Getaway: Yorkshire Dales
Don’t fancy France this year? Join Anna Lyon and family as they explore the beautiful landscapes of Yorkshire’s National Parks
Anna Lyon and family brave the elements to explore in Yorkshire
THE YORKSHIRE DALES and the Peak District are two wonderful National Parks, but which destination should we choose for our Easter break? Unable to decide, we opted to spend some time in both Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, to avoid a holiday dilemma. Having packed our caravan, Tintin, with essential quanitities of chocolate for Easter, we drove to the halfway stopover site at Mill Farm CL, Barkston, about five miles from the historic market town of Grantham. The site is also just two miles from the wonderful grounds and play area of Belton House, owned by the National Trust. The previous week’s bad weather meant the long, uneven approach to the working-farm site, and the grass pitch, required some serious puddle negotiation. But with the long drive behind us and the beds made up, we pulled on our wellies and jackets, and headed off down the road to visit Barkston’s dog-friendly, Grade Ii-listed village inn, The Stag, for supper. Freshly cooked and beautifully presented haddock in beer batter with chips – plus a pink gin for me – put us in holiday mood. Refreshed after a quiet night’s sleep, the next day it was back to the A1 for a further 140 miles to reach Hawes Caravan and Motorhome Club Site. Thankfully, we had a trouble-free journey; the unexpectedly heavy snowfall on Good Friday faded into memory as we spotted some crookedly smiling snowmen melting in the fields on our way to Wensleydale.
Community spirit
Eager to get the van’s steadies down in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and go off exploring, we pitched up with a view of the mountains and stretched our legs by walking to the small market town of Hawes, which was just 10 minutes away. At 850ft above sea level, Hawes is reputed to be one of the highest market towns in England. Its vibrant high street caters for all needs and exhibits a very strong local community spirit. Local people run the post office, library, bus station and a petrol station (Dalehead), plus the Yorkshire Wensleydale Creamery, which employs more than 200 staff and contributes an incredible £12m back to the local community. We immediately felt at home, Ben passing on the offer of deep-fried Wensleydale in the chippy and deciding on a bag of Sheffieldmade rhubarb and custard sweets. Covering more than 840 square miles, the Yorkshire Dales is the third largest National Park in England, so we knew that we were going to find some stunning scenery.
Cracking cheese, Gromit!
Surrounded by lush green fields, we rather expected a certain amount of rain; and the next day, the weather obliged, with heavy downpours. An indoor activity was called for, so we headed to the Wensleydale Creamery. With a history dating back to 1150, the dairy’s fascinating interactive experiences took us on a tour of the art of cheesemaking – from monastic times, to emphasising the huge importance of Kit Calvert keeping the creamery running during the war, through to present-day production and development. The programme included child-friendly interactive displays, an opportunity to watch cheese being made in the labour-intensive creamery, photo opportunities with Wallace and Gromit, and the all-important cheese tasting and buying at the Visitor Centre. The whole trip was informative, extremely entertaining – and delicious! Much to Ben’s delight, that evening was deemed a cheese and crackers night in, when we enjoyed eating hot-cross bun flavour Wensleydale, and Wensleydale with cranberries, and watching the Wallace and Gromit film The Wrong Trousers. Brilliant!
Follow the Pawnine Way
Thankfully, the cheese feast had no sideeffects – next day, we were not dreaming, the sun really had returned. It was a great day to visit the Ingleton Waterfalls – designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest by Natural England – and let our little dog, Lucy, enjoy the 4.5-mile trail (listed as strenuous because there are a large number of steps). The trail follows clearly defined footpaths through unspoilt landscape; it’s a spectacular walk boasting five waterfalls and a chance to explore Thornton Force, which falls 14m over limestone. With a welcome halfway stop at Beezley Farm for toilets and ice creams, the day was a huge success. Back at base camp, Lucy was allowed to run free within the confines of the site’s large dog-walking area, which is aptly named the ‘Pawnine Way’ (the 268-mile Pennine Way, which passes the end of the campsite, was saved for another time). Then curry, Yorkshire Blonde Ale and Monopoly Deal ended another perfect day.
Ice Age spectacular
Next morning, with clear skies overhead, the famous limestone pavements of Malhamdale seemed to be the most obvious choice for that day’s adventure. Malham National Park Centre’s all-day car park, at £4.50, proved extremely popular. However, it was worth the wait, because Ben was able to fuel up for the trek with
his first chip butty. Then, having bought a detailed map with written instructions, we decided on a 4.5-mile circular walk, the Malham Landscape Spectacular. This incredible route guided us to the magnificent landscape of Malham Cove, a 70m-high rock face that featured in the film of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Formed at the end of the last Ice Age, more than 12,000 years ago, and home to peregrine falcons, this breathtaking natural amphitheatre is a huge crag of carboniferous limestone, visible for miles. It’s a real magnet for rock climbers, and walkers can also reach the summit – if you can tackle the challenging climb up about 400 steps. On top of the cove, the area of deep horizontal fissures, the limestone pavement, is a result of acid rain acting on the softer limestone. We all jumped along on the limestone pavement, holding tight to Lucy’s lead and admiring the unrivalled views over the Dry Valley and Malham Tarn. Walking here, we hadn’t anticipated coming across soaring limestone cliffs as we made our way towards the dramatic Gordale Scar, a deep ravine towering nearly 100m above us. The 22-mile geological fault line runs from the borders of Cumbria into the Yorkshire Dales and is around 15 million-16 million years old. With nobody else anywhere in sight, we began to think we might discover a dinosaur lurking somewhere! After a halfway stop for hot drinks, the final stages of our circular route took us through gentle waterfalls and wild garlic in the magical woods of Janet’s Foss. Back at the car park, Ben played a tune on the lithophone, a musical instrument made from pieces of rock, while we ate the last of our picnic rations. We returned home via the lime-rich upland lake, Malham Tarn. After another full day outdoors, it was a relaxing evening of pool and table football in the site’s games room, following a hot shower and a well-earned dinner.
