Hardraw Force by Joe Dunckley

Janet’s Foss, Malham, Yorkshire by Simon Starr

Ingleton is famous for the run of waterfalls

Below is Force Gill Waterfall 290405 by Yorkshiresoul cc SA 2.0

Complete Guide to Top 30 Waterfalls in the Yorkshire Dales – on the Walking Englishman

Flowers can make fine wines. Try Dandelion or Elderberry flowers for starters.
My preferred beverage is Nettle beer (if real ale is not available of course).

If you do not want to grow and brew your own then why not go for a walk. I don’t mean to be funny but the Flowers of the Dales Festival is arranging a ‘Boozy Flower Walk from Ingleborough on 30th April 2011. Start and finish at the Tan Hill Inn! What could be better.
During Ingleton folk festival the Tan Hill Inn hosts the comic song competition. Worth a visit if you can get in it is generally packed.

The Festival for the Flowers of the Dales 2011 is running from March to October with 100′s of events.

Bat walks, photography classes, Keasden flowers, Hackfall bluebells, and painting flowers at Malham are just some of the events. The cost may be nothing for a walk or talk upto £305 for a long weekend with coaching and training.

I have just discovered other Boozy walks planed for 21 May in Swaledale, 11 June in Austwick, 16 July Wharfedale and 20 August in Wensleydale

You probably wont see these flowers on your boozy walks but you can drink in the colour from this photograph.

Moan

If you visit the Welcome to Yorkshire web site and search for boozy walks you get a list, the top 4 of which are in LANCASTER. Have we moved the boundaries at last. If not why are we wasting Yorkshire promotional brass on foreign places. Don’t bother linking

Ribblehead Viaduct by Joe Dunckley, Flickr.

Wensleydale by Alden Chadwick

Haworth Village – Bronte Country

Malham Cove Photos
By: Jim Moran, Flickr CC

Wentworth Castle and gardens

Menston Photos

Here Comes the sun

Swaledale Barns

The Yorkshire Dales National Park was established in 1954, and covers an area of 1, 680 square miles straddling the central Pennines through to Cumbria. It is 50 miles north east of Manchester; Leeds and Bradford lie to the south, while Kendal is to the west and Darlington to the east.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is an independent body within the local government structure, created by the Environment Act (1995). This is the local planning authority for new buildings and also has a responsibility for the maintenance of rights of way in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Yorkshire’s National Park is a special place that has outstanding scenery, a range of wildlife habitats and a rich cultural heritage. It is a fantastic outdoor arena for recreation, holidays, day trips and peaceful relaxation whilst at the same time remaining a haven for wildlife.

Geology of the National Park

• The Three Peaks are Millstone Grit-capped to over 2,300ft whilst the rivers have cut deep valleys called dales. There are over 20 named examples each distinctive in character and atmosphere.

• The south of the National Park displays one of the best examples in Britain of classic limestone (Karst) scenery, with its crags, pavements and extensive cave systems for which the Dales are rightly world famous.

• The area’s northern landscape with distinctive stepped profiles show the product of differential weathering of the Yoredale Series. There is then the ever present and extensive moorland plateaux.

• The Howgills and around Sedbergh contains a series of grassy rounded hills with deep ravines that result from different geology and contrast markedly in appearance from the rest of the National Park.

Howgills

• The landscape has been shaped by ice, with significant glacial and post-glacial landforms and features, notably drumlin fields such as that at Ribblehead, erratics including those at Norber, moraines and post-glacial lakes of Semerwater and Malham Tarn.

• Hardraw Force with its 90ft  single drop is one of the spectacular waterfalls. The famous series of Aysgarth Falls, Cautley Spout with a broken drop of 600ft and  Thornton Force at Ingleton with its geological uncomformity, and numerous cascading streams are all worth a special trip.

Biodiversity in the National Park

• In terms of species there are nationally important populations of breeding waders, Black Grouse, Yellow Wagtail and Skylark.
• On the limestone pavements there are rare and scarce lime-loving plants such as Bird’s Eye Primrose, Rigid Buckler Fern and Globeflower and Baneberry.
• Invertebrates such as the Northern Brown Argus butterfly and the Atlantic White-Clawed Crayfish are protected species.
• The Yorkshire Dales is renowned for its flower-rich hay meadows and pastures, which are the product of traditional, low intensity management of grazing land over many decades.
• The grouse moorlands are a place to ramble except from the glorious 12th when the shooting season starts.

Gateway to the Dales

Traditional Dales Barn and shorn Swaledale sheep.

