Winskill Stones



Winskill Stones is one of the Yorkshire Dales' hidden gems and is situated high on a plateau above the villages of Langcliffe and Stainforth in Ribblesdale. It is basically a limestone pavement and can be reached in a few minutes from the road leading over the moors from Langcliffe to Malham. As the limestone pavement cannot be seen from the road, it is usually ignored but having said that, once you have discovered the place, you will definitely visit again.

I can't think of many better placed to view the Three Peaks area of the Dales than from here. Ingleborough is straight in front with Pen-y-Gent off to the right. Plus you also have the bonus of a hawthorn tree growing out of the limestone which makes it a photographers dream. As if that wasn't enough, its also a grand place to watch the sunset and in close proximity there is Catrigg Force, a very impressive waterfall.


Plantlife, the British conservation charity, bought Winskill with the help of a public appeal, to stop the extraction of rock from its limestone pavement, and to allow its varied flora to thrive. The late Geoff Hamilton, writer and TV gardener, launched the original appeal and the reserve is dedicated to his memory. There was grant support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, too. It beggars belief the way people are prepared to destroy some of our most beautiful wild areas just to make a quick bob or two.


The afternoon I took this photo was a bitterly cold one with a fierce icy wind blowing across from the west. This area is famous for its ferocious weather; they don't call Pen-y-Ghent "The Hill of the winds" for nothing! It might look benign from afar but I've had times when I have hardly been able to stay upright on it and once I had to admit defeat and beat a hasty retreat as I just couldn't stand up for the final section.


The final photo was of the sunset. I couldn't have asked for a better way to finish the day.


Pen-Ghent

Pen-y Ghent

Lane to Winskill

Tree and limestone pavement

Winskill Stones

Ingleborough from Winskill Stones

Ingleborough from Winskill Stones

Ingleborough from Winskill Stones

Pen-y Ghent from Winskill Stones

Winskill Stones

Winskill Stones

Sun setting above Langliffe

Autumn, RHS Harlow Carr

I had intended to go to Ripley Castle but for some reason the A61 was just clogged with very slow moving traffic so, an about turn and a few back roads brought me to Harlow Carr RHS Gardens. I'm a member of the RHS so, after paying my initial fee, it is free for the rest of the year and I've certainly had my money out of it. I must have been half a dozen times at least and I still have half a year of my membership to run.

The gardens have been gorgeous over the summer months; there has been so much colour around the place. Now it's the trees turn to have their moment of glory, especially the maples. It really is a photographer's paradise at any time of the year. I'm considering putting together a photo book showing the gardens throughout the four season of the year but that will have to wait until after next spring. I had the customary Cappuccino at the Betty's Café kiosk. The way that I look at it is that if the poor woman is prepared to stand out in the cold selling coffee and tea all day then the least I can do is to buy a cup off of her!

Looking at the long range weather forecast, my next visit could be in the snow. Watch this space...


Maple Leaves

Black winter berries

Autumn Grasses

Autumn Maple leaves

Autumn Maple leaves

Autumn Maple leaves

Ornamental Grasses 

Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental Grasses

Autumn berries

Shadows

Autumn berries

Autumn berries

Autumn berries

Autumn leaves, Maple Tree

Autumn leaves, Maple Tree

Dying leaves.

The Piece Hall, Halifax

First of all, a bit of background history to The Piece Hall. It is a Grade I listed building in Halifax, West Yorkshire and was built as a cloth hall for hand loom weavers to sell the woollen cloth "pieces" they had produced. It opened on 1 January 1779, with 315 separate rooms arranged around a central open courtyard.

In 1971, after the Piece Hall had become seen as unsuitable for a wholesale market, the businesses were dispersed elsewhere throughout the town and the then two-century old Piece Hall's demolition was considered. Government grants were made available and the Halifax Corporation received funding to make a tourist attraction of the Piece Hall. The sheds that had been built in the 19th century were demolished and the courtyard landscaped, further walls were removed from the original rooms to create new shops and a new museum and art gallery was opened to the east side. The new Piece Hall opened on 3 July 1976.

