Wensleydale

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.

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…

Ingredients for a perfect trip? I think Askrigg has them all: lovely location; great walks to Aysgarth and Worton; James Herriot connections; excellent pubs and The Bake-well cafe (fab cakes); and quirky historical features.

You might find that Askrigg already looks familiar: probably thanks to its fame as a key location for the BBC's James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small, using one of the houses as Skeldale House and the King's Arms as the Drovers'. You can see photos from the filming in…

7 reasons why Hawes is a great starting point for a visit to the Yorkshire Dales.

1. It's a sizeable market town and yet every single shop is still independently owned. It makes a great base for further exploration of the Dales.

2. Hawes' most famous attraction is Wensleydale Creamery where you can see Wensleydale cheese being made and of course sample the finished product.

3. The Dales Countryside Museum shares the stories of Dales people and places. Run by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Author…

Bones in the market place, an odd name, plenty of beer, sheep and creative people - where? Masham - it’s ‘peculier’…

The ‘peculier’ bit doesn’t relate to its folk (although…) but to medieval times when the Archbishop of York couldn’t be bothered to travel to Masham to oversee its affairs. So Masham was designated a ‘peculier’ with its own court and government. It’s now better known as the home of Black Sheep Brewery and Theakston Brewery, which created Old Peculier beer.

Masham’s other claim to fa…

There was a time when you might have been very relieved to come across the distinctive AA telephone box that stands sentry on the A684 between Leyburn and Hawes near the West Burton turn-off. Such boxes were built in the 1950s and phased out in 2002. 

The Automobile Association started to install their network of sentry boxes across the UK in 1912. This was when driving was in its infancy and the newly invented motor car broke down quite frequently. The first AA boxes did not include telephones b…

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…