Yorkshire

David Cross (DavidX) from England

By UK standards Yorkshire covers a very large area and there is nothing on this page about some important parts such as, the Yorkshire Coast, the North York Moors National Park and South Yorkshire. Perhaps someone would fill the gaps!

ST Google Map - West Yorkshire, England

ST Google Map - Yorkshire Dales, England

York

This is probably the city of most beauty and interest in the North of England and a visit should not be rushed. York's history goes back to the Romans and there are remains from these and Saxon times. Then there is the York Minster which, although not enjoying the title of cathedral, is one of the prime ecclesiastical buildings of England. It was badly damaged by fire late in the twentieth century but has been brilliantly restored. The walls are numbered among York's other remains of mediaeval times.

However its treasures do not stop with the Middle Ages. Its rail station dates from the early years of railways and is a most interesting building. The National Railway Museum is situated in the city. York is well connected by rail with London, Newcastle, Leeds, and Manchester among other places.

Resources

Map: Ordnance survey – Landranger 104

www.york-tourism.co.uk: Official site for York Tourism

www.yorkminster.org: York Minster

Ripon and Fountains Abbey

The area of interest in Ripon is not particularly big, consisting only of the cathedral and the market square with its surrounding buildings. But that will prove enough to while away some appreciable time and combined with a trip to Fountains Abbey and Studely Royal and, if you are in a car, to Brimham Rocks it will provide for a long half-day and weather permitting there are plenty of places for a good picnic.

Yorkshire Dales - Brimham Rocks

At first sight Ripon Cathedral is not one of the most striking of British Cathedrals. It is certainly not one of the highest. However it is a building of great beauty; the choir stalls are brilliantly carved – to rate with anything I have seen in Europe – and the ancient crypt is inspiring.

Fountains Abbey is just a few miles away. Yorkshire has a number of ruined abbey buildings of great interest and charm and this is the most complete. There are extensive remains of the buildings which provided dwellings and work-places to the monks at this wealthy abbey.

The grounds of Studely Royal Estate are contiguous with those of the abbey. There is a pleasing deer park and some wonderful trees, particularly in their autumn or spring colours. The whole area is owned by the National Trust, a private charity that owns many buildings and many beautiful areas of land in England and Wales. There is a restaurant and presentation area through which you enter.

If you are in a car it is only a short ride to Brimham Rocks, a natural area of amazingly shaped outcrops of rock which provide another wonderful picnic spot or just allow for a brief walk with very pleasant scenery.

Resources

Map: Ordnance Survey- Landranger 99

www.ripon-internet.com: Ripon Internet, community website with tourist information

www.fountainsabbey.org.uk: Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden, National Trust (A World Heritage Site)

www.ripon.org: Site currently unavailable.

The Yorkshire Dales

ST Google Map - Yorkshire Dales, England

Dale means "valley". There could be an interesting argument about the precise area of "The Yorkshire Dales". There is a national park with this name but it does not include the river Nidd, which most might associate with the name. Anyway, whatever it does or does not include, it is a beautiful peaceful area with each dale having its own character and thus providing surprising variety.

It certainly does not include all the river areas of Yorkshire since there is an area known as the North York Moors to the northeast of the dales with its own attractive valleys – though to my mind not a patch on the dales.

Not only is the dales area extensive but the most scenic routes linking the different dales are slow and it would be contrary to the whole nature of the area to rush around trying to see it all in a day. Some parts cry out to be walked or examined more minutely and there are any number of scenic B&Bs or quaint pubs, making a stay of several nights very pleasant and a wonderful contrast to staying in a city like London.

Public Transport

The only major railway through the Dales is the Settle–Carlisle line which cuts through the west side. It is a line of great beauty and much interest. It is well worth getting a ticket, which allows a day getting on and off and travelling at will, but it does not reveal anything of the river valleys. There is a very scenic short line called the Dales Railway not far from Skipton which links Embsay with Bolton Abbey.

There are buses linked to the Settle–Carlisle train line; the one to Hawes provides good views of part of Wensleydale. There are other buses; that from Skipton to Buckden runs up much of Wharfedale and I think it is the best of the public transport ways through the area.

