Sometimes I’ll post on social media a Dales photo which I’m particularly pleased with only to find there’s but a trickle of interest in it. Other times I’ll pop up a quick snap which I feel is quite ordinary that causes a torrent of interest and admiration. The reasoning behind these reactions I’ll leave for the social media gurus and psychologists to fathom. I hate to use the phrase, but here goes anyway … ‘whatever floats your boat’. This week I dabbled a bit with Photoshop on a couple of shots (at this point half the audience throw their hands up in horror, their faces showing utter disdain). But I don’t care what people think of my resulting ‘artwork’. For me, Photoshop, and any other picture manipulation method, is just a medium, or a paintbrush. There’s satisfaction about creating something unique – which you personally enjoy. And anyway, the forming of the ‘watercolour’ of the area near Wharfe, Crummackdale, (above) helped pass away an otherwise miserable day in the Dales.
Close to where I took the original for my ‘artwork’ is this small dales waterfall along Wharfe Gill Sike. It looks serene here but after heavy rain it can be dramatic.
You’ll need to view this panorama large on a computer screen to appreciate the detail – clouds are still hanging in the dale to the north of Gearstones, seen from the limestone pavement above the former Ribblehead Quarry.
Similarly, this one showing the outline of Penyghent, taken from near Colt Park, will be nobbut a black blob if you view on a little phone screen. There’s some subtle light in the foreground and I was pleased with the redness of the cloud tops.
I wasn’t lucky enough to see the aurora this week but did manage a couple of stunning sunsets from up on Winskill Stones, above Langcliffe.
On a walk between Wharfe and Austwick the autumn sky cleared briefly to light up this lovely scene.
More dales views
A few more shots from my stroll around the former Ribblehead Quarry… the first three showing the Three Peaks of Whernside, Ingleborough and a distant Penyghent.
The top of the stone bench mirrors the background shapes of Park Fell, Simon Fell and Ingleborough. The stone make-up of the bench also replicates the geological strata of the hills.I bet the waller was a dab hand at jigsaws
I popped into the impressive Village Store at Clapham for an open night this week. Besides sampling some impressive dales produce I bought Dalesman’s latest book, Bill Mitchell’s Yorkshire. Bill’s son David and daughter Janet were both there and it was a delight to see them both again. David compiled the book – you can see my thoughts about it on the Reviews page.
A short 12-photo blog this week as I was only able to grab a couple of strolls down Ribblesdale. My aim was to snatch some of the changing colours in the dale and around the village (Langcliffe pictured above). Fortunately there were some vivid moments when the sun shone briefly but strongly to add more interest to the scene.
Over the years of living in Ribblesdale I’ve learned the ideal times to visit certain locations for the best conditions. I love the light on the western flanks of Penyghent in the hour before the sun goes down. The colours differ depending on the time of year and the strength of the sunshine. The clouds also play their part in painting the scene. Sitting in a lay-by on the Little Stainforth road above Helwith Bridge you can watch the evening light over Penyghent and also see the sunset over Proctor’s Scar to the west.
In the early afternoon, a walk by the Ribble can be a delight as the light catches the leaves in the ancient riverside woods and on the trees clinging to Stainforth Scar.
I did venture briefly outside Ribblesdale. While I was in Kirkby Stephen I took a detour to visit the charming village of Barbon. The current church of St Batholomew hasn’t a long history but is lovely and in a beautiful setting. I was lucky to catch it in some glorious light.
Excellent autumn light tempted me out into the Dales this week. I’ve been happy with the photographic results and, if my Twitter statistics are anything to go by, so have my followers. Then why do I feel a little down at the end of such a productive and enjoyable seven days?
Why? Because it’s becoming more apparent just how much the quality of our rural life is changing and how little the government seems to care about it.
There’s a new kind of industrial revolution going on in the countryside and it’s increasingly noticeable around the edges of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Humans have always exploited the countryside. Mills developed around natural water power while lead and coal mines along with stone, slate and limestone quarries have been regular features in the Dales for centuries.
Driving around now I see an ever-increasing number of wind turbines. This week I stopped to view the massive solar power station at Gisburn, where 20,000 panels have been installed across three fields. Many more will follow.
Thousands of solar panels at Gisburn
After bemoaning the fact that fracking had been allowed on the North York Moors a couple of months back, permission for fracking has now been granted down the road in Lancashire… despite the fact that the locals and the council didn’t want it to happen.
