Bainbridge Village

The Dales

The Yorkshire Dales is an area of great natural beauty in the north of England, a large part of which has been designated as one of England and Wales' protected national parks. The area covers approximately 1,600 square miles and includes the Yorkshire Dales National Park, part of the Forest of Bowland AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and the Nidderdale AONB, which were set up in recognition of each area's unique natural heritage and to conserve it for future generations The 1,600 square miles of the Yorkshire Dales National Park has been described in many different ways as wild, expansive, tranquil and at times awesome and bleak. It is, however, one of the finest upland areas of Britain, ideal for outdoor recreation or touring the areas many picture postcard towns and villages.

The Yorkshire Dales is a fantastic blend of spectacular landscapes, with outstanding heritage, many outdoor activities and endless ways to enjoy a memorable day out or holiday for you and your family. Sample our culture, hospitality our mouth watering local foods our colourful markets, and discover our many craft shops and retail outlets. We have a wide variety of attractions to suit all tastes and ages, splendid country pubs and charming tearooms but above all, we have the unspoilt peaceful environment of a real escape from everyday life. There is so much to see and do throughout the year, there is nowhere quite like it. Each year the Dales welcomes over nine million visitors, drawn to the seemingly changeless natural beauty and heritage, also the tranquillity and the variety of outdoor activities that the Dales offers. The landscape is very sensitive, and requires ongoing conservation work to protect and enhance its natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage.

From May 2005, the new Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 will give visitors even more access to the beautiful countryside of the Dales. As the most important piece of access legislation since the 1949 Act, which created Britain's National Parks, open access land will increase from 4% to a massive 63%! This means there will be a new Access Symbol to look out for - it shows that land is open for public access on foot or by wheelchair. The new right of access allows people to access certain types of land on foot. This is generally mountain, moor, heath or down and registered common land, but does not apply within 20 metres of a house or a farm building with livestock. Other access restrictions may apply at certain times. The new Access Symbol is below so be sure to look out for it. Every village in the Dales has its own special character and history, many date back to the Middle Ages or even further. Sadly, many of the traditional village features, like the cobbled lanes or village pumps have been damaged or lost forever.

Over 20 dales make up The Yorkshire Dales, differing much from each other in their character and atmosphere. To the south of the area lies the highly populated industrial area while to the north thinly settled uplands stretch to the Tees and beyond. About 20,000 people live in the scattered farms, villages and small market towns of the Dales. The dales best known to visitors are Airedale, Wharfedale, Nidderdale, Wensleydale and Swaledale. Yet into these come smaller dales such as Malhamdale into Airedale, Littondale into Wharfedale, and Coverdale and Garsdale into Wensleydale. Out of all these Wharfedale is the most accessible of the Yorkshire Dales. The beauty of Wharfedale begins at Bolton Bridge and then carries on through scenery of extraordinary charm and tranquillity as something reveals itself round every corner and mile travelled. There are the dale villages set so far apart to show the solitude that each village has, there is Burnsall noted for its church and old bridge, there is Linton, Grassington, Threshfield all noted for there old world charms in one way or another. The further into Wharfedale you go the more beautiful it becomes, you will come across Kilnsey Crag which is a gigantic mass of limestone which overhangs the road and the river, there is the village of Arncliffe which is very very picturesque Halton Gill, Pen-y-Ghent, Kettlewell, Buckden then over the moors into Wensleydale and Aysgarth and the famous Aysgarth Falls. Nidderdale begins with the charming Pateley Bridge; this part of the dales has some of the wildest moorland in the county. Beyond Pateley Bridge amid a large expanse of moorland are the caves at Stump Cross, these stretch across the moor to Whernside and Ingleborough

Burnsall in Summer (Wharfedale)

Bolton Abbey

Bolton Abbey sits in a beautiful position on a bend by the River Wharfe, originally built 3 miles away but moved to this beautiful setting in 1154. Though much of the abbey is in ruins the nave of the abbey is still used as the Parish Church today. The Bolton Abbey Estate covers some 30,000 acres of beautiful Yorkshire Dales countryside; the 12th Duke of Devonshire lives with his wife and family at Bolton Abbey and continues the tradition of stewardship at Bolton Abbey. It still remains a working Estate, as it was hundreds of years ago. "Bolton" means "an enclosure with a house". This may have been the manor house of Edwin, a Saxon earl. The name Bolton Abbey only came into use in recent times, though the religious house established here was a Priory.

Barden Tower

William Wordsworth first visited the area in 1807 and described the scene and the legends concerning the foundations of Bolton Abbey in his poems Force of Prayer and The White Doe of Rylstone. A very fine 17 th century bridge stands to a few miles north of Bolton Abbey and near to the bridge stands Barden Tower , this was originally one of six lodges that were owned by the Lords of Skipton Castle, it was used by the keepers of the vast forest that covered much of Wharfedale in the Middle Ages. Bolton Woods, again upstream from Bolton Abbey the river flows through the woods where rocks trees and deep pools make this a delightful beauty spot. Paths thread their way through the woods until you come across the dramatic scenery of the Strid, here the river dashes through a deep and narrow chasm.

Hawes

Hawes, in Upper Wensleydale, popular in summer with walkers and visitors driving through the Dales, almost the main centre in the Dales themselves. It's still a market town, the market is on Tuesdays, with local manufacturing companies producing traditional cheese and carrying on the local rope making tradition.

Hardraw Force

Hardraw Force is only a couple of miles from Hawes and is the home of England's highest unbroken single-drop waterfall, it is said to have a 100 foot drop and is set within the grounds of the historic Green Dragon Inn situated the hamlet of Hardraw. The waterfall cascades over a limestone crag which juts out far enough for you stand behind the waterfall without getting wet. Joseph Mallord William Turner, Britain’s greatest watercolour artist stayed at the Green Dragon Inn for three days completing four drawing of Mossdale Head, and two sketches of Hardraw Force one of which he `worked up` into the finished painting now hanging in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

Bainbridge Village

Bainbridge Village has a wide open village green, ancient village stocks, surrounded by trees giving shade to those hot summer days, overlooked from the east by the remains of an unexcavated Roman settlement. In Norman times a number of foresters lived here and worked in the Forest of Wensleydale which used to cover the whole valley. Every evening the Bainbridge horn blower sounded the horn to guide the foresters and travellers in the surrounding hills back to the village. The horn (which hangs in the Rose & Crown) is still sounded at 10pm every night from 27 September - the Feast of the Holy Rood - to Shrove Tuesday. You can stay for a while and take in the peaceful atmosphere of the village and its surroundings, take a stroll by the shortest river in the Country the River Bain to Lake Semerwater which is the Largest Natural Lake in Yorkshire.