Where to ride - What to see
- The best roads and routes - Maps and guides
in the
Yorkshire Dales
Welcome to the
Manor Bikers Cafe, your gateway to the
outstanding natural beauty and amazing
Bikers roads of the Yorkshire Dales National
Park. Take a look at our Ride Guide page for
more information about the weather, traffic
and routes around the Dales.
The
Yorkshire Dales National Park lies between the
Lake District in the west and the North York
Moors in the east. it was designated as a
National Park in 1954.
Covering an area of approximately 1,769
km/683 square miles, the Yorkshire Dales
National Park boasts some of the finest scenery
in the North of England. The name 'Dales' comes
from the Scandinavian 'Thal' and refers to
valleys in the area made boggy by rivers flowing
down from the Pennine Hills.
The distinctive
natural features of the Yorkshire Dales were
shaped by the melting of glacier ice, eroding
the limestone and sandstone rocks some 300
million years ago. This created crags, hills,
caves and expanses of fissured rock pavements,
valleys and waterfalls. Lead mining began in
Roman times and continued into the 19th century.
Quarrying for the high quality limestone, the
clearing of woodland and building of villages,
farmsteads and low stone walls so distinctive of
the area, are the man made features of the
Dales.
The Yorkshire Dales
National Park offers visitors opportunities for
many outdoor pursuits including walking,
climbing, horse riding, bird watching and
caving. For archaeologists there are many
fascinating discoveries to be made, as this area
has been inhabited since Roman times.
Naturalists will find the area rich in bird and
wildlife, flora and fauna. The Yorkshire Dales
is an area of beautiful scenery, interesting
towns and villages and many historic attractions
to visit.
Wensleydale
History
Wensleydale was the home of
one of Yorkshire's most famous clans, the Metcalfes,
after they emigrated from
Dentdale. The Metcalfe
Society hold records dating back to Metcalfes living in
the area during the 14th century. They were one of the
most prominent families in Yorkshire for over five
centuries. Sir James Metcalfe
(1389–1472), who was born and lived in Wensleydale, was
a captain in the army which fought with
King Henry V in the
battle of Agincourt in
1415. Metcalfe is still one of the most common surnames
in Yorkshire. Bolton Castle
in the village of Castle Bolton
is a notable local historic site.
Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned here. The
story goes that she escaped and made her way towards
Leyburn only to lose her
'shawl' on the way, hence the name ('The Shawl') to the
cliff edge that runs westward out of Leyburn and is a
well-known spot for easy walks with excellent views.
Geography
Wensleydale's principal
towns are Hawes and
Leyburn;
Aysgarth,
Bainbridge, and
Middleham are well-known
villages. The shortest river in England, the
River Bain, links
Semer Water to the River
Ure, at Bainbridge, the home to an Ancient Roman fort
(part of the Roman road is walkable, up Wether Fell).
Hardraw Force, the highest
unbroken waterfall in England, is located at Hardraw,
near Hawes. Aysgarth Falls
(High, Middle, Low) are rightly famous, and people come
from a long way to see them - they are spectacular in
their beauty (enough to feature in
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves;
also Kevin Costner took a nude bathe in the plunge pool
of Hardraw Force) rather than their height. Other
notable waterfalls are at West
Burton, and Whitfield Gill Force, near
Askrigg.
Wensleydale lies
between Wharfedale
(to the south), and the quieter
Swaledale (to the
north, via Buttertubs Pass). The less well-known
Coverdale is a branch of Wensleydale.
Tourism
Wensleydale is a very
popular destination in its own right, enhanced by its
central location between two other well-known tourist
dales:
Wharfedale and the
quieter Swaledale.
Wensleydale
is a common destination for visitors who like walking on
mountains, moorland, dale-sides, and valley bottoms.
Hawes and Leyburn are popular because of their age,
location and facilities (pubs, shops, teashops, and
hotels). Hawes is the home of a rope-makers
(Outhwaites), where visitors can see the manufacturing
process.
The
Wensleydale Railway
operates in Wensleydale. It currently runs to between
Leeming Bar, the
A1 and Redmire, near
Castle Bolton. The railway's long-term plan is
eventually to run the whole length of the valley and
connect again with the National
Rail network at both ends: at
Garsdale on the
Settle-Carlisle Railway in
the west and Northallerton
on the East Coast Main Line
in the east. It is hoped this may help relieve some of
the current traffic congestion that the valley suffers
from during the busiest months. Some people come for the
Richard III connection: he
was brought up in Middleham Castle,
of which sufficient ruins remain to be well worth a
visit. Middleham itself is
a pleasant village with pubs and horse-racing
connections (several stables). In the market place
stands a stone carving, believed to be a boar's head,
signifying where the animal market was during the 15th
century as well as representing Richard's personal
standard, the white boar.
Swaledale
Geography
Swaledale
starts to the east of Nine
Standards Rigg, the prominent ridge with nine
ancient tall cairns on the Cumbria–Yorkshire boundary
which forms part of the main east–west watershed of
Northern England. To the west lies
Kirkby Stephen and the Westmorland Limestone
Plateau.
The moors on
the eastern flank of the Rigg's moorland become more and
more concave as they descend, to become the narrow
valley sides of upper Swaledale at the small village of
Keld. From there, the
valley runs briefly south then turns east at Thwaite to
broaden progressively as it passes
Muker, Gunnerside
and Reeth. The Pennine
valley ends at the market town
of Richmond, where an
important medieval castle still watches the important
ford from the top of a cliff. Below Richmond, the valley
sides flatten out and the Swale flows across lowland
farmland to meet the Ure
just east of Boroughbridge at a point known as Swale
Nab. The Ure becomes the Ouse, and eventually (on
merging with the Trent) the Humber.
From the
north, Arkengarthdale and
its river the Arkle Beck
join Swaledale at Reeth. To the south,
Wensleydale, home of the
famous Wensleydale cheese,
runs parallel with Swaledale. The two dales are
separated by a ridge including
Great Shunner Fell, and joined by the road over
Buttertubs Pass.
Physical character
Swaledale is a typical limestone Yorkshire dale,
with its narrow valley-bottom road, green
meadows and fellside fields, white sheep and
white stone walls on the glacier-formed valley
sides, and darker moorland skyline. The upper
parts of the dale are particularly striking
because of its large old limestone field barns
and its profusion of wild flowers. The latter
are thanks to the return to the practice of
leaving the cutting of grass for hay or silage
until wild plants have had a chance to seed.
Occasionally visible from the valley bottom road
are the slowly-fading fellside scars of the 18th
and 19th century lead mining industry. Ruined
stone mine buildings remain, taking on the same
colours as the landscape into which they are
crumbling.
Swaledale is home to many
small but beautiful waterfalls, such as
Richmond Falls,
Kisdon Force and
Catrake Force.
Agriculture and industry
Sheep-farming has always been central to economic life
in Swaledale, which has lent its name to
a breed of round-horned sheep.
Traditional Swaledale products are woollens and
Swaledale cheese, which was
formerly made from ewe’s
milk. These days it is made
from cow’s milk. During the
19th century, a major industry in the area was
lead mining.
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