It had a further make over and was reopened on the 1st August 2017 which is known as Yorkshire Day. Apart from the general cleaning up and redecoration of the existing units, the main courtyard has been levelled out and two water features have been built along with visitor seating. I also noticed there was the obligatory "Gin Bar" tucked away in one of the corners. How on earth did gin suddenly become so popular?

There are a few cafes and some nice shops but I was disappointed that the old second-hand bookshops and bric-a-brac shops had all disappeared. Most of my collection of old Yorkshire Dales and Lake District books were bought there and at a fraction of the price I would have paid elsewhere. I am presuming that they didn't fit in with the Council's "vision" of what the new Piece Hall should be like. Or maybe the retail rent and rates prices are just too high for sellers like that. What I did also notice was that the majority of the units were empty. A few were being fitted out for future opening but even taking that in to account, there were still more empty than used.

As it now stands, I think it is a place that you will only visit once for shopping purposes but I hope I am proven wrong. Maybe, when more units are filled, this will change. Looking at the Council's blurb, they are hoping to hold events there so that will be a good thing for the town. One of the Tour de Yorkshire stages is due to either start or finish there which should really put the place on the map.

Anyway, taking in to account both the pluses and minuses, the new Piece Hall is a much, much  brighter, cleaner and user friendlier place than it used to be.

Retail Units

Water Feature

Piece Hall and Square Congregational Church

New Courtyard

New Courtyard and seating

New Courtyard and seating

Retail Units

Retail Units

New Courtyard and water feature

Gin Bar and new seating

New Courtyard

Piece Hall and Square Congregational Church

Piece Hall gate

Langstrothdale: The Long Marsh.


The name Langstrothdale derives from Old English and translates as 'long marsh' or 'marshy ground' but there is very little evidence of that these days, except maybe at the head of the dale. It was first colonised by Anglians in the seventh century, with Norse invaders arriving later. At that time, Langstrothdale was well forested, and the upper northern part of the dale (which is now moorland) was a royal hunting forest known as Langstrothdale Chase. The dale then became part of the lands owned by the Clifford family and in 1604, due to the then Earl of Clifford's 'extravagances', the lands were sold to pay off his debts which allowed many Dalesfolk to purchase their own farmsteads. Also, in the age before mass transportation, the road through the dale was part of a packhorse route from Lancaster to Newcastle-upon-Tyne which also bisected Cam High Road, the very direct and well-preserved Roman Road running from Ingleton to the Roman Fort at Bainbridge in Wensleydale. No trace of Cam High Road survives on the other side of Ingleton but it probably ran on to join another Roman road near Lower Bentham which, in the late 18th century formed part of the Richmond to Lancaster turnpike. End of todays history lesson.

As you can see from the photographs, I was blessed with the weather and light although by the time I had risen out of the valley via the Outershaw Road, the cloud cover had moved in. The beauty of this side dale is its quietness. Even in the middle of the summer you get very few visitors, maybe the odd motorhome or a group doing the Dales Way.

Langstrothdale is also where the infant River Wharfe begins its long 65 mile journey to the River Ouse which eventually flows in to The North Sea at The Wash estuary. Two streams; Outershaw Beck and Green Field Beck (which start high up on the watershed above Ribblesdale) join together at Beckermonds to form The Wharfe.

At the head of the dale the Dales Way meets with the Pennine Way; the former on its way over to Bowness and the latter on its way up to Hawes and beyond. Also a third long distance footpath; The Ribble Way meets up with them both at Blea Moor. All in all it is great walking country.

I had wanted to take a few photos of the infant Wharfe but there was very little water flowing through. At least that makes a good excuse to visit again later in the year.




Yockenthwaite

Barn near Yockenthwaite

Yockenthwaite

Dales Barn

Dales Barn

Looking back to Buckden Pike

Yockenthwaite

Yockenthwaite

Langstrothdale

The Outershaw Road

Fleet Moss

Balmacara and Skye

 WE had a mixed week of weather but on the whole we managed to stay dry. The only wet day was our second day when Sal stayed in the cottage ...