It was once said of the north of England by some of those that lived in the south, that the north began at Watford (a little bit north of London). For someone that grew up in the Midlands (me), the north was always regarded as Yorkshire and Lancashire upwards. Now we live in the east of England, a trip “up north” means an hour long drive to escape the clutches of Norfolk before turning right.

This was highlighted on our recent trip to North Yorkshire, and our first trip to the Yorkshire Dales in around 5 years. Getting out of Norfolk is always a challenge, even more so this time because of the disruption caused by the first named storm of the season, Storm Amy. However we eventually made it to our destination, the small village of Carperby, in Wensleydale.

Carperby is a charming village in the heart of the dales, with old stone cottages, a Market Cross denoting the centre of the village, and an old Quaker Meeting House nearby, which dates back to 1864. However, many of the surrounding cottages and buildings are much older. Our cottage was on the edge of the village and was comfortable and well equipped.

One of the Dales most popular attractions, Aysgarth Falls, is about 40 minutes walk from our cottage. We headed out on a sunny but cool morning with a plan to walk to the falls, have a look round and check out the coffee and cake at their cafe. This seems to be a theme with our walks now, we invariably look for a coffee shop en route.

I try out a pointless stile

The same stile in the middle of a field. One of the quirky things on our walk down to Aysgarth Falls.

Aysgarth Falls – this is the upstream end, the falls go on for about half a mile.

Lyn adds to the landscape.

Us at Aysgarth Falls

Castle Bolton is an ancient castle located about 90 minutes walk across the moorland from Carperby. Built in the late 14th Century it is still owned by the descendants of the family that built it, having never changed hands throughout history. This is surprising given Englands chequered and sometimes violent history during the 15th and 16th centuries! Today the castle is a tourist attraction with herb garden, a maze, wild flower meadow, rose garden and a vineyard on the site. It is also blessed with a lovely coffee shop.

The view as we set off towards Castle Bolton

We left our cottage and walked up the track with the knowledge that although very dull, the weather forecast predicted no rain. How wrong were we? After 15 minutes of walking a light drizzle started which turned into a more intense misty wet yuk which lasted until we walked into the coffee shop at Castle Bolton dripping wet.

One of the equine locals

Looking back down the track with the drizzle heading towards us.

Arrival at Castle Bolton – Looking back along the path towards Carperby

An extended coffee stop, ensconced around the open fire in the cafe helped to dry us out as we waited for the sky to clear so we could explore the garden and maze. The coffee and cake was good too!

After drying out we headed off to explore the grounds before rejoining the route of our walk.

Three views of Castle Bolton

The back garden at Castle Bolton, with the sun shining.

Us in the garden at Castle Bolton.

Leyburn is a small town at the eastern edge of the Yorkshire Dales. I was last there over 25 years ago when I was living in Yorkshire. It is a lovely, friendly town and the start point for our next walk. But not before coffee, in the wonderfully named Posthorn Cafe.

Our walk, an 8 miler took in a path alongside the River Ure towards Bolton Hall (not connected with Castle Bolton), and then uphill and across farm land to the Leyburn Shawls, an area of elevated pasture near the town.

A “doer-upper” shepherds hut on the path out of Leyburn

Three views of the River Ure on our walk, with autumn colours starting to appear.

The Leyburn Shawl – a limestone escarpment and popular walking path near the town. On good day it offers stunning views over Wensleydale. It is rumoured that Mary, Queen of Scots hid in the woods here when escaping pursuers.

I have mentioned our friends, Geoff and June, in previous blogs. They live a couple of hours away, near Keswick, but we met up with them at the Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes. The Creamery is the home of the world famous Wensleydale cheese and also those loveable animated characters, Wallace and Grommit.

After a long catch up over coffee and cake we headed off for a walk up to and along the Pennine Way towards Great Shunner Fell. We walked as far as Black Hill Moss where we stopped for lunch before retracing our steps and returning to Hawes via a slightly different route.

A typical Wensleydale scene.

The view from the Pennine Way.

Different aspects of the Pennine Way towards Black Moss Hill.

Us with friends Geoff and June out on the hill.

Old rail bridge near Appersett.

Our holiday co-incided with my birthday so to make it a bit special I came up with a plan. There was a photo exhibition in a gallery in Muker, a small village in Swaledale, the next “Dale” up. The exhibition included work by well known landscape photographers Lizzie Shepherd and Joe Cornish among others and was excellent, with some outstanding and atmospheric images on show.

From here we drove the short distance to Keld for a coffee in an ad hoc self service cafe in the village hall. It was a very social occasion with other visitors and locals enjoying coffee and home made cake.

Our walk started a short distance from the hall and we picked up the Pennine Way, heading back towards Muker following the River Swale.

Three views of Swaledale from the Pennine Way.

Swaledale barn

Muker from the Pennine Way

Barn views of the path out of Muker to Keld

The River Swale winding its way through the Dale.

Derelict barns on the bank of the River Swale

Views above Keld on the way back

Us in the Wheatsheaf, Carperby celebrating my birthday

I have mentioned Hawes earlier in this blog but that was a flying visit with friends. Time for a closer look.

Hawes lies at the head of Wensleydale and is a typical small North Yorkshire town. The town is not mentioned in the Domesday book and it is thought that it only came into being in the 14th century. Its name is derived from the old Norse word Hals meaning “neck” or “pass between mountains”, which suits its location perfectly.

We had a good walk round the centre which had wide variety of local shops, but interestingly for a Friday, only one of the many coffee shops was open. It was also dull and damp which probably kept people away.

Above: Scenes from Hawes. These were taken earlier in the week when the sun shone!

Knitted versions of Wallace and Grommit on display in Hawes.

I had plotted a walk along the Pennine Way to the south of the town so after coffee we found our way through the lanes and narrow passages out of town on to the famous trail. The damp turned to drizzle and then rain, but it was not the poor weather that ensured we did not complete our route. Crossing a stile we found our path was blocked by two massive bulky bulls, both with menacing heads of horns. Walking either side of these beasts was not an option because of the boggy terrain, so after a short discussion we legged it back over the stile. There are no pictures, the rain ensured my camera was safely tucked up in my rucksack.

Top – Colour image of a derelict barn with a mono conversion below.

The barn from above up close. This was the last image I took as the rain got heavier and I put the camera away in a waterproof bag.

The Pennine Way south bound. The weather was as miserable as it looks. Images shot on my phone.

Aysgarth Falls – before our visit to Hawes I managed to squeeze a quick trip to Aysgarth Falls for some “proper photography”. That is photography with all my camera gear, filters, tripod etc.

The week ended on a very damp note, but despite that, the Yorkshire Dales is wonderful place to visit. I am sure we will be back.