Anyone for a Yorkshire Dales dawdle drive? (10 photos)

Dales Ribble

A Dales dawdle drive is something I enjoy greatly during retirement. My son, who runs a business in which he needs to travel the Dales roads daily, curses folk like me. His cab van fills with words I certainly didn’t teach him when he gets stuck behind the doddering old Dales dawdle driver. Set off earlier and enjoy the view I tell the impetuous youth.

If I’m not feeling too cantankerous I will pull over on seeing a ‘worker’ wanting to pass, as I did for white van man along the narrow road between Halton Gill and Arncliffe on a bright February day this week. Sadly, the Queens at Litton wasn’t open on that morning saunter along lovely Littondale.

Earlier I (yet again) called in at Stainforth to admire the ancient packhorse bridge (top photo in blog). I’ve been visiting this spot for more than fifty years now and never tire of it.

Dales Halton Gill
I always stop or slow to admire the cosy location of Halton as I pass over the brow on the road from Stainforth.
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Field patterns in Littondale.
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View to Arncliffe from the Darnbrook road.

Snow no-show?

Looking back through photos from previous years I notice a few fabulous Febs, but last year I see snow in Ribblesdale during the month, while in 2016 the first week of March is a fair covering of the white stuff. I wonder if this year will be the same?

There is an abundance of snowdrops this year as well as crocuses and even daffs. Pink blossom is sprouting on a neighbour’s tree and the birds are getting excited. If you’re reading this in southern England you’re probably muttering ‘so what?’. I can tell you that here in the Yorkshire Dales it is unusual for February. My photos show bright blue skies, mellow sunsets, and grass much greener than normal for this time of year.

Dales sunset
Looking west from above Ingleton at sunset.
Dales Newhouses
The setting Sun shines on Newhouses below Penyghent.

Lovely Dales church

Dales church
St Oswald’s, Arncliffe.

I like the church of St Oswald at Arncliffe with its fifteenth-century tower. There’s been a church on the bend of the River Skirfare since Saxon times. One of its bells dates from around 1350. Sitting in the churchyard among the snowdrops and ancient trees, watching the river rattle by, it is easy to see how nineteenth-century author Charles Kingsley was inspired to write ‘The Water Babies’ while on a visit here.

The Falcon wasn’t open either so I head over the steep switchback via Darnbrook and by Malham Tarn back to Langcliffe. A delightful Dales dawdle drive.

Dales barn
This barn’s been looking over Crummackdale for centuries but its best days are gone. I don’t like to see Dales furniture and history crumbling away.
Dales Malham
On a quiet stroll round Malham Tarn in the winter sunshine.
Dales steam
Steam excursion along the Settle-Carlisle railway in Ribblesdale.

My Yorkshire surnames page is updated every month: visit http://http://www.jacksoneditorial.co.uk/yorkshire-surnames/

Weather watching in the Dales

Somebody famous once wrote, ‘There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather’. I suppose that could well be a motto for landscape photographers and artists. As long as you are still able to get out and about, different and difficult conditions offer new opportunities – even on familiar territory. I hope my selection of photos this week of mainly local (to me) places, which I’ve pictured many times before, prove the point.

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Top photo: snowy lane in Langcliffe, Ribblesdale. Above: cold and moody Penyghent from Selside.

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Ingleborough often seems the most formidable of the Three Peaks, with its nose facing the weather from the west.

I’ve no idea how many photos I’ve taken of the Three Peaks – they seem to put on a fresh dress every time I travel up Ribblesdale.

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Whernside and the viaduct from Ribblehead.

Cold weather stations

Two stations on the Settle-Carlisle line: Ribblehead with Park Fell in the background, and Garsdale, where Ruswarp patiently awaits his owner.

Whenever I take this shot of Brokken Bridge in Clapham – this one snapped on Friday – I’m reminded of the late Bill Mitchell. Bill and his family would have been celebrating his 90th birthday this week. A few years ago he and I cheekily knocked on the door of Fellside (the top house of the row to the left). We announced that we both edited Dalesman and that Bill had worked from this house when it was the magazine’s headquarters. Thankfully the owners recognised Bill and let us in to enjoy some of his reminiscences.

