Sometimes the world feels like a fierce, uncomfortable place. We're bombarded with stories of political unrest, constant technological change, and unpleasant scandals. The temptation to retreat from all this, to look for a better world is strong. Space exploration is one option. Burying your head in a good book is infinitely easier. So it's wonderful to be able to bring you some excellent news. Books and bookshops - flourishing! 

It started with a whisper. Gill at one of my favourite bookshops, the Little Ripon Bookshop said they might be about to become a bit bigger. This week her dream (and mine) becomes reality - they are expanding into the next door premises. I'll repeat that. An independent shop on a high street is expanding! How often do you hear that kind of news? Not only that, but this is a business that can teach Amazon a trick or two about quick service and personalised recommendations. Within a couple of visits, Gill had sussed out my tastes and has since introduced me to a myriad of fantastic authors. Order a book from them and you can usually pick it up the next day. 

Then came more good news: a new bookshop has opened in Grassington in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. The Stripey Badger also has a cafe next door so you can enjoy the heady combination of culture and cake. What more could anyone want? Well obviously, there are no limits to how many books a true bibliophile can hoard. If that sounds like you, you could do worse than head to Sedbergh, England's book town where you'll find the wonderful Westwood Books and several other great book shops or shops that sell books among other items. They have a book festival during the first weekend in October. 

Do you have a favourite book shop in or near the Yorkshire Dales? Would love to hear about it! ​

Have you been to one of our agricultural shows? During the Summer months, you'll find them taking places in every corner of the Yorkshire Dales - Birstwith, Lunesdale, Brough, Gargrave, Wensleydale, Reeth, Kilnsey, Malham, Bentham, Muker, Nidderdale and Masham. Each one is different but has a similar celebratory atmosphere, a chance for farmers to gather and visitors to get an insight into another life. 

   - Find out which show takes place where -

As soon as the first marquees and tents appear, the excitement builds. You'll spot people scurrying around as they place their carefully tended onions in their allocated place in the show tent, see farmers making final tweaks to their sheep, ensuring there are no stray white hairs in a black muzzle. Horse-riders tentatively enjoy a last-minute practice round the show ring. Farmers clap each other on the back in greeting, grunt a few words to each other, then tend to their animals - banter will come later, once the rosettes have been handed out. The air is full of a mixture of manure, leather and straw bales.  

Yorkshire Dales country shows are a chance to see the best of the countryside: cattle at their finest and fattest; cabbages at their greenest; cakes at their lightest and most moist deliciousness. Many shows include fell-running races and other feats of determination and strength. 

In the show-rings you'll see sheep, cows, horses, dogs, ferrets and other animals primped and paraded. Judges carefully scrutinise every detail, sometimes to the bemusement of onlookers. The rear end of a prize tup (ram) will be considered just as carefully as its face. The crowd will ooh and aah as decisions are made and skills demonstrated. Onlookers don't always understand why one sheep wins over another but if you go and ask the proud winners to explain their livestock's best features, they'll happily do so. Winning at some of these agricultural shows can vastly increase market prices and secure breeding lines. 

In the tents you'll find gorgeous displays of flowers, vegetables, cakes and handicrafts. Children's competition categories almost always include "made an animal out of a vegetable". At almost every show you'll notice certain family names appearing again and again on prize certificates. Friendly rivalry is strong, resurrected each year. 

These fantastic photos by Stephen Garnett give a taste of what you can expect to find - these were all taken at Malham Show.

Could there be any better setting for a festival of medieval music and merriment? 14th century Bolton Castle will play host to Medieval Music in the Dales from 7th - 10th September. This celebration of all things musical and medieval is full of colour, spectacle and amazing sounds.

Some of the finest medieval musicians in Europe will play, using beautiful replica instruments.

You could also have a chance to step out a medieval dance or try playing a bagpipe. The event includes concerts, workshops, demonstrations, a Medieval Market, a Medieval Tavern and a Grand Medieval Feast. This year's event is set to be even bigger and better than last years. Organisers are planning to welcome performers and craftspeople from Spain who may even bring along their Spanish weather! You can even camp out at the castle if you book in advance!

For more information see www.medievalmusicinthedales.co.uk

If you enjoy cheese as much as I do, you're going to love this!

Andy Swinscoe at the Courtyard Dairy near Settle is one of the world's leading experts on cheeses. He even won Cheesemonger of the Year at the World Cheese Awards. He created the tiny Courtyard Dairy a few years ago and since then, he's had a huge impact on cheese-lovers. You may well have seen him at food festivals around the Dales, or perhaps gone to their shop, where the focus is firmly placed on quality farmhouse cheeses. Don't go expecting to always find your favourite - if it's not in season or a batch wasn't up to Andy's exacting standards, he won't have it in the shop. But he will generously offer you delightful slivers of other options so you'll quickly discover a new favourite. And another. And another.

