17 Yorkshire Dales images this week. So, I made it to 65 – I can’t say unscathed, but here I am, now an Official Ancient Person, Silver Surfer or Grumpy Old Git – whatever you want to call us.
There was no big fanfare on my birthday no “whooping an’ a ‘ollering” as I escaped the shackles of work. I retired from full time employment five years ago to gently ease myself into a more sedate way of life in the Dales.
I read about this thing called ‘well-being’; that this was the secret of a long and satisfying retirement. The countryside, Nature, fresh air and peaceful surroundings help make up this ‘well-being’ thing, so I’m in just the right place here in the Dales. Perhaps I’ll still be posting a photographic blog (or whatever will replace the internet, computers and cameras) in 2053 when I hit 100.
To celebrate and enforce my ‘well-being’, I’ve put together a collection of photos showing just a few of my favourite Dales places. Top photo shows fields near Appletreewick. Above, sunset over Ribblesdale.
View down Wharfedale from Conistone Pie; below, Man turns the rocks into houses – Halton Gill.
Malham Cove when the tourists have gone home; below, Dentdale.
Hardraw Force in Wensleydale; below, Moughton Scar, as approached from Ribblesdale.
Ingleborough seen from Kingsdale; below, Nidderdale seen from Greenhow.
Light and shade above Arncliffe; below, spring at Gunnerside in Swaledale.
One favoured spot in Ribblesdale is Catrigg Force where I spent some time this week. The steep track out of Stainforth always leaves me breathless, but standing alone in this cathedral of falls is worth the toil. Now is a good time to visit – there’s usually plenty of water heading off the fells and the trees have yet to form that leafy canopy that can hide the main fall. Short video here pic.twitter.com/c9f845J4H8
Catrigg Force; below, stopping for breath on the track from Stainforth to Cartrigg to look back on Smearsett Scar.
Yes, I’m lucky to live in the Dales, but people in urban towns also deserve green spaces for their own well-being. Parks are for playing, relaxing and escaping – but right now they’re in crisis.
Cash strapped councils have been forced to slash the funding used to keep these public spaces alive. And now, one of the last pots of money our parks could rely on has also been axed. The Heritage Lottery funded parks programme has been scrapped, putting the future of our parks further at risk. In response, the Parks Alliance have started a campaign to make sure parks get this vital funding back.
You can help by signing this petition: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/protect-heritage-lottery-funding-for-parks
View from Simon’s Seat, Wharfedale; below, looking over Rowleth up Swaledale; last photo shows lovely Littondale.
I suppose I have to talk about this week’s weather here in the Dales. As a nation we’re not very good at dealing with cold winds, snow and ice, are we? Thankfully, there are a lot of individuals who can cope – and not surprisingly they tend to live in the country’s higher, more exposed regions.
I had an early* walk in a blizzard for some emergency tea bags one day and saw that a farmer had been up early* to bring his sheep down off the hills and spread out some hay on a low-lying field for his animals. (*The difference between my retirement early and a farmer’s early is about five hours.)
Dales hill-farmers knew what was coming and when it would arrive; they were prepared, took action when needed and just got on with dealing with the job without much fuss. On TV I heard someone complaining because he was being restricted to driving at 30mph in his 4×4, and another person moaning about her recycling bin not being emptied. Before I start on a Jonathan Pie-style rant (he’s brilliant, by the way) I’ll move on …
Battling through a blizzard in search of Yorkshire Tea. Below, I did check to see there was no one asleep on the bench.
My son ‘kindly’ reminded me that I was a child during the bad winter of 1962/3 by asking what it was like in those days. I lived in a town in those days but there were plenty of hills, and I remember the enormous icy slides and much sledging … and scraping ice from the inside of our bedroom windows.
He and I have also being trying to identify paw prints in the snow around our houses. Stray dogs seem to be the most numerous – I say ‘stray’ because I’d hate to think pet owners were chucking out their dogs on such cold nights.
Left to right: fox, dog, cat, badger.
