Exoloring Swaledale

It's rare that I venture in to this neck of the woods but I arrived in Swaledale partly by chance. My original intention was to go to Wensleydale via Wharfedale and Bishopdale but part way up I realised that I may not have enough petrol to get me there and back home again. I had two choice of for petrol; Hawes or Leyburn but I wasn't too sure if there was a petrol station in Hawes. So Leyburn it was and, as it was a nice day, I wasn't too bothered about going a few miles out of my way.

There's two roads up Wensleydale from Leyburm; the main road which goes through Aysgarth and Bainbridge and then a smaller back road which goes through Askrigg. Fancying a change, I took the quieter back road. After a few miles I saw Swaledale signposted and fancied the change of scenery. The road goes over Grinton Moor which, as I was soon to discover, is used extensively by the MOD as a firing range and can be quite a bleak and disorientating place.

I got quite concerned at one stage as there just wasn't any other traffic about and I began to have doubts whether I was on the correct road or not. Stupid thoughts went through my head that I may have misjudged the turn off and I was, in fact, on the MOD firing range and was in danger of being used as target practise! Plus to make things worse there were red flags and no access signs everywhere. Fortunately though, as I neared Swaledale, a few cars appeared which eased my mind but it is certainly wild and lonely up on those moors.

The view coming down off the moors and into Swaledale is absolutely stunning; you can see for miles in all directions. I made my destination Keld which is just about as far west as the dale goes and, with not being very familiar with Swaledale, all the photos I took were basically from the roadside. There was a great clump of trees at a place called Heulaugh that caught my eye and a further along the road there was a convenient gap and pull in which gave a clear and uninterrupted view right along the dale. I think that was near a village called Long Row.

I drove through a couple more villages, firstly Gunnerside and then Muker before reaching familiar territory at Thwaite. I always find place names in the Dales and Lakes very intriguing and vow to look up their meanings once I return home but invariably I forget. I can guess that Gunnerside was named after some local geographical feature but where the hell is Muker derived from? I always look upon the Thwaite to Keld area as barn country; there must be dozens of then scattered around the meadows and again there are many handy pull-off areas which gives good opportunities for photographs.

It was then up the Angram Roag to Keld, my final destination for the day. I parked along the main road and, after such a long drive, finally got out of the car to stretch my legs. I walked down a country lane to the village and then followed The Pennine Way to East Gill Force which is set in an idyllic position where East Gill flows in to the River Swale. I didn't have my tripod but, with a bit of help from a conveniently place stone, managed to get a reasonable slow-shutter speed photo of the waterfall. I carried on The Pennine Way for a short distance but it seemed to be heading off to wilder places so I retraced my steps back to Keld. A call in to the Village Hall to see an exhibition by a local photographer whose name escapes me was followed by the long drive back.

The return route was over the Buttertubs Pass to Wensleydale. Near the top of the pass there are two or three large limestone potholes where farmers would rest there on their way to market. During hot weather they would lower the butter they had produced into the potholes to keep it cool so hence it's name. It was then up the Newby Head road to Ribblehead and on to Horton in Ribblesdale and Settle before joining the A65 back home.

I was knackered when I finally reached home but I had some great photos and many memories from a great day so it was well worth it.