The May Bank Holiday was upon us, so we grabbed that opportunity and ran with it to the Yorkshire Dales - Home of James Herriot, the inspiration for Turner, Wordsworth and Kingsley, the filming location for many movies depicting rural England.
John loves the Yorkshire Dales - it's his favourite part of the UK. When he was 16, he went with a group of friends on a 10 day walking tour of the Dales - they did so much walking, that his brand new hiking boots literally disintegrated by the last day!
We chose a very comfortable B&B called Tudor House in the tiny hamlet of Bell Busk - a lovely name for a lovely location. The views from our bedroom were amazing!
The only drawback to the B&B was the proximity to the railway lines (as you can see from the pictures), so it's not a good place to stay if one is a light sleeper. However, John and I found it exciting; it was fun to watch the 9am train whizz by whilst we tucked into our breakfast, and it fit into the charm of the place. Tudor House used to be a Victorian train station on the Settle-Carlisle line, and the owner has kept many of its features intact - like the old waiting room and ticket office (now the guest living area and the dining room respectively).
When I think about English Countryside, I think of rolling green chessboard fields with drystone walls. I think of herds of sheep and cows, horses running in paddocks, rabbits hippity-hopping into their holes. I think of grizzled old men in wellie-boots trunging through mud, grunting contemptuously at strangers. The Yorkshire dales has all of these things.
Wednesday 6 June 2007
Tuesday 5 June 2007
The Dales are alive (Part 2)
John and I love a good long ramble through the countryside, clambering over stone walls and over crooked stiles. The British countryside offers a wide variety of differing landscapes within a relatively small area. Countryside access for walkers include public footpaths as well as the 'public rights of way', which are well marked by wooden signs.
'Public rights of way' are an extensive network of off-road routes found in England and Wales, which are protected and maintained by local authorities, and represent the legal right of the British Public to traverse land on foot, along a certain route. This means that landowners cannot divert, obstruct or close these walking trails. In other words, peasants like myself can freely trespass without worrying about dogs or guns.
Here's a lovely circular walk that brings us through the most gorgeous and dramatic scenery that the Dales has to offer: Malham Village - Janet's Foss - Gordale Scar - Malham Cove - Malham Village
Our starting point is the pretty little town of Malham. Basically, all we did was follow the signs!
This took us over the hills, where shaggy brown longhorns were grazing. It was a very clear day so we could see the hills and valleys stretching green into the distance. We plodded on, listening to the manic skylarks warbling in the air and the tremulous bleating of spring lambs. Pheasants strutted alongside the dry-stone walls, waving their tailfeathers at us.
'Public rights of way' are an extensive network of off-road routes found in England and Wales, which are protected and maintained by local authorities, and represent the legal right of the British Public to traverse land on foot, along a certain route. This means that landowners cannot divert, obstruct or close these walking trails. In other words, peasants like myself can freely trespass without worrying about dogs or guns.
Here's a lovely circular walk that brings us through the most gorgeous and dramatic scenery that the Dales has to offer: Malham Village - Janet's Foss - Gordale Scar - Malham Cove - Malham Village
Our starting point is the pretty little town of Malham. Basically, all we did was follow the signs!
From Malham village, we followed the river across a field and into a small glade filled with white flowers from wild garlic. At the top of the river was a sparkling white waterfall - Janet's Foss (the old Norse word for 'Force'). The water was clear and clean, and I think on a warmer day we might have stayed to paddle our feet or splash around in the water.
A very short and steep rocky path takes us up out of the glade and one can walk over to peer our over the top of the falls. The trail leads on upstream, over a bridge and through a camping ground towards Gordale Scar.
Gordale Scar is what is left of a meltwater channel leading from a glacier. There was possibly once a great cavern, whose roof has long since collapsed, leaving this massive limestone and calcite gorge.
Walking to the end of the trail brings us to the Gordale Scar waterfalls - to proceed further along the gorge, one has to climb up the waterfall - a daunting task on a dry day, so we didn't attempt it. However, there were lots of other hikers who were scaling up the cliffs, some of the them claimed to have done it before, on a rainy afternoon when the water is at its fiercest!
