Curious

If you venture into the woods near Ilton & Masham, you're sure of a big surprise... a Stonehenge-like structure known as Druids' Temple. It's a curious folly in a somewhat hidden location, much loved by children in search of an adventure.

The stones aren't as huge as those at Stonehenge but they are more accessible and intact. The 'main ring' has an impressive entrance which leads to a double circle of large stones, many over 8 feet tall, and at the back there's a dark gloomy 'Tomb of Transformat…

This is Lady Hill - it has an interesting story attached to it and is a much loved Wensleydale landmark, less familiar from this vantage point. If you've ever driven from Aysgarth to Hawes, you'll have seen Lady Hill on the right hand side going towards Hawes.

The distinctive round hill with a crown of trees rises from the River Ure flood plain below. The hill is really a drumlin, a perfect half-buried egg shape formed by a moving glacier. The Scots pine trees which top the hill were planted to c…

Kirkby Malham lies on the River Aire, a short distance from Malham. It's so small that most people simply pass through on their way to better known beauty spots, and yet despite its size, Kirkby Malham has a cornucopia of  interesting connections and curiosities. 

Bill Bryson, the American author of the best-selling Notes from A Small Island lived in Kirkby Malham for several years. Many years earlier another literary great, Charles Kingsley, stayed in the hamlet, and immortalised the church bell…

Carperby isn’t a very well-known place but it’s certainly got more than its fair share of stories and interesting connections.

If you wander into the Wheatsheaf Inn in this small Wensleydale village, you may spot a letter on the wall. It's from James Herriot, or more accurately the writer, Alf Wight, and tells his parents of his wedding, including the moment the vicar asked him if he took "this woman to be your lawful wedded husband"...

It seems like the right kind of setting for a down-to-earth…

If you'd like to entice someone who says they don't like walking to join you on a gentle amble, you could intrigue them with the promise of showing them a rocket ship, a giant pepper pot and what could be (from a distance) a guillotine, all standing proud on a limestone outcrop in the Yorkshire Dales countryside.

Once you've climbed a small hill to get closer to them, and perhaps even 'boarded' the rocket ship, there's the additional reward of fine views towards Bolton Castle. As you've probably …