Dovedale Griff

On the weather front, a rather dreary day unfolded with the National Trust at Bridestones. Nevertheless, a new view for me as I stood atop one of the High Bridestones, gazing down upon the narrow upper stretch of Dove Dale, also known as Dovedale Griff.

Beneath me, the valley slopes will, in a few months, be infested with bracken, although pockets of remnant semi-natural woodland featuring birch, pine, and rowan break the monotony.

This short, steep-sided valley flows into High Staindale, sculpted by the melt-water cascading from the glacial ice fields in the waning days of the last ice age. As the climate shifted and the ice began its thaw, torrents of melt-water surged downhill, frequently trapped by ice dams. Upon the rupture of these ice dams, water cascaded out in a cataclysmic fashion, cutting the deep, steep-sided griff. It is plausible that one such melt-water lake briefly took shape in Staindale, ultimately emptying itself, carving out Thornton Dale, and flowing into the expansive glacial meltwater Lake Pickering.