Tag: Settle

When a picture paints a thousand words…

ribbPanorama

I’m working on a new feature for The Countryman called Classic Countryman in which I will reproduce some fine writing from the magazine’s archive. One series I’ve enjoyed researching is titled ‘Why I live in the country’ written by well known people in the 1930s. They talk about ‘getting away from the madness of the city’ and enjoying the ‘peace and quiet’. For me the main reason ‘Why I live in the country’ is being able to absorb views such as these looking over northern Ribblesdale this morning. You just don’t need any fancy words, do you?

tree

ribbsky

May the force be with you in the Dales

catrigg

The mist was hanging low over the moors above Stainforth in Ribblesdale this morning. Look at the top of my photo of Catrigg Force and you’ll see just how low. Following the last time I’d puffed and wheezed my way up the steep track from the village to the falls, about two years ago, I’d promised myself that next time I’d carry a tripod with me to take one of those fancy waterfall shots that arty photographers like to fashion. But I forgot the tripod again. The sound of cascading water echoed around this great amphitheatre, but with no birds chirping and a lack of wind to rustle the trees, today it felt an eerie place to be on my own.

Well worth the 1,000ft ascent

settle

This shot is looking back at yesterday’s location – Giggleswick Scar is middle right looking down on Settle – and was taken from Hunter Bark this morning just before heavy clouds moved in.  Hunter Bark is the name of the highest point on the ancient track over the hills between Long Preston and Settle in Ribblesdale. If you start from Long Preston railway station you’ll climb a steady 1,000 feet to the trig point on Hunter Bark where you’ll be rewarded with a superb 360 degree view of the region. On the ascent from the village you’ll also see the mazy path the meandering River Ribble makes as it snakes down the dale, as well as the hazy mass of Pendle Hill dominating the distant horizon.

Views worth the embarrassment

giggleswick scar

The Yorkshire uplands were certainly no place to be baht ‘at today.  I squeezed in an hour on the limestone above Giggleswick Scar after lunch. By gum it weren’t half nithering but the views over Settle and down Ribblesdale were splendid. Managed to slide on my backside through freshly deposited cow muck… and had to drive home baht trousers.

Make the most of Dales colours

langcliffe

The trees by the Ribble beneath Langcliffe Scar looked great in the morning sun today. Must make the most of the autumn colours as I think they’ll be gone shortly.

Motivated Yorkshire folk in their seventies

attermire

Lying in bed this morning sipping my life-inducing pot of Yorkshire Tea I got to thinking about motivation. Some folk struggle to raise the briefest enthusiasm for work of any kind yet others, often into their 70s and beyond, continue forwards with drive and energy. In my head I began to list well known Yorkshire people who stride on despite many of them not needing just to bolster their bank balances. Springing to mind were artists like David Hockney and Ashley Jackson; poet Tony Harrison;  Alan Bennett; actors such as Judi Dench and Patrick Stewart; my friend and author Bill Mitchell… the list goes on. All are well over bus-pass age yet continue tirelessly to produce work at the top of their particular tree. I admire such dedication – and all those other lesser-known elderly Yorkshire men and women going about more mundane daily jobs without much recognition. Lacking such volume of enthusiasm today I laid in bed for another hour before a short walk up above Ribblesdale where a brief shaft of light illuminated Attermire Scar for this photo. I think that if I should be lucky enough to reach my 70s I’ll be content with continuing to selfishly enjoy the Yorkshire Dales.

A reminder of our Norse past in the Dales

scaleber2

Scaleber Foss is a lovely location a mile or so above Settle in Ribblesdale on the road to Kirkby Malham. I got caught in a brief hailstorm while there this morning but managed a couple of photos before the soaking. Now, as I look out of my window while typing this blog, fluffy clouds are moving quickly across a pretty blue sky above Scaleber – such is life in the dales. Scaleber Wood is a Woodland Trust property and provides some good walking as well as the series of waterfalls. Foss is an old Norse word for fall and it is said that many Yorkshire words developed from the settling of Scandinavians in the county. I recently discovered that my Y-chromosone male line stems from the oldest tribe to have inhabited Europe (uninspiringly called Haplotype I, mutation M253). They lived in Scandinavia from before the Ice Age, then after the glaciers retreated 15,000 years ago began to spread to the British Isles and elsewhere. So perhaps it was one of my ancestors who brought with him endearing terms such as ‘sithee, eyup and what’s tha laikin at?’.

Peace found in upper Ribblesdale

thorns

Thorns Gill was picture perfect this morning. Even though the grey mist hadn’t burnt off to reveal blue skies, it was warm and the scene was tranquil. I’ve been here when Cam Beck has been swollen by rainfall from the fells around Ribblehead and it has been dramatic to say the least. But today the sound of water trickling down the limestone gill was soothing and apart from a brief noisy squabble amongst the birds caused by a grey heron I could enjoy the peace. I don’t know exactly the age of the old packhorse bridge across this ravine but it’s probably been there since drovers brought stock up from Settle to the former market at Gearstones three hundred years ago. It seems to sit precariously – just held aloft by the science of arches – but it blends in perfectly. My earliest memories of Thorns Gill, with its erratics, caves and deep pools is from school visits in the 1960s when a certain PE teacher insisted we tried to jump across a section of the stream. If you failed you got wet. Excuse my bragging but I was the only one of my group who remained dry. If I tried it now I wouldn’t even make halfway and the ensuing tidal wave could flood Settle.

Settle down now

Ahh, Sunday evening AND sunshine. The trippers are on their way home and Settle is settling back into a more relaxed mood. I strolled up Castle Hill and through Tot Lord Wood which was peaceful and full of birdsong. Shafts of light picked out ramsons, daisies and bluebells all shouting ‘look at me, look at me’. On top of Castleberg rock the low sun warmed the limestone as I took in a very green, very wide Ribblesdale. Settle resembles a toy town from up here. It must be the same feeling for those living in a tall block of flats – but I bet this situation is a lot more rewarding. Here are the views from Castleberg and t’ other way round…

castleberg

settle

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