About Yorkshire and the Dales
When newly qualified Glasgow vet Alf White arrived in Thirsk in the 1930s, he admitted he had previously thought Yorkshire was “as stodgy as its pudding”. But he fell in love with the Dales and Moors and made them his home and workplace for the rest of his life. His many books, written under the pen name James Herriot, convey the magic he found here in Yorkshire.
...Wild and austere...
Yorkshire is one of the most distinctive and perhaps stand-alone parts of England. More than most areas, it has retained its character and tradition in times of accelerating change. Its landscapes range from wild and austere to soft and pretty; its stone buildings relate directly to the underlying geology; its history (and rivalry with neighbouring Lancashire) was defined more than 500 years ago by the Wars of the Roses; and in the Yorkshire Post, it even has its own national newspaper.
In the 19th century the wealth of the big West Riding towns of Leeds, Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield was built on the back of the woollen industry. Coal and steel have also made their mark on Yorkshire landscapes and economies. And many of today’s national building societies and banks originated in Yorkshire, bringing the comforting thought that much of the nation’s household wealth is controlled from within its borders. Meanwhile, the North Riding and large chunks of the West Riding and the East Riding (‘given back’ to Yorkshire from Humberside after a long protest) remain gloriously rural.
...Hospitality...
If Yorkshire is something of a nation within a nation, then the Dales must have spearheaded the call for independence. Dales people have a reputation for pride, hard work, hospitality, thrift, speaking their mind and minding their own business.
And there is much to be proud of. The Yorkshire Dales forms one of Britain’s 14 National Parks, where special efforts are made to protect the environment for future generations to enjoy. The National Park stretches from near Skipton in the south to the iconic Tan Hill Inn in the north, from Middleham in the east to Sedbergh in the west. Its key features are around 20 dales, each with its own special character. Between them stretch broad expanses of moorland, as remote as anywhere in England.
...Limestone scenery...
Limestone is one of the reasons why the Dales area was made a National Park. Certainly limestone scenery is at its most spectacular here. Scars, rocky gorges, limestone pavements and upland pastures pock-marked with depressions known as shakeholes can be seen around Wharfedale, Malhamdale and Ingleborough. Limestone’s biggest secret, however, lies underground. Streams soak into the ground and waterfalls plunge down vertical shafts to join some of the most extensive cave systems in the country.
First and foremost though the Yorkshire Dales is farming country and if there was a spiritual home of sheep farming, it would surely be here in the Pennine uplands. The Swaledale breed – now dominant across northern England – originated here in the Dales. The valley bottoms are brought to colour by flower-rich hay meadows each summer and everywhere endless dry-stone walls criss-cross the landscape, effortlessly climbing steep fells and plunging deep into gills. Most characteristic perhaps are the countless stone barns, scattered along the valley floors, used originally to store hay and over-winter cattle.
...Romantic...
Farming has produced tight knit communities with the village pub often the focal point. The fires are burning, the beer is flowing and locals still play dominoes far into the night. In fact, the villages are perhaps the best feature of the Yorkshire Dales. Descending from a walk on the moors at the end of a damp autumn day, there are few sights more welcoming or romantic than a knot of stone rooftops opening out beneath you, a curl of smoke rising from each chimney and lights burning from kitchen and parlour windows.
The domestic architecture of the Dales is more or less unique to the area. Built in a no-nonsense style in local stone, many houses date back to the 17th century, as you can see for yourself from the datestones above the front doors. The limestone, sandstone and gritstone used in building closely reflect the underlying geology. In particular, the roofs are made from sandstone, split into thin ‘slates’ and originally supplied from nearby stone-pits. At one time many of the cottages, including in Buckden, would have been home to lead miners but the fellside mines are now empty, the seams of lead ore long worked out. Now the legacy of disused shafts, levels, spoil heaps and ruined smelt mills adds a touch of melancholy to the landscape.
At first glance, the Yorkshire Dales area seems little different today to how it must have looked three or four hundred years ago. Things have changed, of course, but the charm remains. Yorkshire is certainly not stodgy.
Promotional
materials devised and written by Green-Enagage Communications
(http://www.green-engage.co.uk)
Designed
and hosted by Solarfish (http://www.solarfish.com)