This Ribblesdale view at Helwith Bridge always reminds my of a Welsh mining valley. The 19th-century quarry workers’ cottages at Foredale were the setting for a cracking film released in 2013 called Lad: A Yorkshire Story. Staring down at them from the other side of the valley is Penyghent – many a mini blizzard on the top there this week.

Thanks to one of my neighbours thinking about the birds during cold weather I’ve been able to take a few more wildlife photos from the comfort of home. Taking photos through double-glazing can prove difficult but this doesn’t spoil my enjoyment. I think this is a female blackbird but I’m sure an expert will let me know if I’m wrong.

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I liked all the shapes and angles of this snowy scene at St Oswald’s, Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

Where you send a Yorkshire convict (14 pics)

YorkshireIf I was ever banished from Yorkshire for some heinous crime – such as criticising Geoff Boycott, cooking Lancashire hotpot, or opening my wallet in public – then I’d like to be transported to Kirkby Lonsdale. In fact, many places in Westmorland would suit me as a Yorkshire convict. Even when I travelled through on a dull, unphotogenic day recently there was plenty to admire in this borderland which changes landscape character from gentler dales to rugged Lakeland fells.

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Looking east from Kirkby Lonsdale.

Anyway, I’m happy to remain in the White Rose county, and I have no intention of breaking in Yorkshire laws at present. We in the western Dales missed the worst of the county’s snowfall this week but by gum it were parky. With plenty of blue sky around I got some nice shots on my local travels (top shot shows Penyghent from the churchyard of St Oswald’s, Horton-in-Ribblesdale), and I enjoyed a couple of splendid sunsets.

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Frost on the gate, Penyghent in background

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Not a clear-blue-sky shot on this day along Chapel-le-Dale but the light on the limestone made it worth pulling over for a quick photo.

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These two pictures were taken from the narrow back road between Buckhaw Brow and Feizor. Top one shows how Feizor is snuggled beneath the limestone hills. The other shows a distant Penyghent above the limestone escarpments.

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My photo doesn’t do this scene justice. There was some lovely late sun on the eastern slopes of Ribblesdale near Helwith Bridge, and the moon shone brightly in a clear sky. Below, the following day ended in colourful fashion above the village rooftops.

Yorkshire Dales churches

This week’s church is St Oswald’s at Arncliffe. There has been a church here, beside the River Skirfare in Littondale, since the early 1100s. The earliest building was demolished in the 1400s and a new one built. There have been many alterations since, but the tower remains from that 15th-century rebuild.

The next four shots were taken around Langcliffe on a cold and frosty morning…

Finally, I can officially mention Christmas now that Settle lights have been switched on. Please shop close to home and support your local businesses. http://www.settle.org.uk

 

A short haul for a long Dales view

dalesFor a hill whose summit is just under 1,200ft above sea level, Smearsett Scar offers the kind of 360 degree view of the Dales usually reserved for walkers venturing a thousand feet higher. All the Three Peaks, Fountains Fell, Pendle Hill, the Bowland Fells and much more are visible. On very clear days you can probably make out the west coast.

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Top picture shows views over Moughton Scar and Crummckdale towards Ingleborough. Above, the view south west over Pot Scar.

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Looking up Ribblesdale to Penyghent; below the view of Warrendale Knotts.

The intricate limestone pavement of Moughton Scar stands out, and the green valleys of Crummack, Wenning and Ribble look gentle and welcoming. This small Ribblesdale peak, part of a short limestone ridge including Pot Scar, provided me with my only real exercise this week. A friend tells me he once spent a wonderful, clear, summer’s night at the top – it certainly wasn’t during this year’s brief summer.

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Smearsett Scar seen from the back road between Helwith Bridge and Stainforth. Below, gulls enjoying refreshments in fields below the scar.