Photography-wise, I’ve not felt inclined to dig out the car for a drive around the Dales looking for stunning snowy scenes – I’m not sure I can justify that heading into the wilds to take pictures is a ‘life-or-death journey’ (unlike the aforementioned tea-bag catastrophe). But I have managed some local shots …
Frozen mill pond, LangcliffeSnow drifts between Langcliffe and SettleSt John’s LangcliffeMill pond overflow, leading to the Ribble.Snow-bound lane from Langcliffe.Snow-topped rubble on the Ribble.Wintry sunset over Langcliffe.
Thar’s gold in them thar Dales – tha knaws … there have been some glorious golden moments in the Dales over the last 12 months. By standing in the right place at twilight – with or without a camera – I’ve enjoyed many a memorable sunset scene here in the western Dales. I’ve dug out a few shots for this week’s blog:
First two shots taken this week from Winskill, above Langcliffe in Ribblesdale.The last rays of the night, looking over Bowland Fells. Below, the cloud gives the impression of a giant aircraft taking off.
Above, a golden glow over Settle from Giggleswick Scar; below, Attermire catches the evening sunshine.
A couple of weeks ago – Langcliffe in winter light. Below, sheep silhouettes at Winskill.
Above, the sky reminds me of those shots of Saturn. Below, valley mist and more golden light.
Tipping scum
One of my pet hates is fly-tipping. Whether found in the Dales or in towns and cities it’s disgusting and whenever I see such selfishness I will report it. Last week on my way to watch my football team in Huddersfield I saw a wagonload of discarded household goods dumped near the canal. I Tweeted about it and the story was followed up by the Huddersfield Examiner. I was there again yesterday and the rubbish had gone. So the understaffed local press still has some power and a part to play in the community. I wonder how long the trash would have stayed had it not been publicised – and how long before more is dumped there? https://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/huddersfield-town-fan-brands-fly-14290468
In 2015/16, the estimated cost of clearing of fly-tipping to local authorities in England was nearly £50 million. When councils are struggling to pay for schools and social services, this is such a waste of revenue. Added to this, the cost of fly-tipping on private land is estimated at between £50 – £150 million a year. Fly-tipping can attract an unlimited fine and up to 5 years imprisonment if convicted in a Crown Court yet this doesn’t seem to stop the criminals.
I know people will say that councils should stop charging residents for taking larger loads to their tips – I wonder if those same folk would complain if the £50m cost was added to the general rates? In many cases fly-tipping is carried out by rogue traders who charge customers for disposal but instead of disposing it properly just dump the rubbish on someone else’s doorstep. As I say, scumbags.
Dales Olympics
That youthful lad inside my head really wanted to sledge down this sloping track above Langcliffe. Alas, I think it would only have ended in tears and broken bones.
Let me take you on a little drive around the western Dales. On the one clear day this week I drove along the back roads of Wenningdale from Settle to the Great Stone of Fourstones (pictured below), above Bentham, with the hope of taking some long-distance shots of the Three Peaks and perhaps even the southern fells of the Lake District. Although there was plenty of blue sky above, there wasn’t the clarity. I did manage these photos of the Dales and beyond:
Unusual shot up the spine of Whernside with Ingleton in the foreground; below, Ingleborough seen from Great Stone.
Not the clearest of shots but you can make out the snow-capped tops of the South Lakeland Fells.
From that amazing boulder I drove on to Thornton-in-Lonsdale and through lonely Kingsdale (top photo in blog). Apart from a gang of cavers trooping up to Yordas I didn’t see another soul for miles. Driving the steep single track road towards Dent always makes the heart beat a little faster. For most of the way you’re praying there’s nothing coming in the other direction; that the mist doesn’t come down; or in my case hoping that gawping too long at the view doesn’t mean I miss a tight bend in the road.
View back down Kingsdale from a gate stop.
I double-check my handbrake every time I get out of the car to open and shut the gates along here. A little stroll up the old quarry road towards High Pike is always worthwhile. The views down Deepdale, Dentdale, towards the Howgills and north-western dales are rewarding.
There is a magical little waterfall as you descend into Deepdale – it’s unnamed on the OS map.
Instead of continuing to Dent I took the back-road to Cowgill – apparently I couldn’t have done this the previous day because of flooding. Every time I drive along this lane, passing Whernside Manor, I remember the creepy stories I’ve read of the mansion’s past. Tales of slavery and ghosts, and people being chained up in the cellars can be found on the internet if you’re interested. Believe what you want, but when one site describes Whernside hill as being part of the Howgills, you do start to question the depth of research.