Further afield huge agricultural businesses are gobbling up small farms, turning millions of acres into featureless prairies or unnatural meat factories, ruining the countryside’s natural balance, destroying wildlife habitats and forever changing communities.
I live in a Dales village where the local primary school was closed a few years back – now we learn that the lovely school at Horton-in-Ribblesdale is seriously under threat. With it could go the life-blood and future of another rural community. Families will move out and the place will be filled with second-homeowners and holiday cottages. (Don’t get me wrong – those people are most welcome, but it is the community balance I worry about.)
Libraries and other local resources, including municipal parks, are also being abandoned by councils while funds for National Parks are being cut.
Yes, we must always look for solutions to problems concerning provision of food and power, but why must it be at the expense of our quality of life and the destruction of the things many of us hold so dear?
That’s ‘progress’ I’m told. Don’t fret youngsters, old dinosaurs like me will soon be extinct… unfortunately so will much of the countryside.
Talking of extinction, as I was heading home from Gisburn the other day I came across a farmer who was driving along a minor road, presumably next to his farm, in one of those golf-buggy-type-things. He pulled to the side of the road, grabbed his gun and fired it skywards. It was a tad disconcerting but something not to be too surprised at out in the countryside. I didn’t stop to find out what he was firing at, but I do hope it wasn’t a rare bird of prey – there have been too many reports of them being killed this year. That’s another sensitive rural subject concerning songbirds, farming and the hunting-shooting-fishing brigade – but enough ranting for one day… enjoy the photos.
Dales photos from this week
If you can’t sleep try counting the sheep in this photo – hundreds on the hillside in RibblesdaleCows – and a bull – gather at WinskillWatlowes dry valley as the early mist was dispersingAutumn sunshine and path at Langcliffe
Stainforth Scar showing some early autumn tints
Evening light on Ingleborough
Attermire in the afternoon
Ingleborough in the distance, seen from Langcliffe
Scaleber Force
Changing colours by the Ribble
More hints that autumn is upon us at Malham Tarn
I couldn’t go a week without a photo of Penyghent, could I?
A quiet moment on Langcliffe mill pond
We’re all angelic in Langcliffe, as you well know. But a few more angels descended on our Ribblesdale village on Saturday for a special festival. See more…
This week’s quick blog features just a few of the Langcliffe residents’ creations…
Bright red telephone boxes in the Dales, like this one at Arncliffe, need to be preserved. Too many of the old pay-phones all around the countryside are being disconnected and removed. In the Dales some have been developed into tiny book-swap-shops, art galleries etc, and in the Lake District I’ve even seen one turned into a fish tank. I’m not just some old fart wanting to wallow in nostalgia. I can see the logic behind getting rid of some urban boxes but in the countryside where mobile reception is poor, or where walkers and campers have no way of recharging their mobiles’ batteries, the old red boxes can help save lives. I read this week that Keswick Mountain Rescue Team are asking people to help keep a kiosk at Seathwaite on a popular route to Scafell Pike. Surely the saving of just one person during the whole life of a phonebox is more important than the minutest of dents made in the profit margins of a communications giant like BT? Comments can be made at: http://planning.allerdale.gov.uk/portal/servlets/ApplicationSearchServlet?PKID=148110
Another shot of the kiosk in Arncliffe.
I popped into Arncliffe this week during a superb Dales drive from Langcliffe in Ribblesdale, over the Silverdale road to Halton Gill and down Littondale. From there I doubled back along the dodgy road via Darnbrook to Malham Tarn. Then it was back to Langcliffe via Cowside and Winskill. Here’s a selection of pics on the journey…
Looking back over Arncliffe from the Darnbrook roadLooking towards Penyghent from the Silverdale road at Dalehead Farm.Further along the road to Halton Gill at the ‘backside’ of Penyghent.The breathtaking Dales view down Littondale. One of my favourites.I like it so much here’s a black and white shot.Little Halton Gill snuggles between Littondale’s steep hills.The beck at Arncliffe.There are some fascinating tombstones at St Oswald’s church, Arncliffe.Bring back the village stocks, I say. Not enough time for me to list who I’d throw rotten tomatoes at. Arncliffe.It’s not always as tranquil as this in the Dales – the river Skirfare near St Oswald’s in Arncliffe.
