New Tooth

We've been a bit boring over the last few weeks because I've been visiting my dentist on a weekly basis! One of my upper canines broke off level with the gum in Austria (nothing to do with the food!) and I've got to have a replacement. It's a bit frightening, you know, once you retire bits start to drop off and you leave a patch of rust if you stand still too long and it's started! one tooth down with several to go. The big problem is I've got to have a false one or else look like an old hag every time I smile, I suppose it's going to do wonders for my cred!

Anyway it's meant that we've been tied to staying local for a few weeks although we did manage a few days in the Yorkshire Dales. We set off one fine morning to go to Whitby and decided to take the long route and look at Thornborough Henges on the way.

Henges were built in theNeolithic (New Stone Age) and consisted of a ditch and earth bank, usually circular or oval and had one or two entrances. This has led to the belief that they were ritual rather than defensive. In the case of Thornborough, which is only a few miles from the A1 near Ripon, there are three henges joined by a wide ritual walkway. The henges are nearly 750 feet in diameter and in their heyday around 3000 BC attracted people from a large area and were possibly the biggest gathering in Britain.



We'd read about these Henges in passing and now we've visited them we can't understand why they seem to be unknown to the general public, including us. They form part of a sacred landscape extending over 20 miles and sadly are being surrounded by quarries. English Heritage have designated the Henges to be the most important site of it's kind between the Orkneys and Stonehenge but there are no standing stones, only massive grassy banks in a field with cows roaming around.

We tried to get an aerial photo but the wind wasn't playing and kept letting go of the kite and gently dropping the camera into the grass, thankfully missing the cow pats!
For anyone interested in the Henges or Beltane meetings (1st May) there are some good sites on the web, I just googled 'Thornborough Henges' and got 13,300 hits.

It was the middle henge we found but it was getting late in the day and we needed a camping place, so we headed West, yes into the Yorkshire Dales, well we'd been to Whitby before and it must be about 15 years since we'd visited the Dales.

We got Mary Anne (Sat Nav) to take us through the Dales from Masham to Lofthouse on the River Nidd. Nidderdale sounded intriguing. Anyway, she who shall be obeyed (Mary Anne in this case) bypassed Masham and we ended up on some very strange, very narrow lanes. I thought we were going to end up at a farmhouse at one point as the road became a dual carriageway, you know the type, 7 feet wide with grass down the middle! I finally had to resort to real map reading when she insisted that we take a road now signposted as a dead end .

The road I chose wound up and down a couple of black arrows (very steep) and after a about a mile and a half we rejoined a road where two whole cars could pass without causing any damage.

Jenny (Sat Nav) decided to take over again at this point and ceased her annoying 'Turn around when possible' mantra.

It was lovely moorland scenery and we passed the end of Leighton Reservoir, unfortunately no parking, and carried on to Lofthouse.

Nidderdale lived up to expectations with only two roads into it. We drove to the end but it was too late in the day for a walk up either Little Whernside, 605 metres or Great Whernside, 703 metres, but I've noted it for another trip!

We found somewhere to stay near a small village called Wath. Wath was on the opposite side of the River Nidd and only the residents were allowed to take their vehicles over the tiny bridge and into the village. The information board showed a circular walk taking in the village, and which climbed steeply to a track halfway up the side of the fell. We decided to walk in the opposite direction therefore turning the steep climb into a steep descent. It was lovely, we followed the river for a short way before climbing gently up the side of the Dale. We were overtaken by a chap and his dog. He lived in Halifax and often came to the area for a walk, he didn't have a map either and was walking blind. He told us that he walked until he was tired and then usually retraced his steps but today was his lucky day, he'd met us and we knew that if we turned right at the farm track we could follow it back down to the village.

We kept up a kind of relay with him, he'd get in front and then rest on a gate and we'd pass him. Then we'd find a toadstool or a flower or some other equally non interesting item and he'd pass us. We walked over a massive stone bridge, the type that the railways built, it was about 60 feet high and contoured a steepsided valley. After much deliberation we decided it couldn't have been a railway but was possibly a construction road for the Gouthwaite Reservoir but I've not managed to find out anything about it.

The track back down to the village was really steep, the sort of steep where your toenails are rammed into the front of your boots causing you to walk sideways, it makes you look a bit like a crab.

