Have you been to Kettlewell? Perhaps you recognise it from the popular film - The Calendar Girls? It was used as the location for the village of Knapely so you may recognise the distinctive bridge with the traditional black and white sign posts.

I think of Kettlewell as the 'criss cross village'. Several walking and cycling routes such as the Dales Way criss cross the village, as do the small bridges across the beck.

In the surrounding fields dry stone walls create their own criss cross patterns, along with the grassed terraces, worn away by successive generations of sheep. Kettlewell's original name along the lines of 'Cetel Wella' apparently means a babbling beck, which is apt, particularly on a Spring morning.

Walkers come for the challenge of nearby Great Whernside (2,310ft) and Buckden Pike (2,303 ft) and Old Cote Moor Top. The National Trust suggests a walk over some their land following the ridge between Wharfedale and Littondale, with fantastic fellside views.

If you prefer a gentler wander around the village, look out for the photogenic Cam Gill Beck, some ancient buildings (some dating back to the mid 1600s), the village stocks and the Kettlewell weather stone.

​In St. Mary's church you can spot Robert Thompson's carved mouse and beaver carved by one of the Mouseman's pupils. Children used to tie up the lychgate during weddings until the groom gave them money to untie it.

You can now find scarecrow festivals across the country but I think Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival was one of the first (and best, naturally). It started 25 years ago in 1994, organised by a band of volunteers who wanted to fundraise for local causes.