Whenever I drive through Rathmell in Ribblesdale, as I did one day this week, I wonder about the origins of the term ‘Reading Room’. I realise it is the equivalent of a village hall but why was it so called? Is it a Dales thing?
I don’t know what happens at the treatment works by the Ribble here in Settle but those ewes certainly look to be thriving on it.
Sitting ducks
Team photo: Millpond Ducks FC first XI line up for their latest match in Langcliffe.
Changing Dales
Yesterday I thought I’d take one more summer shot at Langcliffe Locks before the trees change colour.Earlier in the week I dropped in at Clapham Falls where there was already more than a hint of autumn.
Although it’s been a mixed weather week in the Yorkshire dales my photo diary shows several golden moments. I walk with Romans, drive the border and a cow takes the wee-wee.
I did it byway
Top photo shows the Roman road stretching down Wensleydale.
I popped over into one of Ribblesdale’s next-dale-neighbours to follow in the footsteps of the Romans on Monday. The ancient route to Bainbridge, which I picked up at the top of Sleddale, offers some fine views up and down Wensleydale and Raydale. Although it wasn’t the crispest of days for long-distant shots, Semerwater, Pen Hill and Addleborough helped paint a good picture. It didn’t seem worth ploughing a way through the peat bog to the top of Wether Fell as the view across Wensleydale can be enjoyed just the same along the path which circles around the hill like a necklace.
Looking down Raydale towards Semerwater.Someone having an even better view of the Dales than me.Above, the flat top of Yorburgh with Wensleydale beyond.If my bearings are correct that’s Sedbusk seen from Wether Fell
Golden days and nights in the Dales
A late stroll from Langcliffe to watch the sunset was well worthwhile. Here several shots in no particular order:
Last light, nearing homeIngleborough in the distance (note the ‘sun dog’ – part of the Sun’s halo).Looking across to Penyghent on my outward journey.In low-level light looking down on the RibbleEvening shot of Ingleborough and Smearsett Scar from the Malham road out of Langcliffe,
Along the border
For a change of view of the sunset, the following evening I took a trip along the Yorkshire-Lancashire border …
Stocks Reservoir looked serene just as the Sun was disappearing over the horizon.
Is this cow taking the p*** out of my attempts to capture a rural sunset?On my journey back home the full Moon glowed brightly over Settle. I was on the lookout for werewolves.The grouse moors on the borderlands took on pretty patterns in the low light.On the way up the bleak moorland road from Bentham to Slaidburn the purple heather was soaking up the last rays of sunshine.Sheep settling down for the night near Gisburn Forest.Do not adjust your sets … I tried to get as much fading light as possible in the shot. The colours turned out weird but Ingleborough still looked majestic.From this angle, near the source of the River Hodder – part of which forms the traditional Yorkshire border – Gisburn Forest looks incredibly dense.
Two enjoyable shortish walks by the Ribble to report on this week. The river looked fabulous as it reflected the sun while I sauntered along to Stainforth.
The Ribble and Stackhouse from Stainforth Scar
Then it was a trudge up Stainforth Scar to take in views up and down Ribblesdale. I’ll let the photos do the talking here as I’m out of breath…
Lovely clouds over Ingleborough, Smearsett Scar and Knight StainforthPenyghent seen through a gap in an ancient wall on Stainforth ScarOne of my favourite paths near LangcliffeLooks like a rocket taking off from Skipton – the first manned exploration probe into Lancashire?Another view towards Smearsett Scar and IngleboroughOne day, son, all this hard work will be yours…
Making hay while the sun shone was the order of the day as I approached Langcliffe. So satisfying to see people working while I idle my time away.
Ribble head
Later in the week in cloudier weather I snatched a short walk at the head of the Ribble. Thorns Gill looked and sounded fabulous. The crown of Thorns has to be the hidden waterfall at the Gearstones end. But the old bridge which has defied gravity for hundreds of years was also a splendid sight.
A miniature world on a rock – a bit like planet Earth, really
The Three Peaks of Ingleborough, Whernside and Penyghent took on different moods as the clouds (and trains) passed by.
Clouds gather over Park Fell and IngleboroughZoomed in from Thorns Gill – a goods train over Ribblehead Viaduct, helping to remove more lorries from our congested roads.