In the village we noticed what looked like an old railway track bed and found out that it was the route of the Nidd Valley Light Railway. It was originally a contractors railway linking Pately Bridge with the Angram Reservoir but did carry passengers between Lofthouse and Pately Bridge from 1907 to 1929 when it was closed and demolished. The original Wath station house is now a private residence.

It was a lovely walk, not long but the scenery was beautiful and it was relaxing just to be able to stroll gently and enjoy the peace and quiet.

We moved onto Pately Bridge, an old lead mining village with some quaint old shops. My favourite was the 'oldest sweet shop in England' but I resisted the temptation to go in and buy any.

The walking around here is lovely and this is the start and finish of a The Nidderdale Way, a 53 mile circular route that takes in both sides of the valley. It would be a great walk for backpackers, it's a pity we've passed on the tent and sleeping bags to new homes.

I was allowed to choose the next destination and most importantly the route! It's one of the bravest things Pat ever does, giving me the choice or routes, I can spot narrow, winding, steep roads a mile off and I much prefer them to main roads. So I took him to Grassington over a moorland road and then managed to find a back lane to Kettlewell.

It was a lovely day, dry, a bit cloudy but still quite bright and mild. Grassington was charming, too many people and cars but I enjoyed a walk through the village. The cobbled market square would have been really beautiful but for the parked cars. We met an old lady out for a stroll and she and her husband used to holiday here every year so when they retired they moved into the village and she was full of praise for it. She was so enthusiastic that for several hours after I was sure that this was the place to live.



The back road along the valley wasn't very exciting or interesting but the views were lovely and we spent a pleasant hour walking round a little village called Coniston. Like most of the Dales villages, the buildings were of grey limestone and it felt old. The streets were narrow and at one point we had to reverse down the road to let a wagon pass and we were walking!


The flowers were still pretty and colourful and most of the gardens still had that look of the 'old English country garden' about them. When we stop travelling I want to get some old fashioned flowers and herbs in my garden. I'd love to experiment with making herbal teas and dyes for my wool. One of the dyes I am keen to try is Madder. I won't collect it from the wild because the red dye is made from the roots so it's a plant I will have to collect seed and grow for myself annually.

We were having a lovely time and finding the Dales a lot more friendly towards us now we were civilized. The last time we visited here we were on a motorbike and not even the campsites wanted to know us!

Early one morning we had stopped by the side of the River Wharfe for a cuppa and found ourselves at the edge of a nature reserve.

It wasn't huge but boasted a fern called 'Moonwort'. Unfortunately the information board didn't give any clues as to the time of year you were likely to find it. Back at home I found that the spores ripen July to August and it's only 4 inches high so in amongst the grass it would be difficult to find. I'd certainly like to go back at the right time of the year, I love ferns and have found quite a few different varieties over the last 30 years. Back to Moonwort, the alchemists of days gone by believed that it would turn Mercury to Silver, now if I could get hold of Mercury!

The far side of the river had been mined, lead I should imagine and a footpath ran along the valley bottom following the river. We crossed over the river using the stepping stones and wandered over to the workings.

A lot of trees, mainly Hazel, have been planted to try and stop the many rabbits undermining the bank, and the few that had nuts on them were difficult to get at. They weren't ripe either.

We didn't get far that day but must go back, the Spring flowers promise to be varied, old lead mining areas usually have a lovely carpet of rock plants. The footpath also meanders up to the top of the cliff give wonderful views of the valley.

Our last stop was Hawes, at 850 feet the highest Market Town in England, I had always believed Buxton, Derbyshire to be the highest so after a bit of searching I found out that Buxton is 300 metres above sea level metres and is the highest town of it's size! Why oh why do we have to have some imperial measurements and some metric? All I can tell you is that Buxton wins because it's over 900 feet!

In Hawes I had to visit the ropemaker, it still facinates me. I know how to spin wool and understand the principle of Z and S twists (single ply's are Z twist and when you spin two together you use an S twist) this ensures the wool is soft. With ropes though they seem to twist the same way, but when I saw the machines spinning crazily round and I couldn't make out the path of all the threads I gave up and decided to concentrate on my wool. We missed the pottery and the cheese factory but we need something left for another visit!