After more stops for photos of the river Dee (below) and the old buildings at Stone House (above), where Dent marble was once produced, it was under the Settle-Carlisle railway at Dent Head Viaduct and on to Ribblehead, before turning down to Settle under the familiar gaze of Penyghent.
I pulled off the Ingleton-Hawes road for this moody shot of Ingleborough.
What a difference a Dales day makes
The trip was a contrast to the previous day when I’d driven on t’other side of Penyghent towards Halton Gill from Stainforth. Typical of this part of the dales, water was pouring off the sodden fells, filling the becks and waterfalls which feed Penyghent Beck before splashing down into Littondale. I was wet but the noise and the freshness were exhilarating:
Fountains FellPenyghent
The clouds opened up briefly to reveal a surprising vivid sunset last night. I didn’t have time to pop up to higher ground but these from around the village show the intensity of the colours – no filters used here.
More cloudy and foggy Dales weather doesn’t mean we retired folk just lie on our settees drinking hot chocolate and watching Homes under the Hammer every day. I managed a few pleasant strolls in the misty Dales this week. One was alongside the River Wenning from near its starting point where the becks of Clapham and Austwick join together. There’s an old saying about ‘when gorse blooms, it’s kissing season’ … the inference being that the lovely yellow flower blooms somewhere in the UK 365 days a year so you’ve no excuse not to be kissing. There was plenty of blooming gorse in this part of Wenningdale, even on a miserable, cloudy January day. Sadly, no blooming kissing.
Top photo and these two I took on a trip to Malham Tarn
By Friday I was itching to get out again and drove along the single track road up to Bowland Knotts. I walked across the squelchy, peaty commons to the trig point, which stands at 1,114ft on Crutchenber Fell, in the full knowledge that visibility would be very poor. But it’s a dramatic landscape whatever the conditions. I could just about make out the Three Peaks in the distant mist; Stocks Reservoir was barely visible. The surrounding brown, brooding moors looked formidable. Unseen over the first brow is the River Hodder, the traditional ancient border with Lancashire.
Above and below, part of the view from the trig point.
I’ve ‘collected’ quite a few trigs in my time but never recorded my visits. There are folks who do, and like some train spotters they are meticulous in their attention to detail. Out of interest I looked up this one on the interweb-thingy and found this anorakic description: “Pillar completed 25th September 1949 costing £17.15s.10d. Computed as tertiary triangulation station SD96/T8 in 1951. Levelled for height in 1953. Last maintained by the OS in June 1976. Pillar in good condition. Spider centre plugged with tar. Flush bracket faces northwest, ~329°. Vented through three sight holes, SW face plugged, pillar bolt photographed. Full 360° panoramic view includes Whernside, Ingleborough, Pen-y-Ghent, Pendle Hill and Longridge Fell.”
Well there you go.
Dales sadness
Sad news about Gayle Mill (see link below). My late brother Peter, who lived in Gayle, helped with the restoration. I hope for his memory the necessary work can be carried out and that the important Dales project is not strangled by red tape.
View of distant Penyghent on my walk in WenningdaleI stopped off briefly in Chapel-le-Dale for this sultry pic of IngleboroughYes, that is blue sky you’re looking at – a brief interlude by the Ribble near Langcliffe Locks. Below a shot showing the nearby mill pond with Stainforth Scar in the background.
Interesting that the Tories are choosing now to make political promises about the environment – perhaps they fear the eloquent and intelligent Green Party leader Caroline Lucas more than any other opposition. You’ll notice that they have guaranteed nothing immediate and that they are reluctant to commit anything to the statute books. I don’t think they’ll want us to look too deeply into their ‘northern forest’ idea. The cost of this 25-year project they claim to be around half a billion pounds but what they haven’t shouted about is the fact that government will only be contributing £5.7m and expect the rest to be raised through charities. They don’t tell you either that their High Speed 2 rail folly project will destroy around 100 ancient, irreplaceable woodlands, or that permission to destroy other precious woodland for fracking exploitation has been granted despite much local and national opposition.