Keeping dry underground
In the face of heavy rain the following day, we decided to follow the advice of Cockett, the local butcher, and visit White Scar Cave. Lucy, pleased to have an enforced rest, stayed in the car ‘dog napping’ while we enjoyed exploring the underground waterfalls and squeezing around the cave flowstone (sheets of calcite deposited where water flows down the walls) in the ‘longest show cave in Britain’. The guided tour covered a mile and lasted just over 1.5 hours, which meant that, by the time we came out, Lucy was ready for a walk alongside Ribblehead Viaduct (part of the famous Settle-carlisle railway line). This impressive Victorian structure, begun in 1870, is 400m long and has 24 arches spanning the Batty Moss valley. We have since read that the viaduct was the main inspiration behind the TV drama Jericho.
Dales delights
A £1 booklet, Walks around Hawes, which we bought at the local post office, along with the Sunday papers, inspired our final couple of days in the area. The first trail took us around Appersett Viaduct, a gentle five-mile walk with plenty of stops to enjoy the views and have a drink
at the local pub, The Green Dragon Inn. You can also see the waterfall at Hardraw Force by paying an admission fee at the café here. For our last day in the Dales, Ben opted to visit Aysgarth Falls National Park Centre, with its triple flight of waterfalls on the River Ure and views to Bolton Castle. The Upper and Middle Falls, as featured in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, proved an ideal location for us to receive news of Ben passing his Grade 2 piano exam and enjoy a celebratory ice cream. Back at base camp, we took the awning down, then headed one last time back into Hawes, to watch traditional ropemaking at the 150-year-old Outhwaite Ropemakers. Even now, the company exports rope to more than 20 countries worldwide. Following the 100m guided ‘rope walk’, which runs the length of the buildings, we were able to walk through the various manufacturing processes and watch church bell, banister and barrier ropes being made. Other products, such as leading reins for horses and skipping ropes, are made here, too, which we were also fortunate enough to see. Never ones to miss out on an opportunity, we decided to head next door to the Dales Countryside Museum, housed in Hawes’ Victorian former railway station, steam train and carriages. Here you can discover what it was like to be a lead miner and learn more of the incredible story of the Dales and the people who lived and worked in the region. Stopping off at the Firebox Café in the Visitor Centre, we refuelled before heading back to decamp. In no hurry to leave Yorkshire, we set the sat nav to guide us on an interesting journey along some steep, narrow roads, with Tintin seeming to breathe in behind us while we continued towards the Peak District.
Survival lessons learnt
After we had set up at the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Castleton site, we wanted to find something to climb, so we bought a map from the site reception, and they suggested Lose Hill. Following advice from a fellow camper and dog walker, we packed extra warm clothes and decided that wellington boots would probably be the best option for venturing up Lose Hill and walking along the stone-surfaced ridge walk to Mam Tor (517m above Castleton). Leaving in clear conditions, we were soon to learn some valuable survival lessons. The weather closed in around us as we neared the summit, making it necessary to put on those extra clothes. With visibility restricted to just five metres in parts, we stopped and talked to a group of boys crouched over a map, compass in hand, who were completing their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. Making slow progress, we managed to navigate our way around the sheep across Mam Tor – looking nothing like the beautiful walk in the brochures, with views towards Edale, Kinder Scout and the Derwent Moors. A slow, perilous descent in ankle-deep mud meant that we all had to concentrate to ensure nobody lost a wellington, although Lucy was skipping happily over the top, pleased to be out of the damp fog and her over-warm waterproof coat. Eventually, back in Castleton, seeing the Peak Hotel and its inviting sign, ‘Muddy boots and dogs welcome’, we took comfy seats by the open fire and laughed about our day over sausages and chips.
Is it a tart or a pudding?
Next morning, with the mist persisting, we decided a shorter walk might be the order of the day. Lucy, cleaned and recovered, took the lead from Castleton Peak District National Park Visitor Centre, pulling us ‘Round the Caverns’, a walk which proved quite tricky to follow. Chunky chips back at the centre car park were demolished within minutes, before we headed off to the small market town of Bakewell, along the River Wye, to establish the difference between the delicious Bakewell tart and pudding. After a quick tour of Bakewell, crossing the Love Locks Bridge, we headed home, extremely tired and ready to wash and dry everything in the site’s impressive dry room. Reflecting on our wonderful holiday, we agreed we had enjoyed both National Parks and had lots of reasons to return. As Ben pointed out: “Mum, we haven’t actually seen a great deal of the Peak District, really!”