Ribblesdale Archives - Page 4 of 21 - Scribble by the Ribble

Another year in the Dales goes west

A Dales photo for each month during 2017. Looking back on a year’s wandering – fairly aimless wandering it must be said – and photographing around the western Dales this year, I hadn’t realised how much the sky had dominated so many of my shots. Clouds move swiftly in this part of the country as the breeze sweeps in from the Irish Sea and strikes the hilly barrier in its way. A stormy sky can turn clear blue in minutes – and the opposite can happen quickly too, to catch out the unwary.

Photos can often hide the truth – the top picture, taken above Giggleswick Scar, shows a lovely clear day looking down on Settle bathing in sunshine. But don’t be deceived, it was taken in January and believe me it was freezing up there that day.

This February shot shows snow on Penyghent and a steam special heading through Ribblesdale.

In March I watched this dramatic cloud formation above Kingsdale as it made its way from the north-west. Whernside bore the brunt of the bad weather it brought.

About as far as you get in the western Dales is Barbondale. This April day was full of light and shade.

The Sun in May is still fairly weak and I was able to point the camera directly at it for this shot of a distant Ingleborough from Winskill.

The weather was right for a stroll up Attermire Scar in June. This was the view looking north-west, showing the track to Malham by Jubilee Cave and the foot-hills of Penyghent and Fountains Fell.

Just as the sun was going down on a July day at Winskill, Ribblesdale. Distant Penyghent soaking up the last rays.

A typical August sky and a typical walled green lane. I was on my way from Horton-in-Ribblesdale to photograph the impressive Hull Pot.

A September shot of Settle. I chose this one for my yearly round-up not because of the great view of the town from Castleberg Rock but for the shape of the clouds above, which take you to the distant fells.

October brought some storms to the region. I was right on the edge of this particularly nasty one above Ribblesdale before making a hasty retreat back home to Langcliffe.

As autumn turned to winter I was lucky to grab this November shot on the track between Horton-in-Ribblesdale and Brackenbottom before the gold and brown tints disappeared.

I had to include a December shot of a snowy Penyghent, even though Ribblesdale didn’t have a white Christmas Day. This was taken from Selside.

Thank you for continuing to follow this blog during 2017 and I hope you have a fabulous new year.

Where you send a Yorkshire convict (14 pics)

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.

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.

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

There’s not a hotter otter in the Dales

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

Dales appeal

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

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

Dales dilemma and autumn glory

There are 12 Dales photos in this week’s blog. Yep, not just the one shown above. I had a message from someone who has been seeing notifications about my blog for over a year, saying that she’d only just realised there were actually many more photos to view if she clicked on the appropriate link. Clicking on the website link also shows other goodies. Enough of this self-promotion… it’s been a mixed weather week in the Dales but sometimes the light at this time of the year makes you appreciate oft-visited local scenes even more.

I’ve taken countless pics from Winskill, like the top photo showing Penyghent, and the one above of the farm, Smearsett Scar and Ingleborough. But I can’t stop myself from going back to see the scene in different light and conditions. The view is only a few minutes from home – and I can be quite lazy at times. Here are three more taken from the road between Langcliffe and Malham during the same late afternoon light:

Dales planning dilemma

There’s an interesting planning application being put forward in my village of Langcliffe. The owners of Bowerley, a large Victorian mansion which now houses privately owned and rented accommodation, want to build a subterranean eco-friendly house on – or should that be under – part of the 3.2 acre garden to live in during their retirement. It’s an interesting concept for this part of the Dales and throws up something of a dilemma for planners. Although just outside the main village which is inside the National Park, Bowerley is still in a conservation area. Subterranean eco-friendly housing usually means plenty of aluminium and glass so I wonder how this fits into the definition of ‘conservation’. The applicants say the house won’t be visible other than from a distance at the other side of the valley – and from passengers on the Settle-Carlisle Railway. There are no protected trees under threat and as far as I am aware no great-crested newts live there. I have no problem with seeing something from the 21st century in the mix of buildings and I’m all for eco-living, as long as there isn’t a negative impact on surroundings or neighbours. I do wonder if being underground so close to the Settle-Carlisle the earth will move for them when the Flying Scotsman hurtles past?
https://publicaccess.cravendc.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=OVYH5ZFKG8R00

I needed to pop over to Hawes this week but it wasn’t the most photogenic of days. But I did capture the beck, church (see further below) and Gayle Mill.

