Category: Yorkshire Dales
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How Hush: A Gorge Carved by Water and Industry
Another glimpse from Thursday’s wander through Swaledale: this is How Hush, a scar across the hills carved not by nature but by centuries of lead mining. Lead was likely valued here long before history began to take notes. The vast Grinton–Fremington dykes, which probably marked prehistoric tribal boundaries, bear silent witness to early human presence…
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Grinton Smelting Mill
Grinton Smelting Mill is one of the best-preserved lead mills in the Yorkshire Dales. It sits in Cogden Gill, just south of Grinton village, at the confluence of two becks. The site offered water, level ground, and easy access to ore. One of the becks had to be diverted, culverted and partly covered to make…
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Beldi Hill Smelt Mill
Following my exhausting cycle ride around Swaledale yesterday, I wisely opted not to stray far today. So instead, here is another photograph from that trip. I was aware of Swaledale’s lead mining legacy, but stumbling upon this particular site was an unexpected delight. The Beldi Hill Smelt Mill sits awkwardly wedged into the hillside, just…
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Thwaite’s Gift to the Natural World: The Lives of the Kearton Brothers
A typical Swaledale landscape: stone-built cottages in Thwaite and those endlessly fascinating dry-stone walls dissecting the surrounding fields. Many of the walls date from the 18th century, but, alas, there is the obligatory parked car ruining the scene. Otherwise, one imagines this view would be instantly familiar to Thwaite’s greatest sons, Richard and Cherry Kearton.…
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Reeth Revisited—Memories of the Aftermath of the 2019 Flood
A day in Swaledale, that picturesque valley of the Yorkshire Dales, seemed promising enough, though the weather was somewhat overcast. I climbed High Harker Hill, naturally, as one does, to gain some view of the world. But coming down, there was that undeniable charm of Reeth—a place name clinging on to its roots with a…
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Save our Swale
The River Swale, the heart and namesake of the environmental group “Save our Swale,” stands as a poignant battleground against the alarming increase in raw sewage discharged into our waters. This group ardently contends that Yorkshire Water prioritises profit over people and the environment, neglecting the much-needed investment in modernising the antiquated sewage infrastructure. Recent…
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Aysgill Force — The Butterset Boggles
A brief stroll up Sleddale a side valley off Wensleydale, tracing the course of Gayle Beck, led us to the delightful Aysgill Force. En route, we passed through Gayle, a village woven into one of folklorist Richard Blakeborough’s yarns. It kicks off with a birth prophecy, throws in unrequited love, a spurned admirer, a murderous…
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Wishing Trees and Megger Stones
A quandary with today’s photo, taken yesterday because I’m still a day behind. A walk from Dent village in the “hidden valley” of Dentdale up the looming Great Coum. Take your pick: a manmade feature with no history I could find, or a natural attraction draped in a legend supposedly centuries old. I’ll include both.…
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Stepping stone crossing of the River Doe at Beezleys
I wasn’t tempted to risk a crossing but was content to watch a dipper hopping across the stones. The River Doe is quite short, rising near Chapel-le-Dale and becoming the Greta after its confluence with the Twiss at Ingleton. Soon after these stepping stones the river plunges down a narrow gorge with several waterfalls —…
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Kingsdale
In spite of the dire forecast a pleasant morning with just the odd squall. This is Kingsdale in Yorkshire Dales. Just about the most westerly bit of Yorkshire, wedged between Gragareth and Whernside. That’s Whernside in the distance. The name is not as obviously explained as it seems, meaning “the valley where the cows were…