Yorkshire Dales Archives - Page 3 of 15

Dales torment, trees and trains (13 pics)

The dales weather can be a real torment. I’ve given up on trusting forecasts for the whole region as each dale seems to have a different climate. After driving under blue skies and fluffy clouds through Ribblesdale the other day I reached Newby Head to be confronted with darkness, rain storms and a plague of frogs. The farm at Newby Head was once a pub, and reckoned to be the second highest in Yorkshire after Tan Hill. Here, and at the former pub at Gearstones, drovers, farmers, miners and navvies drank, scrapped and sheltered from the worst of weather. A much more welcoming greeting awaits nowadays.

I had a bit more luck with conditions over in Nidderdale although a grey background and low cloud spoilt the photography. Two man-made structures brought me to this part of the dales though – the intriguing artwork of Coldstones Cut – now seven years old – and the immense Scar House Reservoir which is around 80 years senior. The designs are very different but both feats of engineering are impressive.

I also had a wander through Salt Lake Nature Reserve in Ribblesdale. The former quarry is now under the protection of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and is being left to Nature. There are some lovely dales plants here – and I managed to capture a picture of a red admiral butterfly too. The trust launched an appeal in July to save Ashes Pasture, which is just 100 yards from their Salt Lake site. £175,000 is needed to save this area of wildlife-rich grassland habitat from being sold on the open market. They are almost halfway to reaching the target and will shortly submit a bid to Heritage Lottery Fund asking them to help with the balance, but the more the trust raise the more likely they are to be successful. Please visit http://www.ywt.org.uk/ashes_pasture

The Salt Lake Nature Reserve is also a handy place for capturing passing steam trains on the Settle-Carlisle railway …

The felling of a 150-year-old beech tree (below) on the edge of North Ribblesdale RUFC’s ground was due to start on Sep 1. The club want to level their pitch and say it can’t be done because of the tree. I was surprised when permission was granted to get rid of the beautiful tree – I doubt I would have gained similar authorisation if it were near my house. The work hadn’t started yesterday when I walked by – perhaps a stay of execution?

The brilliant (and free) Settle folk festival weekend was well under way in the town centre yesterday … the flamboyantly dressed, flower-hatted Flagcrackers of Craven with their blackened faces (do today’s PC laws still allow them to do that?!) were busy hitting each other with sticks as I passed.

One good evening sunset in the Dales this week. These photos – and the first one in the blog, were taken from Winskill Stones above Langcliffe.

And finally in the Dales…

Dales Three Peakers deserve better

I’ve seen a lot of bedraggled Dales Three Peakers this year. This summer has been a big disappointment especially for those who perhaps have planned for months if not years to take on the 24+-mile walk around Penyghent, Whernside and Ingleborough. I regularly pass them at the top end of Ribblesdale on that horrible section of road walking between Ingman’s Lodge and the viaduct, when it dawns on them they’re nobbut a third of the way round. And again in Horton-in-Ribblesdale when they look a bit more relieved, if aching and blistered, as they head from the station to the cafe for their moment of triumph.

Around 30 years ago I completed the route with a lovely lady who had some health issues. We went at her pace and she was so proud to have completed the walk. The time was only about 20 minutes outside the allotted 12-hours for her to be able to receive a certificate but that didn’t lessen the sense of achievement. Well done to everyone who takes it on, especially this year.

We haven’t had many of those relaxing sunsets in the Dales this summer either – maybe the next month will offer more, and as I write the forecast for Bank Holiday Monday is good.

Nor have we seen much in the way of sharp contrasts and deep shadows – too much greyness around the Dales. Here are a few examples I’ve managed to capture.

Two friends travelled on the steam special which chugged up the dale on the Settle-Carlisle railway this week. They remarked that although the scene was grey as they passed through the dales the weather did improve further north. I captured the engine Leander pulling the train across Ribblehead Viaduct. More train pics here

From Batty Moss I zoomed in on Leander as it left its mark on Ribblesdale at Salt Lake Cottages before reaching the viaduct.

My thanks to those who pointed out that the larger of the yellow plants featured in last week’s blog was Senecio jacobaea – or ragwort to you and me. Normally you will see the plant as a much duller shade of yellow beside roads where it carries all the traffic filth, but no such pollution up here in the dales. I read up about the plant to satisfy my curiosity and learned there are many myths and falsehoods told about the plant. Yes it can be harmful to horses if eaten in large amounts but its reputation is not as bad as it has been painted – see http://www.ragwortfacts.com/ragwort-myths.html – and is very useful for pollinators.

