Tag: Pen-y-ghent

Memories of a white Dales Christmas

penyghent

Remember Christmas Day 2010? Snow had been falling for a couple of days but the clouds opened up to reveal a glorious clear blue sky on the 25th. I headed up Ribblesdale where the Three Peaks wore wispy scarves of light low cloud mixed with loose blowing snow. The handful of customers in the Station Inn at Ribblehead gave a cheery welcome; further along the road down Chapel-le-Dale at the Hill Inn was this icy greeting. Sadly it doesn’t look like we’ll be treated to a snowy landscape this year – just as well seeing as my camera is still on the blink – but I hope you enjoy a fabulous Yorkshire Dales Christmas just the same.

hill_inn

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.

Happy with my hippy theory on the Ribble

ribble_start

I have this sort of hippy style belief that rivers don’t have a start and finish but are just a continuous flow of water in a cycle involving clouds-land-sea-clouds. I was asked the other day where the River Ribble starts – having given my hippy theory and receiving a blank look in return, I went through the stock answers. But I do wonder why humans feel the need to have a beginning and an end to everything? We must have a measurement too – how long, how high, how deep, how wide… etc; we’re always trying to portray something that’s natural in terms of a man-made unit. Perhaps it’s just another of our attempts to feel in control of the natural world. Instead of calculating it we should just embrace Nature, like a true landscape artist would. I told my friend that there is a difference between the ‘source’ and the ‘start’ of a river. The Ribble’s source is mainly the watershed of Cam Fell and surrounding fells. Water trickles down the fells forming Cam Beck, Gayle Beck and lots of smaller tributaries which join to form the Ribble near Selside, at the place shown in my photo – a rather boring ‘start’ for this mighty river on its 75-mile voyage to the Irish Sea don’t you think? I prefer my hippy idea.
I also caught some lovely autumn light and a cloudless sky above Penyghent on my way back down Ribblesdale today.

penyghent

A touch of frost and a load of bull in the dales

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The seven-mile drive from Stainforth in Ribblesdale to Halton Gill in Littondale was a delight this morning. There was just a touch of frost remaining in Silverdale (through which the road runs) as the sun began to peek over the top of Fountains Fell and light up the eastern flank of Penyghent. The picture is taken from just above Halton Gill looking down Littondale towards Arncliffe. I hope you realise I risked my life just to bring you this photo –  there was an enormous bull beside the road where I pulled in. Luckily, I think his main interest was in eating to regain his strength after having a ‘busy’ night on the moor.

A Hull of a hole in the dale

hullpot

Someone once told me that Hull Pot was the biggest natural hole in England… mind you, another person told me that Birmingham was the biggest hole in the country but they could have been alluding to something different. Without a person in the shot it’s difficult for viewers of the photo to imagine the scale of this chasm – which can come as something of a shock to the unwary as they march along the path from Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Foxup beneath Penyghent. It’s around 90m long and 30m wide with sheer drops all round – and no warning signs. I thought the waterfalls might have been more impressive this morning after all the recent rain but it wasn’t to be, and I’ve yet to capture them in full flow. Today I headed back to Horton via the Pennine Way down Ribblesdale where the views across the valley were gorgeous. Here a cloud has just enveloped the top of Ingleborough.

pennineway

Wet and windy in the dales

ribblesdale

Walking above Ribblesdale this afternoon I realised that a degree in meteorology wasn’t necessary to deduce I was about to get an almighty soaking. So I took this photo, tucked the camera away in my bag and braced myself for the downpour. Head bowed I battled back to the car. The label on my cagoule says waterproof – but it doesn’t say leakproof. My drenching lasted less than ten minutes but the wetness stayed with me a hell of a lot longer. Strong winds soon blew the storm clouds up the dale and I hung around to see if the new light following quickly on behind would illuminate Penyghent from the west. It didn’t, but as can be seen in the other photo, the cloud clung to the peak, looking like smoke rising from a slow-burning peat fire. The scene may have improved later on but as I was starting to smell like a wet old dog I wasn’t hanging around to find out.

penyghent

Ode to Yorkshire

Let’s rejoice on Yorkshire Day
For all that Nature’s sent
From Flamborough Head and Caton Bay
to Malham Cove and Pen-y-ghent.
On Ilkley Moor and Pennine hills
North York Moors and Dales
the scenery forever thrills
and inspiration never fails.
So if depressed or all forlorn
get your thoughts in order
and thank the Lord that you weren’t born
on t’ other side o’ t’ border.

Happy Yorkshire Day

Reserved for the best in the Dales

butterfly

I walked a bit of the Ingleborough National Nature Reserve Ridge Walk today – the section above Selside overlooking north Ribblesdale. This small tortoiseshell butterfly was kind enough to pose on a thistle for the camera. The shot below shows the butterfly’s extensive view towards Penyghent. I wonder how far butterflies can see?

penyghent

Ancients of the Dales

limestone

There was so much greyness around the Dales this morning that there wasn’t much adjusting needed to turn this photo into black and white. The limestone pavement is at the foot of Ingleborough; in the background is the long mass of Whernside. A few hundred yards behind this view is Douk Cave (below) which today felt more primeval than usual. The sound of trickling water echoed around the chasm in which it sits. Ancient ferns, mosses and shade-loving plants looked lush against the limestone, and the summer growth on the trees which cling to the steep sides virtually roofed the whole scene.

doukghyll

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