I also wonder if the proposed woodland across the M62 corridor will include reforesting the swathes of land denuded by the landowners who over decades have purposely prevented trees from growing so they can preserve their shooting estates? This action has helped cause devastating flooding in nearby villages and towns for many years and created a totally unnatural and unbalanced landscape. Good piece by Patrick Bamford here: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/08/promised-northern-forest-diversion-hs2-shale-sherwood-forest
I took a financial risk yesterday and invested £2 in a lottery ticket. I lost. Money I’ll never see again. Lots of better-off people took a risk buying shares in Carillion – who just so happen to win a contract to build HS2 – hoping to rake in loadsa profit for doing nothing but gambling. But it’ll be ok for them, the taxpayer will probably help them recoup some of their brass. Investors should not be bailed out but those who work for them should.
Sorry to go all political. Here are some odd-ball pics taken this week to lighten my mood:
When we had an outside loo, Mum told me not to be afraid of the spiders. Don’t think she had this one in mind (at Malham Tarn Field Centre).Unusual Dales wildlife by the Wenning.This sign in Langcliffe was probably defaced some time ago but I’ve only just noticed it. The school it refers to closed ten years ago.
Happy Christmas from the Yorkshire Dales. It’s not been a good week for photography with there being so much fog around here in Ribblesdale. Add that to my annual catch-ups with old friends, visiting family and having a stinking cold means my photographic output has been practically zilch. It has, however, given me chance to search through this year’s archives and pick out a few Christmas and wintry scenes featuring the Three Peaks area and further afield in the Dales. The top picture and this one of frosty trees were both taken in Wharefdale, near Appletreewick.
These shots of Ingleborough are not in black and white. A chilly dales day with swiftly moving clouds.
Another freezing day at Ribblehead Viaduct
A day of contrasts: blue sky above a snowy Whernside.
Two shots showing the third of the Three Peaks: Penyghent looking majestic.
Park Fell and Ingleborough, not to be taken lightly on days like this.
In and around Langcliffe, Ribblesdale.
One of my favourite views, Ingleborough and Ribblesdale seen from Winskill Stones.
Dales in lights
A couple of hand-held night shots from Settle (above) and Langcliffe.
When the distant Dales are inaccessible due to the weather (for those of us without a suitable vehicle) it’s good to know that the local area has enough to keep me and the camera occupied. The trio of Ribblesdale villages – Langcliffe, Stainforth and Horton – can usually satisfy my photographic needs. You wouldn’t know it, looking at the shot, but conditions for the above photo of Stainforth Force were treacherous – the field was badly rutted and solid, and the roads and rocks were iced over.
St Oswald’s at Horton and Penyghent are always good subjects.
Think of the birds
Don’t forget to look after the birds during freezing conditions. These two in a neighbour’s garden came for some fruit and nuts I’d left out (excuse the fuzziness – photo taken through double glazing!).
Dales tax proposal
Sadly, there were just a couple of children at the switch-on of Langcliffe’s tree lights on Monday. A couple of generations ago the village at this time of year would have been alive with children playing in the snow and getting excited about Christmas.
On the same day as the switch-on I read a report about attracting families to the Yorkshire Dales National Park in which the authority outlined a proposal to increase by ‘at least five times’ the council tax on second homes in the park.
I don’t think the authority believe (at least I hope not!) that this will provide the whole answer to the problem of finding rural housing for young families. The bigger picture shows a lack of suitable employment, poor public transport, too few local schools, too many restrictions on building conversion and planning, a lack of local shops and amenities, poor access to digital communication and mobile signals, etc.
Will financially punishing those who already have second homes solve much? It might in future put off all but the richest buyers who see a second home as an investment or pension, but I can’t see such penalties freeing up that many homes. Many Dales cottages are too small for families anyway – if second-homers didn’t buy them, the smaller buildings would probably be left to decay or be bought up by holiday-let companies for a reduced price.
Perhaps more incentives should be offered to those selling Dales properties? How about bigger rewards for estate agents or sellers who complete deals with local families? Or why not make it more difficult for second-homers to bequeath properties to offsprings who have no intention of moving into the area, with a stipulation they first have to offer homes to local families?
