The boundaries of the parish extend beyond the village proper: eastwards they go to the River Wharfe, including ancient woodland.

The civil parish lies next to both Yorkshire Dales National Park and to the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Draughton has been historically written in various forms, including Dracton in the Domesday Book, and later Drahton, Draython, and Draghton.

The boundaries of the civil parish extend around and to the east of the village proper, and include the Chelker Reservoir.

The parish boundaries extend 1.2 miles (2 km) to the south of the village, and include Draughton moor.

[6] The parish of Draughton is surrounded to the north by Yorkshire Dales National Park, to the east by the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and to the south by the Bradford green belt.

The rest of the parish is more geologically diverse: a large area to the east of the village is shale, followed by sandstone around the River Wharfe.

[19] At the second level of local government – the North Yorkshire Council, which is a unitary authority – Draughton is part of the Wharfedale ward.