South Yorkshire Dales

Introduction

The Yorkshire Dales is thought by many to be the most beautiful and appealing region of Britain. It is a magical region, living and breathing, possessing different moods and faces and ever changing. It is part of the Pennine Chain, that magnificent backbone of England, that for the most part is underlain by limestone. However, here in the 'Southern' Yorkshire Dales the limestone is exposed to form the most stupendous landforms in all England. The boundary to the south and east is approximately that of the Yorkshire Dales National Park; to the north it follows a rough line between Kirkby Lonsdale and the brewing town of Masham. For some strange inexplicable reason the Natural Park boundary does not include Nidderdale and the eastern Pennine flanks, but we do. Although the sandstone rocks of this area overly the limestone, the scenery remains excellent and more typically Pennine in character.

History & Heritage

Many of the great events of history have largely passed-by the area choosing rather to use the routeways and lower ground offered by the Vale of York to the east and the Aire Gap to the south and south-east. Nevertheless, man-made attractions are just as numerous as natural attractions. Since Stone Age times man has left us artifacts throughout the area and many of these are preserved and displayed in the numerous museums. However, there are more substantial historical remains to explore. Whilst the majority of natural attractions are to be found to the west of the area, the major historic sites are in the east. These include castles such as those at Middleham, Knaresborough, Ripley and Skipton and religious buildings such as Bolton Priory, Jervaulx Abbey and Ripon Cathedral. In addition there a host of fine halls and buildings, each with a different character. From more recent times can be found the Embsay Steam Railway near Skipton.

Customs & Cultures

A rather deformed daughter of a witch is probably the best-known of Nidderdale?s inhabitants. Her prophecies appear to be incredibly accurate and the cave where Mother Shipton is traditionally thought to have been born is now a major attraction. Not everybody has been blessed with foresight including one Eugene Aram. Despite being a brilliant scholar, he failed to outwit the law and was hanged on a gibbet at Knaresborough for murder. The contrast between his talent and murky deed inspired a novel by Bulwer Lytton and a poem by Thomas Hood. Why Agatha Christie came to be found staying at the Swan Hotel in Harrogate under an assumed name remains a mystery! Walter Morrison is virtually unknown but his house guests at Malham Tarn House are now world- famous. Among these was the Rev. Charles Kingsley who encompassed much of the local scenery in his famous book, ?The Water Babies?. A prolific writer and immensely popular in his day, was Halliwell Sutcliffe who lived at Linton. He used the legends and feuds of the Dales to write his dramatic stories. ?Life and Tradition in the Yorkshire Dales ? by Marie Hartley and Joan Ingilby records a way of life which would otherwise largely be forgotten.

Landscapes & Landforms

The most famous of all guide book writers, Alfred Wainwright, has written, ?If there is in the North of England a more beautiful walk than the tour of the glens and waterfalls of Ingleton, I have yet to discover it?. No more need be said. The fantastic cliff, over which flowed a waterfall as large as Niagara, which forms Malham Cove is an almost unbelievable sight, especially close up from the eastern edge. Gordale Gorge close to Malham is incredibly exciting and a walk linking these with Malham Tarn is a walk in a limestone wonderland The three, gritstone-topped, peaks of Ingleborough, Pen-y-Ghent, and Whernside dominate Ribblesdale and other dales for miles around - and nowhere in Britain are there better examples of limestone pavements. Brimham Rocks to the east are another astounding landform. The wonders of nature even extend underground. The show caves of White Scar Cave, Ingleborough Cave and Stump Cross caverns make a marvellous introduction. Everywhere on the limestone are the most amazing potholes with Gaping Ghyll the 'grand-daddy' of them all. It is impossible in such a few words to do justice to an area someone once described as ?Nature?s Playground?!

Places to Visit & Events

All the castles mentioned earlier are well worth visits as are all the settlements they dominate.

Towards the upper reaches of Wharfedale is the village of Kettlewell, just one of several smashing places in the area, but in August transformed into the scarecrow capital of Yorkshire. Near to the enchanting scenery of lower Wharfedale is the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. Clapham has a Yorkshire Dales Information Centre and makes a perfect location to explore the Ingleborough Estate with its lake and caverns and, also, the geologically exciting Norber erratics.

An interesting place to visit is the incredible and peaceful Druid?s Folly near Swinston. Some villages are possibly ?better? than others but it would be impossible to single them out as there are so many really, really, great places to go in this delectable area.

Sports & Leisure

Walking is the most popular activity in the Dales closely followed by people with a strange fetish for rubber. These people secret themselves into the darkest, dankest and filthiest places imaginable to partake in the local underground!. Caving has its spiritual headquarters in this area which, to paraphrase a well known author, would resonate like a drum if struck hard enough as their are literally hundreds of miles of passages. Climbing is practiced in several places but Kilnsey Crag , Malham and Gordale provide challenges for the very best. There are pony trekking facilities available, but it isn?t only the overactive who are catered for in a variety of ways, as there is a wide range of more leisurely activities available, from painting to horticulture and ornithology to tea!