Dales beasts, giants and teacakes – 10 pics

The dales took a back seat this week as I’ve been working on a project with my son. So it felt grand to take a short break one afternoon for a trip in the sun between Ribblesdale and Littondale. Penyghent, Plover Hill and Fountains Fell all looked glorious from the narrow Silverdale Road before clouds eventually descended and turned the scene grey.

The fascinating area around Giant’s Grave, where water for Penyghent Gill springs from any number of mysterious underground caverns through holes in the dishevelled looking rocks, was bursting with colour.

I believe the bright yellow plant is mountain saxifrage but I welcome any other suggestions from better educated botanists. It can be found all around the dales and contrasts well against the higher fells where the heather is becoming more and more purple. Littondale was as always picture perfect…

I timed my walk last Sunday with the arrival of Flying Scotsman near Langcliffe on the Settle-Carlisle line. It really looks a big beast close up.

Dales differences

I spent my childhood in Yorkshire’s Heavy Woollen District and despite residing for much longer here in the Dales there are certain words and phrases I still use from those early years that give away my past. Not that I’ve ever tried to hide my upbringing in the working class mill-town area of the county of which I am very proud, but whoever you are and wherever you are from you will usually retain some of the local lingo. I brought up the subject of different dialects and sayings within Yorkshire when I edited Dalesman, and boy did it open a can of worms. Correspondence about certain words is probably still continuing many years on. I was reminded of all this during the week when I went into a local bakery and without thinking asked for teacakes. It’s not the first time I’ve done this and regretted it. I was brought up to believe a teacake was a plain, white, flat-ish, light, round of bread about the size of an adult hand. None of your bread cakes, balm cakes, stotties or whatever other fancy name you want to give them. And where I came from if you wanted one with fruit in it you asked for a currant teacake. Simple job then, but not now, not here in the Dales anyway. In the shop I’m questioned, slowly, like I’m some kind of half-witted alien until I end up just pointing to what I want, paying up and leaving the shop red-faced.

My surnames page is proving really popular with visitors from all over the world. Is your surname there yet?

Steamy lovers and falling for the Dales – 20 pics for you

I did a mini tour of Dales waterfalls with my son on Wednesday. After heading up from Skipton through Wharfedale we dropped down to Cauldron Falls at West Burton. The view down Bishopdale towards the higher fells beyond as you top Kidstones Pass still makes my heart miss a beat. We did the touristy Aysgarth Falls trio, and called in at Semerwater before paying our dues at the Green Dragon to take in spectacular Hardraw Force. Then it was up over Fleet Moss for the gentler falls of Langstrothdale. A great day in the dales.

The views up Crummackdale and in the opposite direction towards the Bowland Fells were excellent as I walked from Austwick up to Oxenber and Wharfe Wood. But it was the sky that caught my attention that day – crisp blue high to the south-west with a cauldron of clouds bubbling up beneath.

Steamy lovers corner

Last Saturday through to Tuesday saw four consecutive days of steam excursions on the Settle-Carlisle line. I managed to capture a few as they passed close to home….

On another early evening stroll near Selside I enjoyed some lovely scenery across Ribblesdale. First pic in blog and the one below show Penyghent from Selside.

If you’re going out fruit-picking in the Dales this week please remember to leave plenty for the birds and small mammals …

Excluding games being played Sunday, as I write, my beloved Huddersfield Town are top of the Premier. A little premature to be celebrating anything perhaps, but it’s not been often during the 60 years I’ve been watching the team – my Dad first lifted me over the turnstiles at Leeds Road when I was a 4-year-old – that I’ve been able to gloat. So I’m not getting carried away… but already looking forward to playing Barcelona in next year’s European Cup.

Sheep, trains and flowerpots – it’s all go in the Dales

My Yorkshire Dales photo diary. Sadly, many of the swallows living around the house have disappeared – a bit early for departure but perhaps they know something we humans don’t. There is still one pair lodging in a former outside loo – perhaps they had second chicks and are awaiting their development. I hope it doesn’t mean summer’s over before it’s really begun.

Thankfully there have been a couple of rain-breaks this week when I’ve been able to get in a little exercise and some photography. There was some mellow evening light around the local dales on Friday, as in the top photo of sheep grazing beneath Penyghent at Horton-in-Ribblesdale. The next two show Kingsdale and Ingleborough from Chapel-le-Dale.

