Author: admin

Let the woods embrace you

gisburn

On miserable weather days like today I tend to dip into my photo diary to see what life was throwing at me during the same week in the past. In early October 2011 I was strolling through Gisburn Forest, near Stocks Reservoir, where I took this picture. Being alone in a large wood can feel eerie or other-worldly. Don’t get into that frame of mind – let it embrace and comfort you. At first, all seems deadly silent but if you stop and stay still for a few minutes you’ll soon become part of the forest. Listen to woodland birds chattering; you may even hear small mammals dashing here, there and everywhere. In light autumn winds the trees sway gently, leaves sink slowly to carpet the floor and branches from neighbouring trees caress each other. Yes, this can be a great time of year to crunch your way through a forest and admire the changing colours… but not today.

Dales barns worth saving

dalesbarn

During my travels around the Dales I’ve noticed an increasing number of farm buildings being left to go to ruin. In most cases farmers can’t afford their upkeep and planners won’t/can’t allow permission for their redevelopment. I realise that reusing some of these ancient buildings as homes won’t go very far in solving any housing shortage but it could certainly help save many historic Dales buildings – and also maintain the attraction of the region. I wonder what a similar dilapidated barn to the one above in Widdale would fetch if it were for sale in the Cotswolds or Surrey?

A little book of Yorkshire gems

lbyc

Excuse me for this blatant self publicity… my latest book, Little Book of Yorkshire Curiosities, is now on sale. It’s part of Dalesman’s successful ‘Little Book’ series and the third I’ve compiled. This one’s full of strange curiosities, myths and legends about our great county… like the one about the bloke from Selby who sold his wife for a pint of ale, and the fact that the first Yorkshire pudding recipe was written in 1737. Amaze your friends and bore the pants off non-Yorkshire folk for only £2.99… you can buy direct from www.dalesman.co.uk/shop/the-little-book-of-yorkshire-curiosities or pick up at any half-decent bookshop. ISBN 9781855683174.

‘Best book I’ve ever read. Can I have that fiver now dad?’ – William Jackson

The outlook is great…

One of the best things about Yorkshire is that you don’t have to climb great big mountains to enjoy fabulous views. Even a distant mist couldn’t spoil the outlook yesterday as I walked around Moughton Scar above Austwick. The views down Crummackdale and over the clints and grykes of the limestone pavement to both Penyghent and Ingleborough were stunning. I’m going to be writing up the walk shortly – here are a couple of pics to whet your appetite…

crummackdale

ingleborough

Tree-mendous start to the day

sycamore sycamore2

Up with the birds this morning, I decided to stroll round the village taking photos of some of the trees as they enjoyed the early sunshine. (Apologies to the lady just opening her bedroom curtains – I REALLY was taking pics of the trees… I’ll see you again in court.) St Mary’s churchyard in Long Preston looked particularly stunning, especially this sycamore. What a fabulous way to start the day.

A Yorkshireman abroad

Packed the passport and translation guide; filled an emergency box with pies, Wensleydale cheese, Yorkshire puds and curd tarts; ferrets were caged up in t’ boot. I donned flat cap and keyed in sat nav details… for Dartmoor. A Yorkshireman ‘abroad’ can’t be careful enough. I’d heard t’ weather darn sarf could be fair to middlin’ this time o’ year so the remaining sun tan lotion from my last trip abroad (Majorca 1998) was deposited in the glove compartment. The drive gave me a numb bum. Couldn’t thoil service station prices so I drank my flask of tea and ate my Wensleydale and beetroot sandwiches with all the other Yorkshire folk leaning against their motors in the car park. I was fair capped when I got to Dartmoor – it’s almost the same as Yorkshire but not as grand. The Tors reminded me of Nidderdale around Brimham Rocks; the distant views of the North York Moors towards the coast; and the bleak, wild moors of the South Pennines above Holmfirth. Makes you wonder why I bothered doing a round trip of over 700 miles really. The folk there talk funny, not like us, but they’re friendly enough. So if you ever feel an odd urge to get out of our county without really leaving it, I can recommend heading for Dartmoor (but beware, there are some bloody strange spots in between). Oh, the weather was drizzly, misty and windy – just like in Yorkshire.

Walk this way…

I’ve put together a walk of around six miles, starting and finishing at Helwith Bridge in Ribblesdale. It uses the Ribble Way by the river to Horton then a minor back road to Dub Cote. From here it’s uphill to join Long Lane back down to Helwith Bridge. There are three pubs on the route. Have a look here…

http://www.long-preston.co.uk/site/editorial_files/walkingflip/index.html

I’m hoping to put a few more Ribblesdale walks together so I’d appreciate any comments about the appearance and ease of use of the site. I know the picture files make it slow loading and I’m working on that aspect.

Light fantastic

malham
There was some lovely late sunlight t’ other night which called for a little drive. From Settle I took the Malham road over the moor, stopping off for five minutes at Scaleber Force – not as spectacular as I’ve seen it, but a magical place and always worth a visit. Malhamdale, wearing its green and grey uniform, opens up in front of you as you head along this quiet back road. But this night the tops of the western facing slopes were a warm yellow as the sun began to slip behind Malham Moor. I just managed to get this shot of the cove, now empty of the usual hordes of visitors. Then it was up and over the moor back into Ribblesdale to watch the sun finally go down over Ingleborough from Winskill – pictured below. This is why I love living in the Dales.
sunset

Armless in Ribblesdale

I’ve damaged tendons in my right shoulder doing some DIY (don’t ask!) hence the lack of activity on my blog page. I  can type for a little while as long as my forearm is flat on the desk. Doc’s given me a cocktail of tablets to take which I’m quite enjoying – I might ask if I can have a prescription for recreational use. Funny how the simplest of tasks become virtually impossible when you temporarily lose use of one arm – putting on a shirt, washing your hair, driving, cooking… try it for a day, you’ll be surprised. Fortunately I’m ambidextrous when it comes to drinking. At least I’ve spent some time relaxing in the sun today and if it is the same weather tomorrow I’m off for a walk in Ribblesdale – it’s my shoulder that’s duff not my little old legs.

Ain't nothing but some grey skies…

catclouds

So say the lyrics of some song sung by someone I can’t remember and can’t be bothered to look up. I’ve felt the same melancholy looking out of my windows this week so I tracked back through my photo archive to see what the weather has been like at this time of year over the last decade. This picture is one from 2010 – taken because I thought I saw the face of a cat in the sky. I hadn’t been drinking, honest. I used the photo in a blog I did for Countryman magazine at the time and several readers wrote in to say they spotted it too… can you?

The photo was taken at Bookilber, above Long Preston in Ribblesdale

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