Armitage lives in the Holme Valley, West Yorkshire, close to his family home in Marsden.[115] His first wife was Alison Tootell: they married in 1991.[116] He then married radio producer Sue Roberts; they have a daughter, Emmeline, born in 2000.[117] Emmeline won the 2017 SLAMbassadors national youth poetry slam for 13-18-year-olds.[118] Continuing in both her father's and grandfather's tradition, she is a member of the National Youth Theatre and a singer.[119]
He is a supporter of his local football team, Huddersfield Town, and refers to it many times in his book All Points North (1996). He is also a birdwatcher.[120]