Cheese fans are now in for an even bigger treat. Andy and Kathy have bought the former Yorkshire Dales Falconry Centre so they'll have more space for storing and maturing cheese to make it truly special, a small information area showcasing information about cheese-making and its history in the Dales, and be able to open a cheese-themed café, and a cheese-making room.

That's not all. Where-ever you are, you can enjoy the delights of the Courtyard Dairy thanks to their mail-order service. I'm in a particularly good mood today as my monthly delivery just arrived! I'm feeling quite virtuous too as I've promised myself I can't test any of it until I've written this... You can order one-off deliveries or if you're as wise as I am, you'll subscribe to their regular delivery service. Once a month I open the door to a delivery of three fantastic cheeses. I don't know which ones they'll be - Andy chooses the best available at that time. They arrive perfectly packaged, and complete with full details of how each one is made, and some information about each cheese-maker and their animals. 

The monthly subscription or special deliveries made a great gift. And if you're getting married, you might want one of their special cheese cakes for your guests to enjoy as well. Find out more here 

There can be few places where you can stand in a medieval barn with a pint in-hand and watch ferrets racing but go to the Craven Arms in Appletreewick and that’s exactly what you can expect to see.

Amid the live music sessions, beer festivals and other regular events, there’s one date in February when this beautiful pub in the heart of Wharfedale near Grassington stages the annual ferret racing championships.

As you step from the traditional flagstone floor bar and into the cruck barn, the quirkiness of the occasion is hard to miss, with a judge in bowler hat and white coat, the pub landlord wearing a farmers’ smock and an array of handlers, young and slightly less young, watching proceedings.
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Place a bet with the pop-up bookie who donates all the proceeds to the local fell rescue group and watch the action unfold as the ferrets race along a there-and-back drainpipe loop suspended from the ceiling.

If all the excitement gets too much, it’s easy to retire back into the pub and savour the experience over a meal and locally brewed pint of beer. 

​​It’s all been said before and it really is true – the Yorkshire Dales are a delight to walk in whether you’re after an epic challenge, a quiet riverside stroll or a focused stride out where you’re intent on getting to a certain tea room or pub at the end.
 
However the other day a small group of us were walking through a meadow looking across the drystone walls as our eyes fixed on the shimmering blue of the reservoir in the distance. It was a beautiful day and in that one moment I felt as giddy as a kipper, or for those who have never seen a giddy kipper, like a lamb that's just discovered the joy of bounding skywards.

With that in mind, here are just some walks we think are worthy of mention for inducing an ‘all is well’ feeling. In fact, it’s a tricky thing narrowing down the choice so I have no doubt we’ll revisit this subject further down the line. First up though are a couple of suggestions venturing into some of the lesser-visited parts of the Dales and one more well-known option for those who are looking for a challenge.

Buckden to Yockenthwaite, Upper Wharfedale
For us, this has it all, a choice of good pubs and tearooms along the way, the beautiful river Wharfe, a stretch of limestone pavement, wildflower-rich meadows that are a riot of colour in late spring, small hamlets and superb views right down the dale.There are a couple of opt-outs if you want to shorten the 8-mile circular as well and apart from one shortish uphill section it’s fairly easy walking throughout.

Middleham to Coverham in Wensleydale
If you like castles, horses and a bit of Yorkshire quirk, then this route of around six miles could be for you, with plenty of places to dawdle and distract along the way. Starting from the village of Middleham the route leads you onto the surrounding moor with a grand view back to the impressive castle, which was the childhood home of Richard lll. Middleham is also famous as a racehorse training base and it’s quite a sight seeing the horses being put through their paces on the gallops as you stride along.
 
By now you’ll have ventured into Coverdale, dropping down from the moor and into Tupgill Park where the fantastic Forbidden Corner with its labyrinth of follies, grottoes and other strange surprises awaits.  It’s definitely worth a detour here, especially if there are children in the party, and is an easy way to spend an hour or two. From there, you can press onto the hamlet of Coverham with a view across to the Abbey before returning to Middleham.

Whernside, Ribblesdale 
While you’re unlikely to have this walk to yourself, it’s worth doing as a more challenging hike where you can claim to have conquered Yorkshire’s highest peak Whernside at some 736 metres.
 
We did this as part of the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge but there is a circular route if you want to stick to just Whernside with the start and finish at one of the most iconic images from this part of the Dales, the Ribblehead Viaduct.
 
If you’re thinking of doing the whole Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, 24 miles and around 1600 feet of ascent and descent within 12 hours, then we’d recommend joining a trip run by guided walking specialist Large Outdoors.
 