Nearer home I took these showing ancient field systems, a view up Ribblesdale and a fine tree silhouette:

Dales churches

Two more Dales churches this week: St Wilfrid’s in Burnsall has a lovely setting beside the river Wharfe. There’s been a church here since at least 700AD. The present Grade I Listed building shows additions and alterations from the 13th through to the 19th century.

St Margaret’s church in Hawes is Grade II Listed and was built in 1851. It replaced an older chapel of ease. Most photos you’ll see of it feature the slab path to and from Gayle. So, here’s another:

Where time stands still in the Dales

Of all Yorkshire’s Dales, Kingsdale probably makes me feel the most relaxed. It’s such a peaceful place; small but perfectly formed. Kingsdale doesn’t belong in the 21st century and is much the better place for it. With Gragareth rising steeply on the west and Whernside to the east, this most secluded of dales can seem very lonely on a darkening winter’s eve. But on bright autumnal days with sun shining on the limestone, and glistening on the beck as it cackles over water-worn pebbles, Kingsdale is heavenly.

I have a well-read phamplet that was printed by the Craven Herald in the 1930s, called Kingsdale the Valley of the Vikings. It was written and published by Frederic Riley of The Book Stores, Settle. In it are many photos of scenes which if I captured again today would not look any different whatsoever.

One day this week I parked in a lay-by on the narrow road from Thornton-in-Lonsdale to Dent where there is a classic view of Kingsdale. Should I head to the west of the dale and walk up the steep path through loose rocky limestone, or go east up the gentler slopes of Twisleton Scars? Thinking that my old knees would handle the latter much more comfortably I headed for the path up which I’d not been for more than 40 years, towards Whernside. Years ago, probably during a Duke of Edinburgh Awards hike, we’d camped in Ingleton and walked up Twisleton Scar and along the spine of Whernside (pictured above) before camping again somewhere near High Birkwith. No such trek today as I wandered around the fabulous limestone pavement where a few stunted trees leaned with the prevailing westerly wind towards Ingleborough. Here, odd weathered stones balance precariously which along with the trees present some classic (or should that be clichéd?) shots of the surrounding dales landscape. A lovely walk with extensive views over Wenningdale towards the Bowland Fells.

My granddad’s brother, Reuben Hepworth, survived the horrific battle fields of Flanders only to be killed in action exactly one month later on 11th December 1917 while on duty in Italy. He was just 24 and single. His mother Hannah, already a widow and with four children, received £105 10s 2d in April 1920 when the government finally sorted out his will. While we rightly remember those who died fighting for their countries we should also bear in mind the trauma felt by families back home.
I have Reuben’s Memorial Plaque – sometimes known as the Death Penny or Dead Man’s Penny. They were issued after the First World War to the next-of-kin of service personnel killed as a result of the war.

Like me, you were probably totally surprised to hear this week that some rich people get richer by avoiding tax. What shocking news. They’ll be telling us next that there are people on benefits who shouldn’t be – and folk driving round in cars that haven’t been taxed. Ah well, life just wouldn’t be the same in Little England if we couldn’t go ‘tut-tut’ about something, would it?

Dales churches

This week’s church is in the Mallerstang valley in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. St Mary’s chapel at Outhwaite has been around since the 14th century. The small low building contains a 13th century bell. Above the porch is a stone recording the restoration of the church by Lady Anne Clifford, who owned the nearby Pendragon Castle and lived in Skipton Castle, no doubt avoiding tax.