Information on other routes may be obtained from any of the National Park Information Centres. "Dalesbus" is meant to facilitate walking. Unquestionably the dales is an area that repays walking and, sad as I am to say so, the best way of getting a good view of more of the area is by car; that permits use of the (sometimes very) minor roads that link the different dales.

Wensleydale

This is the largest of the dales which flow from West to East and has some of the larger (though far from large) towns; Hawes and Leyburn. It is by no means my favourite dale – too wide, not steep sided enough, too civilised – although many people love it. It certainly has some good points. Hawes is a delightful little town with a very good, though small in European terms, Tuesday market.

The Creamery in the adjacent (and easily walkable) village of Gayle, which makes Wensleydale cheese, and the museum by the old station are two of only three places in the Dales where I think it is worth paying for admission. (Bolton Abbey is the other and I would sometimes add in Castle Bolton.) Another splendid place in Wesleydale is Jervaulx Abbey – not to be compared in extent to Fountains Abbey or Bolton Abbey, but second to none in its atmosphere of peace although only a short walk from the main road. Lastly the Aysgarth Falls, where there is a Tourist Information centre, is very picturesque.

Wharfedale

This is a wonderful dale running from North to South. It would be invidious to select any part of the dale itself for special comment. It is quite steep-sided and has beautiful villages all the way up from Bolton Abbey to Buckden, all with pubs which cry out to be eaten in or stayed in – or both. Well-known walks are those to Simon's Seat from Bolton Abbey and to Buckden Pike from Buckden.

There are great walks over to the small Littondale whose Queens Arms does a very good soup and roll for a light lunch. It is easy to do a circuit.

There are also three good ways over to Wensleydale – good from a scenic point of view that is. None are very fast and only the main road is even reasonably fast though I prefer both the other two. The route going from Buckden to the left over to Hawes is sheer delight and the small church at Hubberholme with its rare rood loft should definitely be seen. It is no hardship to eat lunch at the George Inn near the church. The little road over from Kettlewell to Middleton (Warwick the Kingmaker and King Richard the Third fame) is also very scenic.

With a car a marvellous trip is up Littondale and then over to Malham (qv). Botanists should visit Grass Wood near Grassington in the Spring for the flowers and this can well be combined with a walk from Grassington to Kettlewell through either limestone or millstone grit, depending on the level you pick – or up one way and back the other.

Swaledale

This is another dale running from West to East further north than Wensleydale. It is very steep-sided and its barns are distinctive and picturesque. Several routes from Wensleydale to Swaledale are very fine, in particular the Buttertubs Pass. Great Shunner Fell between the two dales is a fine viewpoint but has perhaps suffered through being on the Pennine Way. Its remoteness was certainly part of its character previously. Otherwise the hills on both sides of the dale are somewhat bleak and the main interest lies in the remains of the lead mines. (Adam Brumskill by Thomas Armstrong makes good bedside reading to accompany this.) The general atmosphere of the dale is of somewhere more remote than Wharfedale – I am never sure which I like best but they are my two favourites of the valleys.

The Western Dales

This is about Limestone and, although the scale does not match that of some of the great Karst areas of Europe, I do not know of a better area for strolling and searching. Malham has become famous for its Cove – and for Gardale Scar, an ancient waterfall sometimes dry. Sometimes it is too crowded for real enjoyment but it is worth picking a time to see it when it is more peaceful. There are some wonderful areas of limestone between here and Ingleton which has a fine waterfalls walk. Some are still very unspoiled and if you need detailed descriptions of where to go beyond following your nose and the map, perhaps you would be happier somewhere else altogether. There is much to see below the ground as well for cave lovers.

Yorkshire Dales - Malham

Dentdale

This is very separate from the other dales and is reached from the road from Ribbleshead to Hawes. The dale is steep enough but the scenery is more gentle and it is probably the best dale for small children to start walking. Be warned that the station is some miles from the village! The village itself is quite idyllic.

Yorkshire Dales - Ribbleshead

Nidderdale

The valley of the Nidd is to the East of the other Dales and for some reason is not included in the National Park. In general it enjoys the same type of scenery and there is a good upland route to Wensleydale.

Resources - Maps

I particularly recommend the large scale maps OL02 and OL30, in the Ordnance Survey Explorer series. These cover "Southern and Western areas" and "Central and Northern areas" respectively.

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