Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: wharfedale

Showing posts with label wharfedale. Show all posts

Threshfield and Skirethorns

A new area for me, and I thought I had explored all of Wharfedale!

The area is a few miles from Grassington but on the opposite side of the main road through the Dale. Just after The Spar garage a signpost for Threshfield and Skirethorns is followed until you come to the last of the houses of Threshfield and that is where you park up.

As I was new to the area I just followed the country lane through the delightful village of Skirethorns and headed off on the road leading up on to Malham Moor which eventually turns into a bridleway. That then joins the ancient Mastiles Lane which connects Kilnsey in Wharfedale with Malham. It is called a lane but is in fact and old bridleway.

The views back down and across the Dale are delightful and there are many footpaths to explore so this was a real walkers paradise. I didn't get as far as the moorland parts of the road but I hope to return in the not too distant future.

Afterwards I drove a few miles up the Dale and called in the cafe at Kilnsey Trout Farm. Excellent coffee as per usual.

Lower Wharfedale

Moss On wall

Lower Wharfedale

Ferns

Lower Wharfedale

Malham Moor

Malham Moor Lane

Frosted Woodland

Malham Moor Lane

Lower Wharfedale

Skirethorns

Lower Wharfedale

Langstrothdale

The uppermost course of the River Wharfe runs through Langstrothdale, but Wharfedale does not begin until the Wharfe meets Cray Gill, downstream of Hubberholme. The name Langstrothdale derives from Old English and translates as 'long marsh' or 'marshy ground'.

The dale was first colonised by Anglians in the seventh century, with Norse invaders arriving later. In Norman times, many of the isolated settlements were allowed to remain, but were prevented from expanding by an arcane ruling known as the 'Forest Law'. 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 or as the 'Forest of Langstroth'.

The dale became part of the lands owned by the Clifford family and in 1604, due to the then Earl of Cumberland's 'extravagances', the lands were sold to pay off his debts. This allowed many Dales folk 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.

My visit started off in quite nice weather but, as can be seen from the photos, it quickly deteriorated and the rain moved in, but not before I managed to walk part of the valley and take some photos. I love all the old beech trees which are scatter along the river bank as they do lend themselves to good photography compositions but I'm afraid disease is spreading amongst them which is resulting in a lot dying.

It's nice to be out and about in this area in any sort of weather though and a bit of rain never hurt anyone.

Yockenthwaite

Hillside Tree

River Wharfe

Cauldron Falls and Cotter Force, Wensletdale

Cauldron Falls is a short walk from West Burton's pretty village green and is situated in a shady spot with another small waterfall and the remains of the town's lead smelting mill which used to serve the large number of small mines whose remains are scattered over the nearby moors. It is known as Cauldron Falls because of the beautiful plunge pool, and was one of the spots painted by Turner on his travels in the Dales. It stands on Walden Beck which runs for 9 miles (14.3 km) from the watershed on Buckden Pike before joining Bishopdale Beck before flowing under the main road in the valley to join the River Ure.

The amount of water flowing over the waterfall obviously depends on the amount of water higher up on the fells and the day I visited was after a few days of heavy rain so it was quite impressive.

Cotter Force is further up Wensleydale and is the largest of the falls in Cotterdale Beck. It comprises of a series of six steps, each its own small waterfall with the largest single drop being about 5 feet (1.5 m). The force is not visible from the road but is well sign-posted and has handy parking places.

It takes only a short flat walk to reach the falls and when in spate, they can be soon seen and heard. There seems to be a shortage of footpaths in this area so its a case of paying them quick a visit and then retracing the path back to the road. Maybe that is why it is usually pretty quiet. It is a shame really because after rain they are very impressive and when lacking in rain they are so photogenic.

I did think about paying Hardraw Force a visit as well as it was only a couple of miles down the road but everywhere was so busy. The reason for me going would have been to photograph them so it would all have been pretty pointless because the narrow gorge and path would have been heaving with people.

All in all it had been a good day, just a shame that Hadraw had bee so busy. I returned home on the Ingleton road, turning off at Ribblehead for Settle and the A65.

Cauldron Falls

Cotter Force

River Skirfare at Arncliffe

Not a walk as such but just a stroll from the car to stretch my legs. I parked outside the village on the lane over to Malham and walked back via an old bridleway which I should imaging was the main route to the Church at one time. Due to the virus, the church doors were locked which turned out to be a bonus because as I came out of the grounds, I notice a signpost for Hawkswick which was just begging to be explored.

All paths in Wharfedale and its subsiduary valleys can be classed as beautiful and all have their merits but this one was particularly so. It followed the tree-lined River Skirfare as it meandered down Littondale to eventually meet up with The River Wharfe just outside of Kilnsey.

The last time I had been in these parts was spring when I walked in the opposite direction to Litton village. The River Skirfare that day had been just about dry, in fact in places it was dry. What a difference a good old British summer had made as the river today was in full flow.

I followed the path beside the river and through a few meadows until it started to veer towards the road. As I'm not a great lover of road walking (especially if they are narrow twisty country roads), I just retraced my footsteps back to the village.

I did consider having a beer in The Flacon Inn as the door was open but there was no-one about inside. It was a shame really as it would have been nice to sit on the village green in the sun for half an hour and enjoy a nice cool pint. It has always been a bit of a strange pub or should I say its always had a bit of a strange landlord. The last one was a right objectionable sod who made it obvious that he didn't like or want passing trade. Maybe it comes with the territory and the new one is the same!