Nakedness, monks and dry Dales days

dales13 photos. The cackle of a stream over water-worn pebbles; hidden birds striking out perfect notes. The sight and smell of wild garlic; bluebells gently swaying in dappled sunlight. A Dales wood is a delight on such a day. The few people I meet are cheerful; happy to be out and about in this peaceful haven, forgetting the world’s troubles and its greedy fools.

At the start of the week I was contemplating changing the name of my blog to Scribble by the Pebbles, such was the lack of water in the Ribble and elsewhere in the Dales. Many stretches of the riverbed near my home could easily be walked across which is very unusual as this is an area where water has traditionally been collected for meadows and powering mills.

One day I popped over to Wensleydale to see how low Semerwater was looking. The two large boulders by the car park (top pic) were totally exposed. I took photos of the naked rocks for posterity. In fact, I got a bit carried away with camera clicking this week and had a job whittling down the choice for the blog so I’ll let the pics do most of the talking.

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No water heading over Langcliffe weir earlier this week
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The millpond provided sanctuary for this family
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Outbreak of wild garlic at Langcliffe

 

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Bluebells and ramsons basking in the sun by the Ribble

 

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Looking down on Semerwater
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Bainbridge in Wensleydale

 

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Time to top up the tan in the Dales

 

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Looking across the meadows towards Malham Cove on a walk to Gordale

 

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Standard Dales shot of Gordale Scar. I posted more on Twitter and Facebook earlier in the week.

 

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I find it hard to get the exposure right when inside steep-sided Gordale which is usually in strong shadow. Again, the waterfall was nobbut a trickle.
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Sawley Abbey lies beside the Ribble on the traditional Yorkshire-Lancashire border. The monks at Sawley owned the land around Langcliffe and Giggleswick for around 400 years.
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Stone carvings at Sawley Abbey, done a almost 1,000 years ago – I wonder if my blogs will still be hanging around the Dales in 3017?
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