J R R Tolkien was inspired by the Dales limestone landscape to write the Lord of the Rings after visiting in the 1940′s. Does his fictional Middle Earth look like Malhamdale?
A shame the film trilogy was filmed in New Zealand and not Yorkshire it would have been interesting to see Hobbits and Golem in Gargrave.

Family life in Dentdale is said to have contributed to Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Haworth now benefits from the whole family out put that I call the ‘Bronte industry’.

During the early 1920s W H Auden stayed in Skyreholme and wrote a number of poems about the area including one entitled Appletreewick and two about Skyreholme Mill. W H Auden wrote several other poems about the Dales including Stone Walls and This Lean Country.
Lewis Carrol grew up in Croft-on-Tees in North Yorkshire and went on to write poems “The Hunting of the Snark” and “Jabberwocky”, as well as Through the Looking Glass.

The abbey of Rievaulx was founded as the first Cistercian outpost in the North. The Cistercians wanted it to be a centre for White Monks to reform and colonise Yorkshire and the North of England around 1150ad. Long after the dissolution J M W Turner, on one of his visits to Yorkshire, painted the ruins in several forms and media. The picture above water colour on paper is one of my favourites
Sources
Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire. c. 1825. Courtesy of Olga’s Gallery “www.abcgallery.com.”

Tolkien from Amazon

Malham Cove is a natural limestone formation north of the village of Malham, North Yorkshire, England. A popular beauty spot within the Yorkshire Dales, it is a large, curved limestone cliff at the head of a valley. At the top of the valley is a limestone pavement.

a view from the bottom, popular with climbers By: Rick Harrison Flickr

Originally, a large waterfall flowed over the cove as a glacier melted above it. There is now an underwater stream running from Malham Tarn down into the valley below.

By: Jim Moran, Flickr CC

By Vaidas M

By: Rick Harrison Flickr

Malham Tarn

Malham Tarn by Paul Stevenson

Malham Cove featured in the BBC series, Seven Natural Wonders of Britain.

It was featured in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, filmed in 2009.

Related

• Malham Cove
• Peregrine Falcons at Malham Cove

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal crosses a wonderful part of the country, linking the two industrial cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of 127 miles (204 km), it crosses the Pennines, and some of the best scenery in Yorkshire and Lancashire. The canal follows the flatest route possible. But, given presence of Pennines and other hills includes an inevitable 91 locks on the main canal.

There are several pleasant walks along the banks of the canal. Some of the places the canal passes through include:
# Leeds
# Kirkstall – The old ruined abbey makes an interesting visit

Saltaire on a rare perfectly sunny day.

• Saltaire – visit the old village and mill museum made famous by Sir Titus Salt. More on Saltaire
• Bingley – The five rise locks
• Skipton – The Gateway to the Dales, Skipton is the base for many good walks. A thriving market town with inspiring countryside overlooking.
• Gargrave – One of best locations on edge of Yorkshire Dales. To the north of Gargrave are places such as Malham. A great walk at this point in the canal.
• Barnoldswick
• Nelson
• Burnley
• Gannow Tunnel
• Hapton

Shipley and Leeds on Leeds-Liverpool Canal

Leeds Liverpool Canal info at Pennines.org

Photo of Leeds Liverpool canal by Lynne Pettinger

This North Yorkshire settlement of Settle may have been populated by Angles in the 6th century but there are prehistoric remains amongst the limestone hills nearby.

Key Points of Interest

1. Known for its position on the Settle to Carlisle railway, where steam trains still run on occasion, beware the station is well south of the town centre. The railway was opened in 1875 but Settle was connected to the rail network 25 years before that via a road link to Giggleswick station.
2. Victoria Cave contained remains of mammoth, bear, reindeer and hippopotamus as well as stones, flint, bone and other implements and ornaments.
3. Set in the midst of great walking country, Settle is a bustling center for tourists and day trippers. For that reason there are numerous cafes, tea shops and pubs offering refreshment.



4. The river Ribble provided the power for Settle’s former cotton and paper mills and now is a base for many walks. Try the three peaks if you want a tester.
5. Overlooking the town is Castlebergh, an impressive 300 feet limestone crag which flies the flag even when England are not in the world cup.



6. Nearby locations include Giggleswick, just over the bridge, with it’s famous school and Feizor a hamlet up in the limestone hills with great valley views. See walking maps Settle to Feizor & Giggleswick
7. Scalebar Force is a waterfall in a deep wooded ravine just off the road which leads from Settle over the limestone moors to Kirby Malham and Airton
8. In keeping with a modern town new features are added. The Millennium garden is a small tranquil place spoilt only by the nearby eponymous supermarket run by the upmarket Booths chain. This hasn’t spoilt the local shops and my wife enjoys the local wool shop whilst I haunt the secondhand book shops.Victoria Hall is a lively theater and community focal point nearby. Queen Victoria gets a good press in Settle as iher reign was the great era for Settle’s tourist tourist trade.



