Tag: Pennine Way

Joyous June in the Dales (37 pics)


So, a month of strolling and taking pictures in the Dales has gone by without a blog from me. It’s not been easy – I’ve been dying to show off about living in such a beautiful place and the Nature I’ve seen as the Sun threw wide its arms, saying ‘come on lad, fill thi booits’.
Even the milk-bottle legs got an airing (allowing all manner of flying objects to help themselves to a Jackson blood-fest).
Within a 25-mile radius of home the Dales have provided relaxing walks and waterfalls, stunning sunsets and glorious sweet meadows to melt the senses. The camera has worked overtime and illustrates the wonderful Yorkshire Dales through pictures much better than I can with words.

Dales
Let’s start with some Three Peaks photos. Top is Ingleborough; above is Whernside seen over Ivescar Farm; below are two shots of Penyghent in Ribblesdale.

Trains in the Dales

Dales trains
Apologies for the quality. I zoomed in from the Coal Road above Dent station across a few miles to try capture this train as it left Blea Moor tunnel.

dales
I see now what I have in common with train enthusiasts: grey hair.
Littondale

dales
First few photos around Foxup, Cosh and Halton Gill. The last two on the way to Littondale from Stainforth showing Penyghent Gill and farm, and Fountains Fell.
Nature in the Dales

Cheeky little monkey (calf, actually) sticking its tongue out at me.

More Dales scenes

dales
Four photos from a walk along the Pennine Way around Malham and Darnbrookdale. Below a couple from around the Dentdale area.

dales
Aisgill Falls near Hawes, and a classic shot of Hawes church.

I also visited Appleby Horse Fair earlier in the month. Some locals complain about the annual fair while others are happy to make a bit from increased visitor spending, renting camping space and charging for parking. As a visitor I only see a snapshot of the event, of course, but it seemed well policed and had plenty of RSPCA officials on hand. I wasn’t around to clear up any mess though. For a short slideshow visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSu-Ypcw0zM

And finally…

I could have filled the blog with many more June shots but you’d have probably fallen asleep … here are three shots taken at sunset from Winskill, Ribblesdale, looking towards Ingleborough, to help you snooze.

See you next month.

Fountains Fell holds no fear today

fountains

Managed to drag myself up Fountains Fell early this morning. First time I’d been up the 2000-footer in around 40 years. I needed plenty of photo stops on the way up. The boggy uneven plateau is just as I remembered it; completely inhospitable and dangerous in low cloud or rain but today conditions were near perfect. The summit is a few hundred strides from the Pennine Way as it heads from Malham to Penyghent. The views were good round 360 degrees but it was the sky that caught my eye for this shot taken from the top looking towards Ribblesdale.

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

Blowing away the cobwebs in Silverdale

If you get the chance, drive along the road between Stainforth and Halton Gill. This Silverdale which joins Ribblesdale with Littondale around the east side of Penyghent – there are some fabulous views. Went there late afternoon when I spotted some blue sky. By gum it were fair windy but at least the cobwebs were blown away after I’d had four hours of dealing with Countryman emails. Here are some pics from the first half of the journey – the sheep mistook me for the farmer and they got a bit miffed when I didn’t feed them.

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penyghent

sheep