Wash Day in the Yorkshire Dales, Art by Rachel
Lying in north and west Yorkshire within the central Pennines, the Yorkshire Dales became a National Park back in 1954 and covers almost 700 square miles. The main Dales are all named after rivers (apart from Wensleydale, named after the local village). The Dales are river valleys, formed during the ice age when the area was still full of glaciers. The old English word ‘dael’ was taken over by the word ‘valley’ in the 14th century. If walking dogs in the Yorkshire Dales, see tips on safe dog walks, to keep both dogs and livestock safe.
The Yorkshire Dales primarily consists of limestone rock, with lots of deep caves caused by eroded limestone (Gaping Gill has England’s largest underground chamber – a whopping 322 feet deep).
Here you’ll also find the amazing Ribblehead Viaduct, built by the Victorians. This grand structure has memorials along the line to commemorate hundreds of workers who lost their lives building it – from smallpox, accidents and even fights. The build was so tragic then when some of ‘navvies’ installed 24 huge stone arches above the moor, the railway company ended up paying to expand the local graveyard. The result is what many believe to be the most stunning railway journey.
The Yorkshire Dales is home to many sheep, most are kept safe by dry stone walls, which are built by hand without any mortar. The walls are one of the reasons this beautiful area is so unique. These walls can last up to 200 years if built well, with no worries about electric fencing et all for barnyard friends.
Waterfalls in the Yorkshire Dales
Janet’s Foss Waterfall (Jan Purves) is a small waterfall in the Dales village of Malham. The name refers to a fairy queen who apparently lives in a cave behind it! ‘Foss’ is the Scandinavian name for a waterfall. The waterfall is sometimes used by experienced wild swimmers due to the ‘glistening emerald water among woodland’ (though experts recommend a ‘wetsuit still advised’).
The Yorkshire Dales is home to 20 waterfalls in all, which look stunning as the heavy rainfall leads to giant gushes of water washing over the local limestone. From the tallest (Cautley Spout drops 200 metres) to the largest Aysgarth Falls (a ‘triple series’ of waterfalls).
Nature & Wildlife in the Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales are home to rare hay meadows which offer wild flowers and grasses which attract butterflies, insects and nesting birds like skylarks and meadow pipits.
As well as limestone, you can also find raised bogs which house many species of native wildlife, and help prevent floods, by slowing down the spread of rainfall. The Yorkshire Dales also has many beautiful wildflowers and 2 freshwater lakes (home to endangered water voles). And of course with all those rivers, you’re not short of a pretty blue kingfisher or two (very small and shy, so hard to spot).
An Ode to a Yorkshire River
Walking the Wharfe is a book by a Johno Ellison, who grew up in the village of Boston Spa, exploring the riverbanks of Lower Wharfedale, upstream hills and valleys. After becoming a helicopter pilot (and travelling the world in a London black cab), he returns to the Yorkshire waterway where he grew up, retracing steps of Victorian author Edmund Bogg, to see how the riverscape and communities have evolved.
While wild camping and meeting modern-day Vikings, he encounters stories of wartime ghosts and learns how to deal with a herd of over-inquisitive cows. Starting in the Vale of York, he walks upstream to explore Viking and Roman heritage, and more modern developments like Tadcaster’s disastrous bridge collapse. He visits Victorian spa towns, and enjoys rare wildlife like red kites and otters, which have returned due to conservation efforts.
Crossing Yorkshire Dales National Park, he is entranced by local legends of giants, and seduced into wild swimming in a chilly river (but not the section of the Wharfe notorious worldwide for drowning everyone who has ever tumbled into it). He seeks refuge in a candlelit pub during a storm, and meets a family who has farmed the Yorkshire hills for five generations. Then at the end of his journey, the author reaches the Wharfe’s trickling source amid a vast boggy moorland.