Settle is certainly looking colourful with all the flowerpot creations dotted around town for the annual festival. I took a few photos one night this week before rain interrupted my tour. You can see a selection by clicking here – by no means a complete set. Great work by everyone involved.

Living in such a lovely part of the country means every day is cause for celebration here in the Dales but Monday was a bit more special as it was Yorkshire Day. I pinched a white rose from a neighbour’s tree and popped it into a glass of water – it’s still blooming nicely as I write this six days later.

Clapham is always worth a visit – I was there for an evening stroll earlier in the week…

Steam train excursions up and down the Settle-Carlisle line are still attracting a great deal of attention, especially when Flying Scotsman is hauling (first pic shows Flying Scotsman passing through Settle). Other two show other engines pulling trains earlier in the week at Ribblehead and another in Settle (Saturday).

Going off the grid in chuffing Ribblesdale

You’ll not find the name Beacon Scar on a modern OS map of Ribblesdale despite the place being higher and more significant than many of the surrounding named hills. Go back to the 1800s when they were fond of lighting beacons and you’ll find the hill on maps, 1,426ft above sea level beside Warrendale Knotts on the edge of Stockdale near Settle. Presumably the good folk at Ordnance Survey thought there were too many ‘Beacons’ around the north so they decided to cull a few.

They did however note that it was in such a strategic position that they placed a trig point where the ancient beacon would have been. If you stand there, looking west, you’ll note you are lined up almost in a straight line across Ribblesdale with Smearsett Scar and Ingleborough (see pic above) which also have trig points and were once beacon sites – and ideal places for warning locals of invading Scots in days gone by. The 360-degree view from Beacon Hill is superb. There’s a short video of it here if you’re interested. https://youtu.be/kQQwk7PebPM It wasn’t the clearest of days when I went up there on Monday and you’ll note the furthest fells are melting away a little.

I’ve bumped into a lot of chuffing train enthusiasts on my saunters around Ribblesdale this week, as there’s been a lot of steam action on the Settle-Carlisle line. Here are a few of the shots I’ve taken:

I see Tan Hill pub is for sale at £900k. When it was up for grabs in 2008 it was on the market for £1.1m although I don’t know what it eventually sold for. Pictures show the place some 50 years apart.

If you haven’t yet tried Ribblesdale’s newest Coffee House at The Folly in Settle then I can highly recommend it (they also do tea for tea freaks like me). https://www.facebook.com/follycoffeehouse/?rc=p Mind you, all the cafes and pubs in Settle are worth a visit – but don’t attempt to do them all in a day, you’ll put on two stone such is the quality of available cakes. Some of the creations for this year’s Flowerpot Festival are also impressive – another reason to visit the town. I hope to bring photos of the festival next week.

Away from the madding crowd in Ribblesdale

Yesterday I managed to squeeze in a stroll around one of my favourite spots, Thorns Gill and the derelict settlement of Thorns at the head of Ribblesdale. Ribblehead, looking more like Blackpool prom on a Bank Holiday Monday, is nobbut half a mile away yet there I was completely alone for an hour in this beautiful glen with its waterfalls and fascinating rock formations.

Sheep don’t often pose for me but I think this one’s a bit of a diva …

And finally…

A neighbouring cat gives me the eye for disturbing the peace. I wonder if cats dream in black and white?

During the week I also post shots and opinions on Twitter. Visit @paulinribb

Two falls and a submission in the Dales

The blog (+12 pics) title refers to a Dales walk I did on Monday. Many locals will know the 5-mile circuit from Langcliffe in Ribblesdale. Starting from the village head down to the mill and around the mill pond to cross the Ribble at Langcliffe Locks. Follow the river up to Stainforth Foss, over the packhorse bridge and up into Stainforth. Take the road by the church up to the stepping stones over the beck, then up the steep track to Catrigg Force (the submission part is where you wrestle with the path and have to stop several times for a large breather and take a photo). From the falls head up to Winskill then take the path down the Langcliffe side of Stainforth Scar back to the village, enjoying the fabulous views down Ribblesdale. Sadly, Langcliffe no longer has a pub to round off the walk properly but if you do the route on a summer Sunday there’s usually yummie tea and cakes available at the Village Institute (2-4pm). Above and below are a few pics along the journey.