Why Ribblesdale is the place for colour and giants

There’s still plenty of colour to enjoy here in Ribblesdale – especially on those infrequent bright autumn days. Without a car for much of the week I stayed local, which is no great hardship in this part of the Yorkshire Dales. Photos show the trees and landscape around Langcliffe and Stackhouse.

Ribblesdale giant

It’s not often that Ribblesdale’s skyline changes its appearance. But during the week this oversized Meccano-type construction (below) took shape next to the cricket ground in Settle. No, it’s not Headingley’s new ground being constructed in the wrong place, it’s for more housing. Visible from all around the surrounding landscape it looks more suitable for high-rise office block construction in Leeds than for anything in this little rural town. Hopefully the resulting building will not be as conspicuous.

I did manage a quick walk around part of the Ingleborough nature reserve at Ribblehead one day – Whernside (below) looked splendid but I bet it was very cold on the tops.

Coffee causes chaos

I’ve never been a big fan of coffee – don’t care for the taste or the fact it stops me from dozing off. The trend for walking around the streets clinging to a cup of coffee leaves me baffled – especially when I see the carrier struggling to use a mobile phone at the same time. I’ve never understood why someone would want a cup of coffee while out shopping either – I just want to get as far away from the supermarket as soon as possible and back home for a nice cup of tea – in a proper mug. And I think some of the people I’ve seen and heard complaining about the coffee machine being broken in Settle Booths would be better off having less of a caffeine stimulant, not more. Anyway, the real reason for this elongated gripe is the amount of discarded cups – and other food or drink containers – littering our streets, especially those items which can’t be recycled. Apparently 2.5bn throwaway coffee cups are dumped in the UK every year – and less than 1 per cent of these are recyclable. Some environmentalists are suggesting a surcharge for using takeaway cups, along with a host of other measures. Why not just stop making cups that can’t be recycled? The same with plastic bottles, bags and other stuff which clog up rivers and oceans – we lived perfectly well before all this ‘convenience’ rubbish came along.

This week’s Dales church is just outside Ribblesdale near the source of the Aire at Kirkby Malham. The original St Michael’s was thought to have been built as early as the 7th century. It was completely rebuilt in the 15th century and restored in 1881. Also pictured below is the church’s famous Watery Grave. The story is that Colonel John Harrison and his wife Helen were so often separated by water during his career in the forces that Helen said they should be separated by water in death. When she died the grave was built over a small stream that ran through the graveyard, and she was buried on one side. However, when the colonel died, impenetrable rock was discovered so he was buried with his wife after all. It seems that wives don’t always get their own way.

Finally, can anyone tell me how Eggshell Lane in Clapham got its name?

Golden dales, treasured memories

Sunset at the end of a bright autumnal Dales day … is there anything to match it (other than a Dales sunset during spring, summer and winter, that is)? The skies were clear and blue over Ribblesdale on Friday but I waited until the sun started to dip behind the western slopes before heading out for a walk. Golden light created glowing red and mellow yellow as it shone on recently discarded leaves and those still clinging to ancient trees along this track out of Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

I’ve spent a lot of time this week flicking through the pages of a brilliant new website set up by the Yorkshire Dales Society, or Friends of the Dales as they are now known. It records the history and heritage of North Craven area and is a portal to an array of catalogues, collections and archives. From its home page: “The website has been developed through the Capturing the Past project, which is part of Stories in Stone, a scheme of conservation and community projects concentrated on the Ingleborough area. The scheme was developed by the Ingleborough Dales Landscape Partnership, led by Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.” Well worth a visit … but be warned, you’ll be on there for hours: http://www.dalescommunityarchives.org.uk

Some more shots from around home in Ribblesdale: cottages on Langcliffe Green, High Way between Langcliffe and Settle, Penyghent wearing a new hat …

Many of you will have already seen the following old photo of Settle but I thought it was worth a reminder – if just to see all the washing hung across the Shambles. At the risk of breaking copyright laws, it is a photo I took of a Francis Frith picture which appears in the book, Rural Britain, Then & Now by Roger Hunt (published by Cassell in 2004). I’m hoping that as I don’t make any money from my site and the fact I’m publicising the book for free this might save me from being charged for its use. Not all sites or publications show such courtesy (comment aimed at those who without permission have recently raided the blog and used my stuff!).