I don’t just take landscape photos around the Dales, although they are my favourite kind of shots. Sometimes I like to capture people working in the countryside, such as this farmer at the hamlet of Wharfe in Crummackdale (below).
Also, I like to photograph hidden places and old or unusual subjects. This old gate up a narrow overgrown path near Wharfe intrigued me – it made me want to enter and find out what mysteries lay behind (I resisted).
In my own village of Langcliffe there are many views slightly off the beaten track, such as these atmospheric places.
The late evening sun is a good time for a wander with the camera round Langcliffe…
A walk taking in Ilkley Moor and the Cow & Calf rocks on Wednesday was spoiled for me by racist in the car park. Had I been more quick-witted I would have responded more cuttingly to the elderly man’s disrespectful remark about a group of fellow visitors. Maybe he thought he was being amusing, saying something that might have been acceptable in a 1970s’ sitcom – or perhaps I was just being oversensitive. The people were out of earshot – I doubt the coward would have said anything otherwise – but he obviously thought I was of a similar mind to him. Nothing could be further from the truth. The visitors looked very smart and happy, obviously enjoying their important Eid festival day out. I much prefer to share the Yorkshire countryside with them than with small-minded halfwits. Intolerance of other people’s ways of life certainly seems to be on the increase. A general feeling of injustice, unfairness and inequality in society, created by greed and corruption and a quest for power by the few, seems to be manifesting in racism all around the world.
Anyway, mustn’t spiral into despondency and depression over the actions of others, there’s still a lot to enjoy in life and much beauty to be experienced on the planet, especially here in the Dales. Ilkley Moor – with or without a hat – was moody but enjoyable, despite the fact that I fell down a rabbit hole… well, not all of me, that would have had to be some giant Roger Rabbit hole, but one leg up to my knee disappeared. Going in at any angle other than straight down I could have been another Fell Rescue Association statistic. It did, however, create some merriment for my walking companions (friends, eh?).
On track in the Dales
Dodging showers has been the story of the week really. I managed to grab a couple of local photos as the darker clouds sped by. The flowers on this elder have recently blossomed (not sure if this is a little later than normal – perhaps some expert will let me know) and make a handy foreground on this typical Dales track near my home. The mackerel sky stood out strongly against the hillside trees above Langcliffe to create a nice backdrop.
A short spell of sunshine on Friday evening tempted me out for a quick drive around the local dales. Moughton Scar looked fine from the bridge over the beck in Austwick (below), and Penyghent briefly caught the sun – seen from above the fishery at Helwith Bridge in the first photo in blog.
I’m hoping for a good day during the coming week so I can amble around Settle to see all the creations in the Flowerpot Festival. There’s a good selection of photos here… https://www.facebook.com/settleflowerpotfestival/
Earlier this week I saw, and added my name in support of, a post on tinterweb concerning trains – or rather a lack of them between Skipton and Settle. Like many other people I find it really frustrating that there is no train after 8pm from Skipton back up Ribblesdale. This isn’t just because it prevents me from having a drink with friends in Skipton, but also because of the problems of linking trains for longer journeys. Having a last train to this part of Yorkshire from Leeds at 19.19 is ridiculous. I look at the obscene money being spent on – and the disruption being caused by – the silly HS2 scheme and wonder how can such a folly be justified when the current rail infrastructure is so inadequate? https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=train%20skipton%20to%20settle
I was lucky to have attended a school where outdoor activities were considered important. Many of us took part in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme and learned about being prepared for venturing in to the Dales and on to the fells. Unfortunately, most education authorities won’t/can’t pay for such valuable lessons any more. Last week the Cave Rescue Organisation, based in Clapham, had to search for two men aged 19 and 25 who were attempting the Three Peaks challenge. They had set off on the 24-mile trek up three of Yorkshire’s highest mountains without adequate waterproofs, food, drink or map and compass and had got lost. What amazes me is the fact they were part of a fundraising event. I’m not one of the nanny-state brigade, but surely the organisers should have shown some responsibility and told any inexperienced, inadequately-equipped people that they couldn’t take part? The CRO took around two-and-a-half-hours to track them down. Both suffered nothing more than tiredness and sunburn but it could have been far worse, and we should be thankful the CRO volunteers didn’t miss out on attending a more serious accident elsewhere.