Friends of the Dales is the new brand name of the Yorkshire Dales Society the only registered membership charity campaigning for, protecting and enjoying the Dales. I renewed my membership this week – why not help keep the Dales special and vibrant for years to come? Visit https://www.friendsofthedales.org.uk

On a brief respite from rain I took a short walk around the tiny settlement of Keasden, near Clapham. Quiet roads and barely visible paths across fields and through woods make it ideal for exploration. Centuries ago this would have been a busier place but now there are just a few farms and a church – St Matthew’s. Keasden’s name stems from old words for ‘cheese valley’ – I wonder if there is an old recipe for original Keasden cheese lurking around somewhere. There’s a thought for some local cheesemonger and marketing whizz to latch on to…

On Friday, not for the first time this year, the electric was off in the village, and it was chucking it down so I didn’t fancy another walk. I looked around the house for something to read – nothing new so off I set for Sedbergh and a mooch around the bookshops. Now I’m proud owner of a first edition (1956) copy of The Yorkshire Dales by Marie Hartley and Joan Ingilby. I already have some of their books and I just turned the first few pages when the power came back on. I like the pair’s fussiness and little personal asides which offer a glimpse of their upbringing and lives in the post-war Dales. Their observations of Dales life are always backed up with detailed research; they have an authoritative writing style which seems to proclaim ‘we are always right in what we say’! I also love Hartley’s sketches and woodcuts.

I travel by train as often as I can but it’s not always easy. Settle is my nearest station, so invariably I have to travel via Leeds (even if my destination is in the other direction, such as Manchester). Leeds is an hour away, trains are infrequent and the last one back to Settle leaves Leeds at 19.19 (17.41 on Sundays). I’ve been on Settle-Leeds trains when passengers have had to stand the whole journey, and often at Leeds station there is a rugby scrum of people trying to board the service. So it is with increasing dismay I see the predicted costs for the new HS2 spiralling out of control. The first phase alone (London to Brum) started at £32bn, then it went to £56bn while latest figures from DfT suggest the cost will double. There’s absolutely no justification in spending so much money when there are far greater priorities in this country. This folly will wreck so much countryside and ruin so many people’s home lives. Spending £100bn+ to knock half an hour off the journeys of those who will be able to afford a ticket is scandalous. HS2 symbolises a country run against the interests of the many and in the interests of the few. Far less could be spent on creating better local services, restoring old lines and adding to the current ‘low speed’ (apparently 125mph isn’t fast enough) rail network over the next decade. Maybe we should have a referendum on it … oh wait a minute, they don’t work do they. Or how about just letting politicians do whatever they want and have their rich friends pick up all the lucrative contracts, and sod the consequences?

Harking back to a bygone era – steam engines heading along Ribblesdale this week

I see that a video of the beck rising in Kingsdale has ‘gone viral’ this week (I also saw on tinternet that the Daily Bile (Mail) described the water’s steady progress as a ‘torrent’- apparently people actually buy this disgraceful excuse for a newspaper). The sudden rise of Dales streams isn’t uncommon. I remember seeing similar happening in neighbouring Chapel-le-Dale. You can witness the Skirfare suddenly appear in Littondale when rain soaks the surrounding hills. Also, near Cowgill at the top of Dentdale the dry bare rocks on the bed of the River Dee can instantly turn into cascades. Still a cracking video though – gotta love the Dales.

Malls, Malham and Dales magic

15 Dales photos here – agricultural show or shopping mall? – glory of Ribblesdale – trainy days – Dales art – Malham magic and tasteless stupidity. Above is one of my favourite Ribblesdale views taken from Giggleswick Scar this week. On the horizon is Pendle Hill.

Biggest doesn’t always mean best. Take the Great Yorkshire Show, for example. Yes it’s the largest agricultural event in the country and a tremendous showcase for the county and its farmers. I went on Thursday but can’t say I really enjoyed the day. Too commercial for my liking – and too many people. More than 40,000 trying to force their way around what is in effect an enormous shopping mall, with some fairly unhappy looking animals being paraded or caged up around the edges. Give me the small Dales village shows any day. Thank goodness I decided to go by train to avoid being stuck in some horrendous traffic congestion.

Orchids and other wild flowers in ungrazed areas of the Dales were looking lovely after a drop of the wet stuff this week.

This ancient wall near Colt Park in Ribblesdale exhibits plenty of character. You can find art all over the Dales when you slow down and take in everything around you. Here are some other examples from Ribblesdale:

A couple of shots as I passed through Malham…

A short walk from home to Stainforth on a grey day …

And on a sunnier day, two shots of Ribblesdale showing Stainforth Scar and the village of Langcliffe.

