. <<

I was talking about the 'regular' route . . . I did drive across the road you are talking about (the short cut) and when I got to the top of the moor -- the road was closed w/ no warning before hand . . . That was scary but I pressed on through the closed torn up bit and made it OK. As long as that road is open and clear then I can see it only taking 30-ish minutes.