9. Market day on a Tuesday in hectic. Buses and coach trips visit Settle on other days as well but if you want peace and quite get on your walking boots and head for the hills.
10. The church is set under the hillside not far from the Ribble. I was taken by the use of the church grounds to grow rhubarb and other edibles under the protection of the church walls, to say nothing of the surrounding hills.

The UK’s biggest ever plant hunt is underway with a survey that will cover tens of thousands of plants at more than eighty significant National Trust Gardens. The project is sponsored by Yorkshire Bank, sponsors of the Outdoor Programme which also includes help to conserve and protect National Trust gardens through investment in greener gardening initiatives.

Using the latest technology including GPS positioning to record plant locations over 1,000,000 plants are being recorded to give an overview of the largest collection of cultivated plants in the UK. Many of these plants tell the history of a garden’s creation, people’s passions and changing fashions through the centuries.

During the three year sponsorship deal Yorkshire Bank is also supporting the Greener Gardens initiative to improve the way both the Trust and its supporters can maintain gardens in more environmentally sustainable ways. This includes composting on an industrial scale, rainwater harvesting and reviving old wells, to experimenting with drought-resistant varieties of plants and introducing solar-powered lawnmowers.

It is good to see a bank putting something into more than just executive bonuses.

Locations from the National Trust Yorkshire section that you might like to visit include

Beningbrough Hall & Gardens
This imposing Georgian mansion contains one of England’s best baroque interiors. Over 100 pictures are on loan from the National Portrait Gallery. Outside there is a delightful walled garden and a fantastic adventure playground.

Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Water Garden
Set in a medieval deer park, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal form one of the most remarkable places in Europe. The 12th-century Cistercian abbey, complete with watermill, is one of our most iconic ruins. Studley Royal is one of the best surviving examples of a Georgian water garden. Elegant ornamental lakes, canals, temples and cascades provide a succession of dramatic eye-catching vistas.

Nunnington Hall
Nunnington’s organic walled garden complements the mellow manor house. The house contains a haunted room and attics with a fascinating collection of fully furnished miniature rooms.

Treasurer’s House
This elegant town house, dating from medieval times, was originally home to the treasurers of York Minster. Nestled behind the Minster, its size, splendour and contents are a constant surprise to visitors – as are the famous ghost stories.

East Riddlesden Hall
An intimate manor house with a wonderful ambience, the Hall is furnished with textiles, Yorkshire oak furniture and pewter. Wildflowers, perennials and a fragrant herb border provide a changing carpet of colour outside.

Nostell Priory
this architectural masterpiece is a house of treasures. Highlights include one of England’s best collections of Chippendale furniture and some of the finest Adam interiors. The grounds offer delightful lakeside walks and a stunning collection of rhododendrons and azaleas.

Other Yorkshire National Trust Sites

For more on Yorkshire gardens read Gardener’s Tips

St Peter’s church in Rylstone stands above the village made famous in recent times by the Alternative Womens Institute calendar. As the church and graveyard can testify there has been a vibrant community in the locality for many centuries. The duck pond was looking a bit forlorn when I visited this week but the area is well kept and feels homely.

A quirky look at the village can be observed from several convex mirrors designed to help motorists.

Origins of the Alternative Womens Institute Calendar

John Richard Baker a National Park Officer for the Yorkshire Dales, died in July 1998 at the age of 54 as a result of Leukaemia. His wife Angela Baker and her friends from Rylstone local WI, had the idea of the “Alternative WI calendar” to raise funds for Leukaemia & Lymphoma research. This idea provided much mirth and entertainment for her husband throughout the later part of his illness but regrettably he did not live to see the calendar and the great success that followed.

To donate to Leukaemia Research

Barden Moor and Fell with the twin skyline landmarks of Rylstone Cross and Cracoe Pinnacle from the church. The drystone walls were in excellent order and the late afternoon winter light made the whole area glow.
Rylstone ridge near Skipton is one of the most scenic Yorkshire grit crags, with fine views across Barden Moor, Wharfedale and the Malham hills. It is well known amongst boulderers for it’s quiet location. There are several good walks from Rylstone including one that takes you along Rylstone edge to Cracoe or along the railway track that was closed in 1962.

To the south is Norton Tower a 16th Century square tower built by Richard Norton but damage in 1569 and now sadly just a ruin.

There are several good eating places and hostelries in the near by villages and Rylstone is worth a trip if you are feeling like a bit of exercise.