More Dales churches

As I trundle around the Dales I often stop off to photograph local churches. I’m not a religious person but enjoy church architecture and history. And during several decades of delving into my family’s past I’ve spent many an hour tramping through graveyards looking for clues.
This week I briefly crossed into Lancashire from the western Dales to visit St Peter’s at Leck, where there’s been a church since the early 1600s.

Today’s building (above) is a relatively modern affair, having been rebuilt in 1913 following a fire, but it is still a grand sight in this quiet backwater off the main road to and from the Lakes. Leck Fell and nearby Gragareth are two hills I’ve never ascended but I seem to recall potholing trips around the area as a more adventurous youth.


Just a couple of miles away, switching from the Diocese of Blackburn to that of Leeds – both sounding incongruous for this part of the country – is St Oswald’s at Thornton-in-Lonsdale. Like at Leck’s church (and dozens more around the North) it seems to have links with the Brontes. There’s been a church here since pre-Norman times, but also similarly to St Peter’s it was gutted by fire (in 1933). The church was rebuilt in a Gothic style and looks splendid set in a well-kept churchyard. Sitting here I imagined this (and the neighbouring pub of course) being welcome sanctuary for those who travelled the lonely high pass from Dent through Kingsdale.

Not moonshine


I didn’t manage to snatch a shot of the Harvest Moon – we’ve had some cloudy nights in our part of the Dales this week – but I did capture some lovely evening sunlight around Ribblesdale.

Why seeing red in the Dales is vital

Dales arncliffe2Bright red telephone boxes in the Dales, like this one at Arncliffe, need to be preserved. Too many of the old pay-phones all around the countryside are being disconnected and removed. In the Dales some have been developed into tiny book-swap-shops, art galleries etc, and in the Lake District I’ve even seen one turned into a fish tank. I’m not just some old fart wanting to wallow in nostalgia. I can see the logic behind getting rid of some urban boxes but in the countryside where mobile reception is poor, or where walkers and campers have no way of recharging their mobiles’ batteries, the old red boxes can help save lives. I read this week that Keswick Mountain Rescue Team are asking people to help keep a kiosk at Seathwaite on a popular route to Scafell Pike. Surely the saving of just one person during the whole life of a phonebox is more important than the minutest of dents made in the profit margins of a communications giant like BT? Comments can be made at:
http://planning.allerdale.gov.uk/portal/servlets/ApplicationSearchServlet?PKID=148110

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Another shot of the kiosk in Arncliffe.

I popped into Arncliffe this week during a superb Dales drive from Langcliffe in Ribblesdale, over the Silverdale road to Halton Gill and down Littondale. From there I doubled back along the dodgy road via Darnbrook to Malham Tarn. Then it was back to Langcliffe via Cowside and Winskill. Here’s a selection of pics on the journey…

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Looking back over Arncliffe from the Darnbrook road

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Looking towards Penyghent from the Silverdale road at Dalehead Farm.

Dales silverroad
Further along the road to Halton Gill at the ‘backside’ of Penyghent.

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The breathtaking Dales view down Littondale. One of my favourites.

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I like it so much here’s a black and white shot.

Dales haltongill
Little Halton Gill snuggles between Littondale’s steep hills.

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The beck at Arncliffe.

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There are some fascinating tombstones at St Oswald’s church, Arncliffe.

Dales stocks
Bring back the village stocks, I say. Not enough time for me to list who I’d throw rotten tomatoes at. Arncliffe.

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It’s not always as tranquil as this in the Dales – the river Skirfare near St Oswald’s in Arncliffe.

Whenever I drive through Rathmell in Ribblesdale, as I did one day this week, I wonder about the origins of the term ‘Reading Room’. I realise it is the equivalent of a village hall but why was it so called? Is it a Dales thing?

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Dales plumpewes
I don’t know what happens at the treatment works by the Ribble here in Settle but those ewes certainly look to be thriving on it.

Sitting ducks

Dales ducks
Team photo: Millpond Ducks FC first XI line up for their latest match in Langcliffe.

