Tag: Yorkshire Dales

Letting Nature take its course

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I just caught the remnants of a downpour crossing from west to east over Upper Ribblesdale today. Although there’s been a great deal of rain hitting the dale during the last couple of weeks, the natural flood plains and water courses have coped well and done the job they’re meant to do. Unfortunately this is not true for other parts of the country, especially in the South West. The weather there has been exceptional but also, irresponsible farming and building have added to the problems in some places. When will we learn that mankind will rarely get the better of Nature?

Feeling blue in the Dales

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Amazing what just a spattering of bright blue in the sky can do to lift the spirits. My part of Ribblesdale has been lying under low grey cloud or been battered by rain for what seems like an eternity. For a brief spell this weekend I managed to get out and grab this picture of a small copse near Wigglesworth. There was a strong wind bending the tops of the tallest trees and the noise level rose and sank as it sought to find a way through the trunks and branches. A couple of years ago a large deer ran out of these trees, leapt the boundary wall and darted across the road right in front of me. I don’t know what had spooked it but the animal certainly gave me the willies.

Weir and wonderful

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The weir on the Ribble at Settle was in full throttle this morning. It once powered the mill here and even today it partly helps supply electricity to nearby houses. Sensible harnessing of Nature’s power and pretty to look at too…

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No time for bravado

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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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Thanks for dropping in

snowdrops

Snowdrops are making their annual appearance in the local churchyard.
They’re a welcome sight after a few bland weeks here in Ribblesdale.
But I fear their coy and courteous bow is premature.
The spring they hope to herald in remains a distant dream.

Limestone cowboy

attermire

I just managed to catch this panorama before the clouds closed in from the west this lunchtime. This limestone area of Attermire Scar and Rye Loaf Hill, above Settle in Ribblesdale, always reminds me of the American Wild West. But let’s not carried away, the highest point here is around 1,800ft.

Vital wildlife corridors worth preserving

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There’s a lovely old hedge close to home – interestingly unkempt and a mixture of all kinds of trees, bushes and shrubs. Unusually for this time of year, this morning there were small birds flitting between the branches and singing as though it was already spring. There aren’t a lot of hedges here in Ribblesdale, where those iconic drystone walls tend to dominate the scene. The Dales just wouldn’t be the Dales without those ancient walls; man-made but giving off a natural feel and perfectly embracing their surroundings. Last year I took a number of photos featuring the walls of Ribblesdale; including the one above in autumn just out of Langcliffe village and the one below on a beautiful summer’s day along Watery Lane in Settle. Just as with the hedges, walls provide homes, shelter and vital corridors for all kinds of wildlife – long may they remain part of our countryside.

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When the wind blows in Ribblesdale

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I witnessed waves of clouds and sunshine changing the scene before my eyes in Ribblesdale this afternoon. How powerful the wind must be to be able to cause such rapid upheaval. Inside the car I was told digitally that the temperature outside was 4.5 deg, but my body declared otherwise as soon as I stepped into the fresh Yorkshire Dales air. With a small (borrowed) digital camera I managed to capture a cloud-topped Penyghent. Further up the dale the high fells were covered in snow and the clouds were threatening to deposit more. I fear that the worst of winter is still to come.

Pennine wind farms – at what cost to us?

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I’ve yet to be convinced that wind farms are of much use to the majority of us; rather that they mainly benefit those involved in the manufacture of turbines and landowners looking to make a quick and easy profit. Enormous turbines are springing up all around the Yorkshire Dales National Park with little regard to those like me who treasure the views and care for wildlife and the rural way of life. Although I now live in the Dales my childhood was spent in the West Riding and I still travel regularly to Huddersfield to pay homage to Yorkshire’s greatest football team. One of my favourite places in the town, after the John Smith’s Stadium, is Castle Hill and the Jubilee Tower. The 360 degree view from the top of the tower, even with its industrial aspects, is one to behold. For hundreds of years Castle Hill has provided for ordinary folk an escape from the mills and the daily grind. To me and most residents, the surrounding moorland is just as precious and personal as that of the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors. The Pennines hills around Huddersfield offer beauty, solitude and drama which can’t be assessed in terms of pound coins. The number of wind farms appearing or planned for the region disturbs me greatly and I hope the local authority sees the deeper value in our countryside when considering wind farm applications.
Pics: above a view from Jubilee Tower; below, one of a crop of 93m turbines towering above grazing cows near Harrogate.

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Memories of a white Dales Christmas

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Remember Christmas Day 2010? Snow had been falling for a couple of days but the clouds opened up to reveal a glorious clear blue sky on the 25th. I headed up Ribblesdale where the Three Peaks wore wispy scarves of light low cloud mixed with loose blowing snow. The handful of customers in the Station Inn at Ribblehead gave a cheery welcome; further along the road down Chapel-le-Dale at the Hill Inn was this icy greeting. Sadly it doesn’t look like we’ll be treated to a snowy landscape this year – just as well seeing as my camera is still on the blink – but I hope you enjoy a fabulous Yorkshire Dales Christmas just the same.

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