In my nostalgia column in November’s Countryman magazine (now on sale) I write about memories of Mischief Night – for any youngsters who have accidentally stumbled across this blog, Mischief Night was in the days before Trick or Treat was washed up on our shores from across the Atlantic. Ask your granddad what he got up to.

More Dales churches

This week’s Dales churches are both in Giggleswick, the ancient St Alkelda and the Gothic style Victorian chapel of Giggleswick School.

Now please excuse me as I go try to tell my central heating system that twice a year in Britain we try to convince the rest of a bewildered world we are in charge of time and we’ll do what we want with it.

Dales the place to be whatever the weather

What a wet week in the Dales. But there are a lot worse places to be when it’s chucking it down, so mustn’t grumble. One of my favourite perching places is on Bowland Knotts where the Western Dales can be seen in all their glory. On Tuesday, while sitting on this gritstone outcrop at around 1400ft above sea level, I took this layer-cake of a photo. The Lakeland Fells weren’t visible this time but the Three Peaks were.

The above photo shows bleak Clapham Common from the same spot. Clapham is a few miles away but the smallholders from the parish were (maybe still are?) allowed to graze their stock here. The area was probably once forested and as I sat here I thought this would be the perfect kind of land on which to plant much-needed native trees.

With forests on my mind I drove down to Gisburn Forest and Stocks Reservoir for a few more photos and a stroll through the woods where the colours are rapidly changing.

Hoping in vain for another day without rain, later in the week I headed up Wenningdale to High Bentham and attempted the town’s Heritage Trail. A couple of miles in I had to turn back such was the rain and boggy ground. Another one to add to the list of dry-day walks.

Referendum for Yorkshire?

Talk this week about Yorkshire becoming a self-governing country got me
wondering if all of us who voted to remain in Europe would also vote for our county to remain in GB should there ever be such a referendum. What would our stance be over immigrants from Lancashire and the North East? There would be no problem about passports for Yorkshire folk, as we never leave the county anyway, but would we allow people from London and the South East safe passage through to Scotland for their skiing or golfing trips, or even let them cross our air space? The Dalesman has a test to see if you qualify as a Yorkshire person – take it here. Ashamedly, for a former editor of the magazine, I only got 11/12 (I know nothing about films – had that question been about Yorkshire football I’d now be a fully qualified Tyke. More revision required.).

The Ribble was a bubbling cauldron at Stainforth Foss one evening this week. I tried to capture the violence and chaos – and a rainbow.

Also, here’s a short video of the scene…

Dales churches (again)

Adding to my collection of Dales churches are these two – St Leonard’s at Chapel-le-dales and St Batholomew’s at Barbon.

A short haul for a long Dales view

For a hill whose summit is just under 1,200ft above sea level, Smearsett Scar offers the kind of 360 degree view of the Dales usually reserved for walkers venturing a thousand feet higher. All the Three Peaks, Fountains Fell, Pendle Hill, the Bowland Fells and much more are visible. On very clear days you can probably make out the west coast.

The intricate limestone pavement of Moughton Scar stands out, and the green valleys of Crummack, Wenning and Ribble look gentle and welcoming. This small Ribblesdale peak, part of a short limestone ridge including Pot Scar, provided me with my only real exercise this week. A friend tells me he once spent a wonderful, clear, summer’s night at the top – it certainly wasn’t during this year’s brief summer.

More Dales churches

As I trundle around the Dales I often stop off to photograph local churches. I’m not a religious person but enjoy church architecture and history. And during several decades of delving into my family’s past I’ve spent many an hour tramping through graveyards looking for clues.
This week I briefly crossed into Lancashire from the western Dales to visit St Peter’s at Leck, where there’s been a church since the early 1600s.

