Why Ribblesdale is the place for colour and giants

RibblesdaleThere’s still plenty of colour to enjoy here in Ribblesdale – especially on those infrequent bright autumn days. Without a car for much of the week I stayed local, which is no great hardship in this part of the Yorkshire Dales. Photos show the trees and landscape around Langcliffe and Stackhouse.

Ribblesdale

Ribblesdale

Ribblesdale giant

It’s not often that Ribblesdale’s skyline changes its appearance. But during the week this oversized Meccano-type construction (below) took shape next to the cricket ground in Settle. No, it’s not Headingley’s new ground being constructed in the wrong place, it’s for more housing. Visible from all around the surrounding landscape it looks more suitable for high-rise office block construction in Leeds than for anything in this little rural town. Hopefully the resulting building will not be as conspicuous.

I did manage a quick walk around part of the Ingleborough nature reserve at Ribblehead one day – Whernside (below) looked splendid but I bet it was very cold on the tops.

Coffee causes chaos

I’ve never been a big fan of coffee – don’t care for the taste or the fact it stops me from dozing off. The trend for walking around the streets clinging to a cup of coffee leaves me baffled – especially when I see the carrier struggling to use a mobile phone at the same time. I’ve never understood why someone would want a cup of coffee while out shopping either – I just want to get as far away from the supermarket as soon as possible and back home for a nice cup of tea – in a proper mug. And I think some of the people I’ve seen and heard complaining about the coffee machine being broken in Settle Booths would be better off having less of a caffeine stimulant, not more. Anyway, the real reason for this elongated gripe is the amount of discarded cups – and other food or drink containers – littering our streets, especially those items which can’t be recycled. Apparently 2.5bn throwaway coffee cups are dumped in the UK every year – and less than 1 per cent of these are recyclable. Some environmentalists are suggesting a surcharge for using takeaway cups, along with a host of other measures. Why not just stop making cups that can’t be recycled? The same with plastic bottles, bags and other stuff which clog up rivers and oceans – we lived perfectly well before all this ‘convenience’ rubbish came along.

This week’s Dales church is just outside Ribblesdale near the source of the Aire at Kirkby Malham. The original St Michael’s was thought to have been built as early as the 7th century. It was completely rebuilt in the 15th century and restored in 1881. Also pictured below is the church’s famous Watery Grave. The story is that Colonel John Harrison and his wife Helen were so often separated by water during his career in the forces that Helen said they should be separated by water in death. When she died the grave was built over a small stream that ran through the graveyard, and she was buried on one side. However, when the colonel died, impenetrable rock was discovered so he was buried with his wife after all. It seems that wives don’t always get their own way.

Finally, can anyone tell me how Eggshell Lane in Clapham got its name?

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