Outdoors & Landscapes

Heather and the beauty of the hills

Lucky charms for a queen, witches brooms and roofs: Have you started to spot Heather in bloom yet? For much of the year you might not really notice it, and then it suddenly blooms and the whole landscape changes colour and feel. It’s a very hardy, wind-resistant plant so thrives on the open moorland, often living over 20 years, where nothing much else survives.

The first heather to bloom, around the end of July, is bell heather. Most of the common heath…

Under Yorkshire Dales, Outdoors & Landscapes & Nature

Family traditions

Do you have anything you do every year, any family traditions in the Yorkshire Dales? In August every year we have a family tradition, of climbing 'our hill'. Of course it's not 'our' hill, and it's not as if there aren't plenty of other hills to climb in the Yorkshire Dales. This one is just special to us.

The name and location of the hill isn't the important part of this annual expedition. It's the idea that every year without fail we follow the same tr…

Under Yorkshire Dales & Outdoors & Landscapes

Mysteries of the Knights Templar

Heard of the powerful & mysterious Knights Templar? Between Swinithwaite & Aysgarth on the A684 is a little known site, which once was the setting for the Preceptory of the Knights Templars. It's now almost a thousand years since the order was founded and yet we're still fascinated by these early medieval knights.

I had to look up the meaning of a preceptory - it's a monastery of the Order of the Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem. If you take the footpath up to this little …

Under Yorkshire Dales, Outdoors & Landscapes, Stories of the Past, Curious & Wensleydale

Nine Standards Rigg

Your theories on this curious landmark? It's Nine Standards Rigg, an odd and distinctive landmark overlooking Kirkby Stephen on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, a welcome sight for walkers on Wainwright's Coast to Coast route.

The drystone cairns stand in a row, 2 – 4 metres tall. They’re very much part of the landscape but do seem to vary over time – some say they can find only 7 of these tall ‘standards’, others claim to find 11! Their height varies with the weather and effo…

Under Yorkshire Dales, Outdoors & Landscapes, Stories of the Past, Curious & Western Dales

Memories of the Pennine Way

Have you ever walked some or all of the Pennine Way? My earliest memory of the Pennine Way is hysterical laughter as my classmates and I struggled to clamber out of thigh-high mud in a bog near Edale. We'd been taken on a school day trip to supposedly walk the Pennine Way. In those days don’t think there was a risk assessment or even much responsibility on the part of the teacher. It’s a dangerous thing to do without proper forethought. I'm not sure how far anyone thought we'd get, especia…

Under Yorkshire Dales & Outdoors & Landscapes

Signs of Nidderdale's past - former lead mines

With names like Prosperous and Providence, the former mines near Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale National Landscape sound as though they belong to the Wild West.

More than 200 years ago though the peace of the valley alongside Ashfoldside Beck would have been shattered by the noise, dirt and smells of the two lead mines, as the rich seams of ore in the millstone grit were exploited.

Raw ore, known locally as bouse, would have been washed, crushed and dressed before it …

Under Yorkshire Dales, Outdoors & Landscapes & Stories of the Past

A perfect day in Reeth

How to spend (at least) 1 perfect day in Reeth: where Swaledale & Arkengarthdale meet.

With a large village green at its heart, Reeth is surrounded by wonderful walks, hay meadows, the curling River Swale and Arkle Beck. I now start every trip there at Two Dales Bakery before they sell out of my favourite pastries, before setting out to enjoy the swing bridge walk but you could also walk in the other direction towards Arkle Beck.

Around the corner, the Silver Street studio…

Under Outdoors & Landscapes, Yorkshire Dales, Stories of the Past, Food & Drink, Market Towns & Swaledale

Trig points - how many have you bagged?

Have you bagged any trigs? Where? For the uninitiated, I’m not taking nonsense! You might have occasionally noticed a structure like the one in the photo, usually with a number on the side and curious symbol on the top. There are over 6000 of them in the UK. Some walkers pride themselves on 'trig-bagging', sharing their finds online.

These mysterious small structures are called Trig Points, or more correctly, "triangulation pillars". They're usually on the highest point in the area and theoreti…

Under Yorkshire Dales, Curious & Outdoors & Landscapes

Fountains Abbey

How well do you know this place? Do you associate it with a vast and rich business empire? It's a large site so not all visitors manage to find the 'farewell freedom' spot, or visit the 17th century Fountains Hall, as there's so much to explore.

Recognised as a ‘feat of human creative genius,’ Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, National Trust in Nidderdale National Landscape became a World Heritage Site in 1986. The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York who deci…

Under Yorkshire Dales, Outdoors & Landscapes, Historic Houses, Stories of the Past & Nidderdale

A special garden hidden in plain sight

You've probably passed this hidden gem, yet it's hidden in plain sight on the A684 between Hawes and Swinithwaite. From the road you just see a few rocks and a small gate so it looks like it's a private garden.

It was closed to visitors for many years but is actually open to visitors in return for a donation in the box by the gate. It's a small but magical little garden. Young children find it otherworldly, thanks to the twisting paths and low archways created by enormous blocks of limestone.

…

Under Yorkshire Dales, Outdoors & Landscapes, Stories of the Past & Wensleydale

Inspiration & ideas

Outdoors & Landscapes

Heather and the beauty of the hills

Family traditions

Mysteries of the Knights Templar

Nine Standards Rigg

Memories of the Pennine Way

Signs of Nidderdale's past - former lead mines

A perfect day in Reeth

Trig points - how many have you bagged?

Fountains Abbey

A special garden hidden in plain sight