The Folly in Settle, which as mentioned in previous blogs is a favourite building of mine, comes under the spotlight tomorrow night (Monday 20th June). There are big plans for the town’s only Grade 1 listed building, and a drop-in session is being organised (3pm-8pm) so that local people can see what’s planned and also have their own ideas heard. http://www.ncbpt.org.uk/folly/
I’ve been busy this week with some freelance work so haven’t been able to get out in the Dales as much as I would have liked. At this time last year I could find an excuse to unshackle myself from the computer by popping out to photograph one of the regular steam trains which pass nearby. Work on repairing the landslip on the Settle-Carlisle line near Appleby means the specials are not running this summer (note – the passenger service is still running between Leeds and Carlisle – see http://www.settle-carlisle.co.uk/).
An ancient Dales world
After heavy rain in the Dales I’ll often pop over to Scaleber Force, above Settle, to witness what dramatic influence the downpour has had on the waterfalls. This week I thought I’d visit during a dry spell and was surprised at the difference in atmosphere. The busy, noisy chaos of a flooded dell changed to an eerie, dank, primeval scene. For once I could hear birds in the dense greenery; a gentle ‘plop’ of water in a dark corner echoed across stone platforms normally hidden from view by raging water. Instead of staring at foaming white I gazed around lush and verdant vegetation, broken branches and uprooted tree trunks, and peered into dark recesses which I’d not spotted before. A new world to me, but as old as time.
When you’re incapable of yomping over great hills and in need of short, flatish strolls, then the paths and tracks around Austwick and its beck are an ideal place to wander. The bare limestone escarpment of Moughton (top pic in blog) and the intriguing gritstone-erratics scattered across the moor above the village provide fine backdrops. The views from the Feizor road to Settle were good that day, too … Smearsett Scar and Ingleborough both looking stunning.
As I’ve slowed down in life I’ve become more aware of benches. I never realised how useful they were… for resting, contemplating, watching life go by, taking stock and admiring the Dales scenery from. They’re also fine foregrounds or features for photos. Besides the one near Austwick above, these two caught my eye on a local stroll around Langcliffe this week.
A twisted world
My childhood home was in murdered MP Jo Cox’s Batley & Spen constituency where my parents lived all their lives. My early years in that multi-cultural society, where thousands of immigrant families headed to work in the mills (and were paid a pittance by the millowners), laid the foundation for me to respect other cultures and beliefs. Other people with a closed mind, and those with more hatred in their souls, were not so tolerant and some became xenophobes and racists. Unfortunately, intolerance seems to be dominating today’s human world. More caring, thoughtful MPs like Jo Cox – people who fight against social injustice and greed – are rapidly needed, and self-centred, short-sighted bigots need to shake their heads and realise that their ways cannot exist in a civilised society.
My brief outings up and down Ribblesdale this week have been worthwhile – here’s a selection of scenes I’ve captured…
Track near Langcliffe, RibblesdaleForget France – Horton-in-Ribblesdale is the place for footieFloral display, LangcliffeDales meadow near SettleNot many straight lines in the Dales – between Langcliffe and StainforthNo wonder our ancestors believed in fairies at the bottom of the garden – I think it’s bog cottonTwo reflective scenes on the local pond
Old world values
Were she still alive my mum would have been 100 yesterday. I often wonder what she’d have thought of today’s world. I know she would have been bemused at seeing folk walking down the street grasping a plastic cup of coffee in one hand and holding a phone to an ear with the other hand. In her day she would have called to friends across the street inviting them to pop round for a cuppa and a chinwag – much more friendly and intimate.