One evening this week I went for a short walk and got bitten by midges. I was itching all night and dug out some cream to slap on. In the morning after a bad night I went to brush my teeth, but squeezed Savlon on my toothbrush instead of toothpaste … not recommended – breakfast did not taste good at all.

The Dale that Didn’t Die – 15 pics here

This week I had a day in ‘The Dale that Died’ (allegedly) – Grisedale, just off Garsdale on the Yorkshire-Westmorland border. A TV film made in the 1970s and a book by Barry Cockroft labelled it The Dale that Died, but notice of its death was greatly exaggerated. Grisedale – or Grisdale as it used to be called but for some reason it gained an extra e during the 20th century – has not yet had its life support machine switched off.

I get the impression that the few people who live or have holiday cottages there would rather we all stayed away from this lonely dale. I don’t blame them – the Dales should have more places where cars and buses and kiss-me-quick-hatted-type tourists can’t venture.

The footpaths across Gris[e]dale’s boggy surrounding hills can be difficult to follow. On several occasions I was ankle deep in gunge while heading over from Garsdale Head to Blake Mire – an ancient farmstead bought a while back but to which only recently were the new owners allowed to build an access track (previously the only way to it was on foot). Wish I could have afforded it.

Not quite as isolated is Crummackdale where I ventured on another day, making my way up from the hamlet of Wharfe. I’d wanted to walk along the edge of Moughton Scar to capture the views across the limestone, but the cloudy weather put me off so I just did a circular walk using some of the old drovers’ paths.

I sat and watched a bird of prey for a while – I’m not going commit myself to saying what it was – probably a sparrowhawk – it didn’t get close enough for me to identify or photograph successfully – but its aerobatic display was impressive.

I had similar weather up in the Lakes on Monday. I’d fancied a drive through Great Langdale to snap the spectacular scenery but cloud came down and it turned out very grey – as it often does up there. I did have an enjoyable touristy-type walk from Elterwater to Skelwith Force though.

It was back home in Ribblesdale, where of course the sun really came out. The views lifted my spirits …

I also post a selection of photos during the week on Twitter which are not included here – look up @paulinribb

Reasons to love Ribblesdale

I’ve seen Ribblesdale in a different light over the last few days – 12 photos in this week’s blog. I have also been taken back to the 1940s in Ingleton but those snaps will have to wait until tomorrow.

Driving down the narrow road from Helwith Bridge to Giggleswick one evening while the sun was setting, I saw some fantastic light down Ribblesdale – on Penyghent, the fields and hillsides, barns, trees and limestone.

One afternoon between rain showers I walked around the Winskill area above Langcliffe. Although the clouds were dark and low the views down Ribblesdale were cracking in the changing light.

Samson’s Toe and Lower Winskill in Ribblesdale; below, Smearsett Scar from Winskill.

On another showery day I (very slowly) walked up the steep track from Stainforth to a moody Catrigg Force. The views from the track back down over the village and across to Smearsett Scar were well worth the effort.

At the top of Ribblesdale I’d hoped for a sunset shot at Ribblehead Viaduct but was thwarted by the clouds. However, the layers of clouds made an interesting shot, the lower ones clinging to the top of Whernside.

After a few hours yesterday at Ingleton, snapping at the 1940s Weekend, I was back in Settle where the cricket ground caught my attention. What a lovely setting – one day there’ll be a match on when a steam train is crossing that bridge and I’ll get my ideal shot.

Flowerpot creations are starting to pop up all around the town now. To coincide with Settle’s Flowerpot Festival I’ve written a walk for this month’s Dalesman magazine. It starts and finishes in the town centre so that people can include a tour of the amazing constructions.

You can also see my writing in July’s Countryman magazine in which I reminisce about knitted swimming trunks. And in this month’s Down Your Way magazine I write about the surname Horsfall.

Tag: Yorkshire Dales

Dales torment, trees and trains (13 pics)

And finally in the Dales…

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Dales Three Peakers deserve better

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Dales beasts, giants and teacakes – 10 pics

Dales differences

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Steamy lovers and falling for the Dales – 20 pics for you

Steamy lovers corner

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Sheep, trains and flowerpots – it’s all go in the Dales

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Going off the grid in chuffing Ribblesdale

Away from the madding crowd in Ribblesdale

And finally…

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Two falls and a submission in the Dales

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Malls, Malham and Dales magic

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The Dale that Didn’t Die – 15 pics here

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Reasons to love Ribblesdale

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And finally in the Dales…

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Dales differences

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Steamy lovers corner

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Away from the madding crowd in Ribblesdale

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