The picture shows Hawes Church rebuilt during Queen Victoria’s reign. It is dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch.
Interesting and Unusual Facts about Hawes
The railway is gone and you can only get to the Museum by bus as Hawes railway station was been converted into the Folk Museum. Well, since Dr Beeching zapped the Dales, you can take shank’s pony and walk or even take the car if you want to pay for parking.
The cultural museum was inspired by Marie Hartley and Joan Ingleby, the prodigious authors of Yorkshire sociology and history. The museum covers all you could want to see about life in the dales from the ice age forward and explains a lot about the Yorkshire psyche. There are lots of interactive activities to keep the young and old amused and kids get in for free!
The Wensleydale Vintage Bus service uses two buses from the 1940’s (named Dorothy and Edith) and Bessie from 1961 to run between Ripon and Hawes, Garsdale and Redmire. Bus passes accepted! In summer this links to the Wensleydale Railway.
Recently in the news is the Hawes bookshop that charges you to go inside. Bloomingdales or blooming cheek where customers who enter the shop and browse are charged 50p entry fee. This has given folk something to complain about but don’t let that put you off as you may find the book of your dreams and get the 50p back into the bargain.
A good walk from the village will take you through fields to The Green Dragon. Dating from 13th century this pub is home to the famous Hardraw Force, England’s highest single drop waterfall. Access to the waterfall is only through the pub and a paying turnstyle.
Hawes had its own ropeworks and nearby is the village of Gayle famous for its cotton mill.
Gayle Beck and Ford
Aims and Objectives of the Friends of the Dales Countryside Museum
* To promote the improvement of the museum
* To raise funds to help in maintaining and enlarging the collection. (Registered Charity No. 519 546)
* To arrange events for the interest and education of the Friends