I was going to end with a referendum rant, but like the politicians I’ve called a halt to campaigning. Instead here’s a beautiful Dales scene to lighten your week…
Towards the end of this week in the Dales I started think that those few glorious sunny days were to be the ‘last of the summer wine’ (in my bobble hat I do look a bit like Compo). In Ribblesdale, sunny fields of buttercups at the start of the week were followed by dull grey outlines and mist-covered Three Peaks. I dived for cover in the car at Ribblehead then watched the heavy storm pass overhead near Clapham on Wednesday. I’ll let the pictures tell the story …
Whernside outline from inside my car on WednesdayPic of train in vain in rain on Ribblehead ViaductStorm heading over Wenningdale from Clapham
Mike’s sweet music to my ears
I had a snigger the other day at a Facebook post by Mike Harding who was complaining, partly tongue in cheek, about noisy lawnmowers disturbing his relaxation in the sun. Yes, it’s the traditional sound of summer in England but like Mike I think that too much grass cutting goes on. It’s not so much the noise that frustrates me (although the electric and motorised ones can be ridiculously loud – over to you Mr Dyson for your inventive juices to get to work) as the fact that some people want their lawn to look like a snooker table. It’s completely unnatural. I was walking by the church in Settle this week and watched a guy driving his mower around the graves chopping the heads pretty daisies, buttercups, clover and a host of other plants. What a waste of Nature, depriving bees, butterflies and insects of nectar, and our own senses of the smell and sights of summer, just to satisfy some man-made vision of neatness. By the way, if you like folk music do look up Mike’s great free podcast at www.mikehardingfolkshow.com
Penyghent looking warm this week
Waste of money
Unfortunately I don’t have a garden, only a tiny patch used mainly for herbs. I tidied up a section of the path around the house this week and put the odd bits of soil, small stones – general garden rubbish into a box which I dutifully took to the council tip. “You’ll have to pay £3 (something-or-other) for that, mate, and we only accept credit or debt card.” WHAT!? After a couple of expletives I requested details of whom I could complain to, then took my rubbish back home. I’ve emailed North Yorkshire County Council’s waste management services to register my disgust (I’m really getting the hang of this grumpy-old-man routine). I also told them I’d put the rubbish into bins bags and deposited them in dustbins for their employees to pick up. Perhaps they’ll sue me for putting garden waste in with household waste. It’s no excuse, I know, but I’m not surprised more people are tipping waste around the Dales.
No weather for sheepskin coatsSummer glory in LangcliffeThe minor road from Langcliffe to Settle was blocked by fallen branch on Tuesday. I fought my through, Bear Grylls style.
Unwelcome views
This week I dropped a couple of groups from my Facebook account. I’ve been sharing my photos with thousands of the groups’ members for a long time, quite happy to let people see the Dales for free. However, a minority of viewers have started to hijack my posts to spread their own opinions – mainly comments about race and immigration. Yes, I can block the bigots but many members won’t, which means I am unwittingly providing a vehicle for those twisted views. If they want to express their opinions they can get themselves a website like this one, or they can go post on more appropriate Facebook groups. The situation has been worse recently because immigration has become, quite wrongly in my view, the main issue in the Euro debate (which you’ll be pleased to learn I’m not going to go into here). Perhaps I’ll return to those Dales groups when the referendum circus has left town. Here’s a photo of several animals living in perfect harmony, just to remind people that land can actually be quite easy to share.
Sometimes I’ll post on social media a Dales photo which I’m particularly pleased with only to find there’s but a trickle of interest in it. Other times I’ll pop up a quick snap which I feel is quite ordinary that causes a torrent of interest and admiration. The reasoning behind these reactions I’ll leave for the social media gurus and psychologists to fathom. I hate to use the phrase, but here goes anyway … ‘whatever floats your boat’. This week I dabbled a bit with Photoshop on a couple of shots (at this point half the audience throw their hands up in horror, their faces showing utter disdain). But I don’t care what people think of my resulting ‘artwork’. For me, Photoshop, and any other picture manipulation method, is just a medium, or a paintbrush. There’s satisfaction about creating something unique – which you personally enjoy. And anyway, the forming of the ‘watercolour’ of the area near Wharfe, Crummackdale, (above) helped pass away an otherwise miserable day in the Dales.
Close to where I took the original for my ‘artwork’ is this small dales waterfall along Wharfe Gill Sike. It looks serene here but after heavy rain it can be dramatic.
You’ll need to view this panorama large on a computer screen to appreciate the detail – clouds are still hanging in the dale to the north of Gearstones, seen from the limestone pavement above the former Ribblehead Quarry.
Similarly, this one showing the outline of Penyghent, taken from near Colt Park, will be nobbut a black blob if you view on a little phone screen. There’s some subtle light in the foreground and I was pleased with the redness of the cloud tops.
I wasn’t lucky enough to see the aurora this week but did manage a couple of stunning sunsets from up on Winskill Stones, above Langcliffe.
On a walk between Wharfe and Austwick the autumn sky cleared briefly to light up this lovely scene.