This took us over the hills, where shaggy brown longhorns were grazing. It was a very clear day so we could see the hills and valleys stretching green into the distance. We plodded on, listening to the manic skylarks warbling in the air and the tremulous bleating of spring lambs. Pheasants strutted alongside the dry-stone walls, waving their tailfeathers at us.
Eventually the trail led us towards Malham Cove. This is a sheer limestone wall that is about 80metres high and 300metres across. The grooves in the cliff face make ideal nesting places for a number of birds - most notably, a pair of peregrine falcons.
The RSPB were out in full force, that day, with telescopes and tripods all set up. John whipped out his binoculars and we sat on the ground, watching as the falcons swooped for their prey at (literally) breakneck speeds up to 120mph! Their motivation for the hunt lay in their nest: a fluffy grey chick that screamed hungrily and boisterously.
The top of the cove is a fretted natural limestone pavement which is surprisingly tricky to cross. Even sure-footed animals occasionally have difficulty with the uneven stones, as evidenced by the decomposing carcasses of rabbits wedged in those deep fissures.
On the other side of the cove are some stairs which lead to the bottom of the cliff where a small stream trickles back toward the village. On the way, we stopped for tea at Beck Hall, which is a little B&B and cafe located next to the the stream.
Back in the village, a crowd was gathering to watch the Morris dancers. It happened to be St Morris Day when we went, and the Leeds Morris Dancers were hosting a gathering at Malham, inviting Morris Dance troupes from all around the UK to show off their skills. The squire of the meeting, all dressed up in his finery with buttons and bells, even invited me to dance a round with him. What a fun way to end our walk!
I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.
Monday 4 June 2007
The Dales are alive (Part 3)
On our second day, the weather channel forecast rain and more rain, so we decided to do a driving tour instead. This meant that we could visit some spectactular locations that have formed the backdrop of some recent feature films.
After a full breakfast at our B&B, we bundled ourselves into the car and headed through Malham village towards Ribblehead valley. There were many groups of ramblers wandering in the bog heading towards the arches of the viaduct with carries the Settle-Carlisle railway.
Parking is plentiful in this area, so we stopped a while to take pictures of the Ribblehead viaduct that features prominently in the second Harry Potter film ("Your hand is all sweaty!!").
The land is looked after by the National Park service and the pleasant riverside walk through the woodlands is very well maintained.
Better still is the Coppice Coffee Shop in the Aysgarth Falls National Park centre, run by Karen and her family that serves cream teas and light meals. John and I each had a bowl of homemade soup served with a warmed poppyseed roll and grated wensleydale cheese, an excellent way to finish the day.
After a full breakfast at our B&B, we bundled ourselves into the car and headed through Malham village towards Ribblehead valley. There were many groups of ramblers wandering in the bog heading towards the arches of the viaduct with carries the Settle-Carlisle railway.
Parking is plentiful in this area, so we stopped a while to take pictures of the Ribblehead viaduct that features prominently in the second Harry Potter film ("Your hand is all sweaty!!").
We didn't stay long in the valley because it was overcast and quite windy, so we drove on towards Hardraw in Upper Wensleydale. The roads were steep and winding, but the views out of the car window were amazing.
In some places, the road got very narrow, so we had to be very careful, especially when going around corners.
Upon reaching Hardraw, we went to the Green Dragon, the guardian of Hardraw Force.
The Green Dragon is a traditional (dark, smoky and dingy) pub where the local populace gather to play checkers and share a pint and cigar. For a small fee, you can walk through the woods behind the pub towards Hardraw Force, the largest single drop waterfall in the UK.
This is the waterfall from 'Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves' where Robin Hood (Kevin Costner) goes for a swim and shower, whilst Maid Marion spies on him from the clifftop.
During dry spells, the 100ft waterfall can shrivel up to a sad, puny trickle. Fortunately for us, it had been raining overnight, so Hardraw Force lived up to its name, plunging mightily down into a clear green pool.
The land is looked after by the National Park service and the pleasant riverside walk through the woodlands is very well maintained.
Better still is the Coppice Coffee Shop in the Aysgarth Falls National Park centre, run by Karen and her family that serves cream teas and light meals. John and I each had a bowl of homemade soup served with a warmed poppyseed roll and grated wensleydale cheese, an excellent way to finish the day.
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