Outdoors & Landscapes

Most cars whoosh along the A65 between Long Preston and Clapham with no idea of the delights they're missing at Feizor. It's a small hamlet tucked away down a narrow meandering lane away from the rush of traffic. The lane takes its time curving this way and that, petering out into a track after Feizor as if it just couldn't bear to leave.

You might wonder why Feizor even exists, it's such a tiny place? It's said that it was once owned by the monks of Fountains Abbey and was a stopping point on …

Have you visited this place? This isn't the best photo of it (if you have a better one I can use, please do send!) but I think you can see it's an oddity! It’s not very often that places in the Yorkshire Dales remind me of famous landmarks in Sri Lanka.

The Dales version isn’t quite as big as Sigiriya in Sri Lanka, but it’s still remarkable, an impressive stone standing proud on a lonely moorland road south of High Bentham on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales

‘Our’ Sigiriya is imaginatively know…

Can you imagine carrying a full dinner service, several food courses, and heavy wood tables and chairs deep into the woods for lunch? Once upon a time in the 18th century, wealthy young men used to go on the European Tour, a kind of early version of the modern day gap year. They flocked to an ancient woodland Hackfall near Masham. Turner came to paint it, and scenes from Hackfall were featured on the Green Frog Dinner Service commissioned by Empress Catherine the Great of Russia from Wedgwood & …

You may already know Malham Tarn, but what about the Yorkshire Dales' other naturally formed small lake? Hidden in tiny Raydale close to Wensleydale, Semerwater is much loved by walkers and water sports enthusiasts. There's a circular footpath from the lake foreshore, or you could follow the footpath along one of England's shortest named rivers - River Bain which meanders over a couple of miles to Bainbridge. By the time it arrives there, it's powerful enough to turn an Archimedes Screw and prod…

Why do we say, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it"?

With over 50 dales, and at least that number of rivers and streams, there are plenty of bridges and river-crossings in the Yorkshire Dales. ​Some are not just useful, they're beautiful and historic. Many settlements grew up close to rivers, with important bridges or other crossings nearby.

The expression 'we'll cross that bridge when we come to it' probably came from the fact that rivers can be dangerous and changeable so crossings w…

Many people whizz down Whipperdale Bank (one of the best named roads in the Dales?) on their way to Reet, without stopping to admire the stunning Swaledale scenery or pausing in Grinton. Yet Grinton was once an important destination: at the end of the Corpse Way.

​Until 1580, St. Andrews Church, Grinton in Swaledale was one of only a few consecrated burial grounds so people had to carry their dead up to 16 miles. This route became known as the Corpse Way.

Bodies were carried in wicker coffins and …

When I say 'village green', does a children's fairy story picture-book image pop into your head? Perhaps you have a favourite village green somewhere, and a photo you can share? For many they represent a quintessential English scene. The houses and buildings around village greens may vary, but the feel is essentially the same.

There is usually a cluster of houses facing the green and behind them, their gardens or fields, wandering into the surrounding hills. Most have some kind of religious build…

What has a thatched barn got to do with a reservoir? If you wander along the path fringing Grimwith (pronounced Grim’ath) Reservoir, you’ll come to High Laithe, a lonesome cruck barn perched on a mound of grass beside the water.

In Medieval times wooden constructed cruck barns were two-a-penny across the Dales before the great rebuild in the 17th century when they were torn down and rebuilt in stone, often re-using the curved cruck timber in the ceilings. Now they’re a rare sight with their steep…

Hawthorn trees are associated with May Day and many ancient customs. Blossoming hawthorn trees are one of the signs that Spring is really here, and known as the May Tree. Heard the expression: "ne'er cast a clout till May be out"? It doesn't mean don't take off any clothes ('clout'- old word for clothes) such as your wool vest, until the end of May. Rather it means that Spring hasn't properly arrived until the May tree flowers are out.

Hawthorn's associated with another saying: "to hold a torch f…

What makes a perfect outing with family and friends? I think there are several key ingredients: a walk so everyone can get out into the fresh air but not so far that those with little legs start to moan; somewhere with "ooh look at that" fine views;

a chance to learn something along the way; a good cafe at the end.

On a bright, clear day you can find all these ingredients in one place: Coldstones Cut. It's almost impossible to describe - you really do have to go there to experience it yourself. Ho…