Today’s building (above) is a relatively modern affair, having been rebuilt in 1913 following a fire, but it is still a grand sight in this quiet backwater off the main road to and from the Lakes. Leck Fell and nearby Gragareth are two hills I’ve never ascended but I seem to recall potholing trips around the area as a more adventurous youth.

Just a couple of miles away, switching from the Diocese of Blackburn to that of Leeds – both sounding incongruous for this part of the country – is St Oswald’s at Thornton-in-Lonsdale. Like at Leck’s church (and dozens more around the North) it seems to have links with the Brontes. There’s been a church here since pre-Norman times, but also similarly to St Peter’s it was gutted by fire (in 1933). The church was rebuilt in a Gothic style and looks splendid set in a well-kept churchyard. Sitting here I imagined this (and the neighbouring pub of course) being welcome sanctuary for those who travelled the lonely high pass from Dent through Kingsdale.

Not moonshine

I didn’t manage to snatch a shot of the Harvest Moon – we’ve had some cloudy nights in our part of the Dales this week – but I did capture some lovely evening sunlight around Ribblesdale.

Dales Angels and why walking is stressful (16 pics)

Does anyone know of a decent etiquette guide for Dales walkers? I’ve tramped the county’s hills and valleys, villages and tracks for umpteen years and still I’m never sure when and how to greet fellow walkers. My guess is that you’re allowed to acknowledge people as long as there aren’t too many folk around. For example, if I’m walking from my village of Langcliffe to Settle along the back road known as the High Way, it seems acceptable to say ‘Morning’ – provided it’s the morning of course – but by the time you get to Constitution Hill at the top of Settle you must not pass the time of day with anyone (unless you know them).
Last week on a lonely green lane, after not seeing a single person for almost an hour, I crossed paths with a jogger who completely blanked me. Perhaps runners and cyclists have their own code of conduct? What do you do when you’re out in the countryside, where paths can be quite busy – like at Gordale Scar or Malham Cove – and where you can spend too much time saying hello when you ought to be admiring the scenery or avoiding animal droppings? Or when you pass a waggle (that’s my collective noun for a group of walkers) who have stopped mid route for refreshments, or you meet at a gate or stile – ‘morning all’ has to suffice in such cases, surely? When a waggle is a straggly waggle, it just becomes tiresome to say hello to everyone.
Then there’s what to say. I’ve tried all sorts … hello, how do, hiya, the aforesaid morning (but at what time should this change to aft’noon?). Just to amuse myself I have been known to drift into Yorkshire with ey up and na’then. Often I’ll come out with something that’s a mixture of many greetings and I’ll wander on, somewhat embarrassed, thinking ‘why on earth did I say that?’.
Sometimes I get the feeling that strangers from distant lands, like Bradford and Leeds, are humouring my quaint rural ways. Other times I receive a wary, suspicious response as strangers mentally question my sanity. And just who am I allowed to involve in this briefest of communication? You can get those strange teenage-type gawpy expressions from some younger folk; others avoid eye contact. Couples can be deep in conversation or mid argument and I don’t like to intrude – do I march on and ignore them? Occasionally there are those who deliberately bring you to halt and want to know your life story – or at least demand to know where you have been/going. There are walkers who insist on mentioning the weather – nice day; bit colder today; that wind’s a bit naughty intit? Not being one for eloquent or snappy responses, I normally respond with ‘Aye’ and quickly move on. And when is just a brief nervous smile, a raising of the eyebrows or a Yorkshire nod of the head deemed acceptable as a greeting? Walking can be stressful. Is it any wonder I try to find the loneliest places in the Dales?

Anyway, on with this week’s photos. The top pic and this one were taken on a morning walk by the Ribble from Horton.

As mentioned on my Yorkshire Surnames page, I write a short piece each month about names for Down Your Way magazine. I’m pleased to see that the publication won Best Community Publication at this week’s O2 Media Awards. Visit http://downyourway.co.uk

Dales Angels

I see there’s festive food for sale in supermarkets. First person to ask me if I’ve made any plans for Christmas gets a withering look.

Tag: Ribblesdale

Another year in the Dales goes west

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