The report will be debated at an authority meeting on 19 December. If the YDNPA approve it, the proposal will then be put to the five local district councils. http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/living-and-working/other-services/press-office/news/recent/report-consider-five-times-council-tax-for-second-homes
Dales churches
This week’s church is St Chad’s at Middlesmoor in Nidderdale. Although the present Grade 2 listed building dates from 1866, there has been a place of worship here for centuries. Inside the church is an old preaching cross said to be Anglo Saxon, and is inscribed ‘Cross of St Ceadda’ (Chad). For me, the best thing about this church is the fantastic view down upper Nidderdale from the graveyard …
Tis the season to be jolly well moaning about gritting. Thankfully, in retirement I don’t have to worry about the drive to work every morning, which even along a main vital road like the A65 can often be treacherous. There has been a spate of accidents on this vital arterial route this week, leaving many locals bemused as to why the road wasn’t suitably treated. It’s not like the councils east and west of the border weren’t warned about the possibility of problems with black ice.
Talking of ice – is there really any need to dismantle a farmer’s wall to chuck stones onto the Langcliffe Mill pond to test the ice?
A frozen Langcliffe Mill Pond with snow-topped Penyghent in the background.A wintry sunset over Langcliffe allotments.
Just as I find satisfaction in kicking my way through autumn leaves, I get the same childish thrill crunching along on a frosty Dales track. Cracking the small iced up puddles (after admiring their wondrous patterns) and feeling the crispness of the frozen grass under my boots, while being well togged up of course, is still a delight. I know, I know, I should really leave those lovely ice patterns for others to enjoy, but I’m just a big kid. Such conditions were plentiful in the Dales this week …
As you drive out of Settle over the top of Buckhaw Brow, just after the old road veers off towards Feizor, there’s a pull-in on the right. I remember many years ago tramping through the small wood here with friends who said there was good climbing to be found. I’m not the climbing sort and didn’t partake other than a bit of line holding. I can’t remember if climbing was allowed there at the time – perhaps I was also the lookout for approaching landowners. Anyway, despite passing this place hundreds of times over the years, this week I took a little saunter through that wood for the first time since those carefree days. It’s a tricky place to walk but there are surprises along the way. The caves are well documented (do a search for ‘caves Buckhaw Brow’) for those who like that kind of thing. I also saw many signs that climbing still takes place here. If you look closely on this photo you can make out hooks on the overhang.
Banks are closing down at a rapid rate throughout the Dales- yet another blow for rural communities around the country. Still, it’s not a new thing … this one in Dent, which I photographed on Monday, closed in 1972!
Dales churches
St Andrew’s, Dent, dates back to the 12th century, was rebuilt in 1417, restored in 1590, and again in 1787. A further restoration was carried out in 1889–90.
There’s a gravestone by the church porch which is said to be the final resting place George Hodgson who died in 1715, aged 94. Local legend has that if you saw George’s ghost around the churchyard in the moonlight then you would quickly die. Dent’s God-fearing folk decided he was probably a vampire and that his body should be exhumed from its original grave and placed by the church door. It is said that on exhuming his body, George’s hair and nails had grown and his skin was a glowing pink. Just to make sure he was dead a stake was thrust through his heart. His ‘new’ gravestone appears to have a hole in it, in case an extra stake is ever needed. Those misery guts who like to pour cold water over such fanciful tales say the gravestone is a gatepost that has been reused, and the hole is simply part of the mechanism. I say let’s dig up the old beggar and ask him.
I couldn’t go to Dent and not take a photo of the Adam Sedgwick memorial – especially when there are no cars or people around.One pleasant Dales sunset this week; I didn’t know the bird was on the photo until after downloading.
I was reminded of brass monkeys yesterday when I saw Langcliffe’s festive tree during the freezing temperatures.
If I was ever banished from Yorkshire for some heinous crime – such as criticising Geoff Boycott, cooking Lancashire hotpot, or opening my wallet in public – then I’d like to be transported to Kirkby Lonsdale. In fact, many places in Westmorland would suit me as a Yorkshire convict. Even when I travelled through on a dull, unphotogenic day recently there was plenty to admire in this borderland which changes landscape character from gentler dales to rugged Lakeland fells.