Not only do they sort all the logistics, including accommodation nearby, but the guides are great morale-boosters when you’re having that inner tussle where your mind is thinking that bailing out from doing the last peak might just be a good idea!
 
Large Outdoors runs regular guided Yorkshire Three Peak challenge events throughout the summer as well as other weekend trips around Kettlewell during the autumn and winter. They’re very obliging and if your party comprises eight or more people, they’re willing to organise a guided walking trip for your group that can include overnight accommodation and homemade meals. Blog by Amanda Brown

Here's something really special and a chance to get a very different view of the Yorkshire Dales. The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa at Bolton Abbey are offering sightseeing flights by helicopter, followed by a full champagne afternoon tea. 

The scenic helicopter ride will take you over the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, flying over Bolton Abbey, Appletreewick, Burnsall, Grassington, Cracoe, Hetton  and Skipton.

Each flight is available for up to 6 people, and there are departures from May to September. 

Prices start at around £130 per person including the sightseeing flight and champagne afternoon tea. To reserve your place call 01756 718155. ​

As members of a gin tasting group, the "Ginstitute", we feel we have a bit of a grasp on all-things gin in the Yorkshire Dales although there are always new events, places and artisan producers springing up. 

With the whole country seemingly in the grip of gin fever, Yorkshire certainly hasn’t been slow when it comes to offering a variety of ways for those wishing to enjoy their favourite tipple. So if you’ve confessed to being a ‘ginster’ and are looking to get in the spirit of things with new places to go or Yorkshire gins to try then here are some of our recommendations.

Artisan gin producers
Yorkshire folk are pretty good at artisanal endeavours, and copper stills have been bought, named (names include Jezebel and Steve) and skills honed to distill a variety of gins that incorporate locally-sourced ingredients – everything from juniper, bog myrtle and bilberries through to spring water and even Yorkshire tea. Local gins to look out for include:

• Bedale-based Masons Yorkshire Gin where the range now includes versions infused with Yorkshire tea and lavender.
• Whittaker’s Gin (with a very fetching label of a hare on the bottle) from Dacre Banks in Nidderdale.
• Harrogate’s Slingsby Gin where Yorkshire rhubarb and the town’s spring water are key ingredients.
• Newcomer Spirit of Masham has a very distinctive and pleasing flavour - enjoy it neat & with tonic!
• Special mention to one of our personal favourites, Sir Robin of Locksley Gin which is distilled in Sheffield and has a really pleasing hint of pink grapefruit.

If hangovers aren't really your thing, or you're the nominated driver you might want to make sure you have a ready supply of a new alcohol-free gin, Teetotal created in Skipton from The Temperance Spirit Company. It's been through thousands of blind-tastings when many people declared it to be one of the best "gins" they'd tasted!

There are new Yorkshire gins springing up across the county - the easiest way to keep track of them all, and discover the latest ones is to take a trip to the excellent Town End Farm Shop at Airton in Malhamdale, now dubbed, "The World's Leading Retailer of Yorkshire Gin"

Gin-teresting places to get in the spirit
Hmm, we could probably write a book on this but here’s a sprinkling of places we’ve come across in, or fringing, the Yorkshire Dales, offering an extensive range of gins:

• The Royal Oak, Dacre Banks, Nidderdale. This lovely country pub offers an extensive gin menu and each time we’ve popped in there’s a new one to try – ok, if we must!
• V.Sq, Skipton – a swish bar in the heart of this market town with gins tipping the 100-mark and staff with a passion for making the most of the beautiful grog! The bar also does private functions that might be handy for a gin-tasting group.
• The Gin Experience, Harrogate – a bar run by the Slingsby gin creators which also offers tasting and mixology events for groups.
• The White Lion, Cray, Wharfedale – if ever you need to be reminded about what makes Yorkshire gins special, then try sampling them while surrounded by archetypal Dales surroundings as found at this lovely refurbished pub.

 
Some quirky group gin-tasting ideas 
If there’s a group of you and you’re looking for an alternative venue to hold your gin-tasting foray, then why not hire a narrow boat for an evening? We did just that in May from Pennine Cruisers in Skipton and meandered along the canal before mooring up to sample and discuss the Ginstitute’s gin library.
Not only did the gang reveal previously unknown skills for helming and lock-negotiating, but the languid mode of travel proved an ideal match for the gimlet cocktails being served (gin and lime juice for those not in the know!).

Alternatively, if all you have is one of those ready-mixed tins of gin and tonic then head to Brimham Rocks for a picnic. This beautiful area just outside Pateley Bridge has fantastic views and you’ll be amazed at your imagination’s ability for seeing the resemblance that many of the rock formations have to various creatures after a few good slurps of gin. Blog by Amanda Brown, Founder & Chair of the Ginstitute