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.
1 comment:
Are you Maid Marion and Little John? Papa
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