Looking east from Kirkby Lonsdale.
Anyway, I’m happy to remain in the White Rose county, and I have no intention of breaking in Yorkshire laws at present. We in the western Dales missed the worst of the county’s snowfall this week but by gum it were parky. With plenty of blue sky around I got some nice shots on my local travels (top shot shows Penyghent from the churchyard of St Oswald’s, Horton-in-Ribblesdale), and I enjoyed a couple of splendid sunsets.
Frost on the gate, Penyghent in backgroundNot a clear-blue-sky shot on this day along Chapel-le-Dale but the light on the limestone made it worth pulling over for a quick photo.These two pictures were taken from the narrow back road between Buckhaw Brow and Feizor. Top one shows how Feizor is snuggled beneath the limestone hills. The other shows a distant Penyghent above the limestone escarpments.
My photo doesn’t do this scene justice. There was some lovely late sun on the eastern slopes of Ribblesdale near Helwith Bridge, and the moon shone brightly in a clear sky. Below, the following day ended in colourful fashion above the village rooftops.
Yorkshire Dales churches
This week’s church is St Oswald’s at Arncliffe. There has been a church here, beside the River Skirfare in Littondale, since the early 1100s. The earliest building was demolished in the 1400s and a new one built. There have been many alterations since, but the tower remains from that 15th-century rebuild.
The next four shots were taken around Langcliffe on a cold and frosty morning…
Finally, I can officially mention Christmas now that Settle lights have been switched on. Please shop close to home and support your local businesses. http://www.settle.org.uk
Rain, floods, freezing temperatures, snow, cloudy skies and clear skies – yes, a typical weather week in the Dales. But what perked me up was the sight of an otter on Langcliffe mill pond early Thursday morning. It wasn’t long before the sighting became hot news – more than 5,000 viewed my (poor) photo posted on Twitter, and many folk headed to Langcliffe Locks to get a view of the otter. I wondered if the otter had found its way to the pond as respite from the flooding river. Neighbours tell me they later saw it back by the riverbank. Although otters are quite a common site for some folk, in all my years observing the Ribble I’ve never come across one on this stretch. It will be welcomed by many wildlife groups but I dare say some anglers – and fish – won’t be too impressed by its presence. Three shots of it swimming in the mill pond:
Around Ribblesdale
Minor flood on the Highway between Langcliffe and Settle.While trying to shield the camera from rain I just about managed to capture part of a rainbow at Settle weir.Angelic waterfall at Ribblehead quarry. The top photo in blog was also taken from the quarry and shows clouds swirling around Ingleborough on Saturday.
Dales appeal
This photo of Whernside was taken on Friday before the snow. The path under threat is towards the left of the picture.
There were quite a few Three Peakers heading out yesterday morning, taking on the 24-mile challenge in snowy conditions. It shows that whatever the weather there will always be folk tramping the footpaths between Penyghent, Ingleborough and Whernside. This week, ‘Pitch in for Whernside’ was launched by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority as part of the British Mountaineering Council’s ‘Mend Our Mountains: Make One Million’ fundraising campaign. The aim is to raise £46,000 to help strengthen the Bruntscar path on Whernside where the steepest section is becoming increasingly eroded, undermining the local ecology and creating an ever-widening scar on the side of authority’s highest hill. Last year £17,042 was raised to pay for flagstones on the Swine Tail path on Ingleborough. Further details here: http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/living-and-working/other-services/press-office/news/recent/new-campaign-pitch-in-for-whernside
Penyghent in Saturday’s snow, taken from Helwith Bridge.
Dales churches
This week’s church is St Mary’s at Kirkby Lonsdale which although in Westmorland is now part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, so there. A lovely church dating back to Norman times, it has lots of quirky and interesting architectural features – both inside and around the churchyard – and is well worth a visit.
A colourful Dales Highway
Everyone seems to take this kind of picture so why not me? The walk along the Highway into Settle from Langcliffe proved to be colourful trip.
17 Yorkshire Dales images this week. So, I made it to 65 – I can’t say unscathed, but here I am, now an Official Ancient Person, Silver Surfer or Grumpy Old Git – whatever you want to call us.