Changing Dales

Dales locks
Yesterday I thought I’d take one more summer shot at Langcliffe Locks before the trees change colour.

Dales claphamfalls
Earlier in the week I dropped in at Clapham Falls where there was already more than a hint of autumn.

Ingleborough: peak viewing

Ingleborough2

Ingleborough is once again the focus of my blog this week although it didn’t set out that way… A bit like the myths surrounding Giggleswick’s Ebbing & Flowing Well (mentioned in my blog of 06/03/16) the legend of Robin Hood’s Mill, just a couple of miles away, arose because of the area’s geology. Just off the Stackhouse road from Little Stainforth to Giggleswick, near the parish boundary, there is a hollow which according to local folklore was the site of Robin Hood’s Mill. The tale goes that Robin was a miller who worked all hours and even on Sundays. As a penance for working on the Sabbath, the weight of his clanking machinery sank further and further into the ground until it completely disappeared from sight. It was said that if you put your ear to the ground, you could still hear the millstones grinding deep below. Before the last war, cavers explored the hole and also heard the rumbling sound. Afterwards, the noise seemed to stop; it is likely that the noise was gurgling water and that the cavers’ excavations merely created more of a sound barrier.

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These photos were taken close to the ‘mill’ last Sabbath while I was out working on photographing my patch – I wonder what fate awaits me.

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The snow was still laying deep on the higher hills as I walked into Settle on Monday from Langcliffe. White-topped Ingleborough contrasted starkly against the greener lower dale.

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The donkeys in a field above Settle are becoming local celebrities with many walkers heading up the steep gradient from Constitution Hill on the Malham trail using the sight of the animals as an excuse to stop and draw breath. They were sunning themselves against the wall. My comments on twitter and Facebook brought in hundreds of likes and retweets:
‘You see, young un, this is why we have front legs shorter than those at the back,’ says the top donkey.
‘But Mum, when I want to warm t’other side I fall over,’ replies the youngster.

ingleborough donkeys

On a clear day…

Later in the day I drove to Tatham Fells and then on to Kingsdale (first pic in blog) to view the majestic Ingleborough from other angles. The panorama from the Great Stone of Fourstones, just above Bentham, was the clearest I can recall seeing. The Three Peaks and Gragareth looked splendid but such was the clarity that the Lakeland Fells seemed within touching distance.

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Back down in Ribblesdale I couldn’t stop myself taking yet another photo or two around St Oswald’s in Horton.

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More dramatic

After a couple of days stuck mainly indoors I headed up to Ribblehead Quarry to stroll around part of the Ingleborough National Nature Reserve. Yet another angle on Ingleborough showed some melting of the snow had taken place but you certainly wouldn’t describe it as spring-like! Whernside and Penyghent weren’t to be ignored, of course; the limestone pavement and quarry rocks provided interesting foregrounds.

ingleborough whernside

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ingleborough penyghent

New life

The deaths this week of a former work colleague, followed by a cherished family member, has left me somewhat deflated. I was cheered a little by the sight of new life though in the local fields where lambs gambolled without a care in the world. So many new things to discover and adventures to be had. Oh to have that innocence of youth again. The lamb on the right reminds me of my own childhood – my mum was always having to sew knee patches on my trouser legs, too!

ingleborough lambs

No time for bravado

st oswald's

I was greeted by snow, hail, sleet, ice and freezing temperatures as I headed for the top end of Ribblesdale this morning. Your not-so-intrepid blogger made a u-turn at Selside when I realised that my own tyre tracks were the only ones to be seen in either direction. And it’s a little disconcerting when you put your foot on the brake pedal and nothing happens; the car continues on regardless as if it has a mind of its own. You press a little harder on the brake and suddenly you start sliding sideways towards a sturdily-built drystone wall. The bad weather followed me back down the dale but at the front edge of the storm I just managed to capture this shot of St Oswald’s at Horton and one of Penyghent before it became engulfed in cloud. At my age bravado gives way to comfort every time.

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