At the time of King Richard III, Middleham was an important market town and political centre - you can still see the extensive remains of his fortified palace. Richard III came to his childhood home, Middleham Castle to learn the skills of knighthood. Even now there's something a little stately about the place. Walk up the hill out of Middleham to see the gallops, the area on the High Moor where race-horses are trained. Come early in the morning - it's a particularly imposing sight to watch the horses galloping on the misty moor and then clip clopping down the hill to their respective stables. Middleham has around 15 racehorse trainers and stables and is home to over 500 horses. Look out for details of the Open Stables event around April each year or arrange to take a tour with Middleham Racing Tours.
Did you know that Middleham in the heart of Wensleydale was once known as "Windsor of the North"? The houses clustered around the market place are certainly grander than in most small Dales villages.
At the time of King Richard III, Middleham was an important market town and political centre - you can still see the extensive remains of his fortified palace. Richard III came to his childhood home, Middleham Castle to learn the skills of knighthood. Even now there's something a little stately about the place. Walk up the hill out of Middleham to see the gallops, the area on the High Moor where race-horses are trained. Come early in the morning - it's a particularly imposing sight to watch the horses galloping on the misty moor and then clip clopping down the hill to their respective stables. Middleham has around 15 racehorse trainers and stables and is home to over 500 horses. Look out for details of the Open Stables event around April each year or arrange to take a tour with Middleham Racing Tours.
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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. The bodies were carried in wicker coffins and rested from time to time on large flat stone slabs - some can still be seen today. The Corpse Way avoided villages for fear that the spirit of the dead would be enticed to return. This fear came from Norse mythology, in which the corpse way was thought to mirror the last journey of the soul from the earth to the underworld. Nowadays the route makes a pleasant, if slightly strenuous walk described here. There's more evidence of burial traditions at Grinton church. The woollen trade had been very important to England's prosperity but new materials and imports threatened the livelihood of landowners who relied on wool and sheep for their income. Many of these were members of parliament so they joined together to pass an Act to try to maintain demand for English wool. The first act was passed in 1666. In 1692, Adam Barker was the last person in Swaledale to be fined for sticking to the local tradition of burial in linen, breaking the law which required bodies to be buried in wool. His daughter, Ann, is buried inside Grinton Church, and a stone slab records the £5 fine he was forced to pay. Have you heard of the idea of 'micro-adventures'? It's something that Alastair Humphreys has really championed - micro-adventures are cheap, quick and simple adventures that don't need lots of planning, equipment or even a particularly adventurous spirit. Even if you only have a couple of hours, you can still have fun, and be challenged in some way, which will refresh and reinvigorate you and make you feel there's more to life than the daily grind. This is hard for people who live in the city or far from any beautiful green spaces but if you're anywhere near the Yorkshire Dales, it's really easy. A micro-adventure is anything that feels good for you. You don't have to rock climb - you might just skip dinner in front of the TV in favour of an impromptu picnic sitting on a Dales rock admiring the view. Or perhaps you could dash out in your lunch break or before work to do a little wild swimming, or maybe just some paddling or mud-larking? The idea is to simply feel like you're living, not just existing. Micro-adventures are brilliant with children - and sometimes it's the simple things that work best. A long time ago when my daughter was young, we had a storm with masses of thunder and raining. I think she was a bit scared and to distract her I came up with the 'genius' idea of both of us taking off all our clothes and dancing naked in the rain in the garden (it's quite a private garden!). Fun, free, easy entertainment that we both still look on fondly. Another time I took a friend's children to the top of a Dales hill. They were city dwellers so not used to climbing uneven hills, and their walks at home usually ended with an ice cream or other treat/bribe to get them out of the house. I promised them a slightly different one - the chance to do something their mother would never let them do at home. When we got to the top of the hill, with no one in sight/ear-shot, I challenged them to scream and shout as much as they could for as long as they could. I still remember the joy on their faces when they experienced such simple freedom. Alastair's Do Lectures talk is great - watch it below and go to his website to see more about how he's made a life and a living out of having fun.
I love wild swimming myself, although I struggle a bit in the Winter. Of course you have to be careful and take care not to plunge into frozen water where unseen obstacles may lurk, but there are plenty of safe places to wild swim in the Yorkshire Dales.
So why would you want to get into a cold river? You get to see the Dales from a completely different angle. After a while you really start to notice wildlife - there's nothing quite like seeing a kingfisher swoop down after a fish in the river by your side. It's incredibly refreshing and uplifting, making you giggle like a child. It's free too. 365 Ways to Discover the Dales: 8 - Weather stones. Yorkshire Dales weather can be unpredictable. You might set off to walk to the top of Ingleborough in the sunshine and be greeted by snow at the summit. So how do you know what the weather's really going to do? Modern technology may be able to help but it still fails sometimes. Maybe the only real solution is a weather stone? Have you seen one? This one can be found in Kettlewell and there's one in Masham as well as in several other places in the Yorkshire Dales. Their real purpose is more amusement than to actually forecast the weather - they only show what's actually happening. It takes effort to find a suitable stone, hang it up, paint a board and mount it somewhere, so thank you to who-ever made them and for the smiles. Wensley used to be a much more significant place with its own market but plague in the 1500s meant many of its inhabitants fled. Start your day with a wander along the River Ure and then take a moment to visit Holy Trinity Church which is a Grade 1 listed building dating back to 1300. It was James and Helen Herriot's wedding venue for the TV version of All Creatures Great and Small. Just a little up the hill behind the pub you'll find three small and beautiful hidden treasures! To the left is the waterfall, which though small is perfectly formed and most people don't even know it's there. Next to the waterfall is the small rustic building (once a water mill) which has housed White Rose Candles since 1971. They're still making them, and you can usually watch the White family using their traditional methods to create a wide range of candles. It's hard to resist making observations about Heath Robinson-style contraptions and whole process is very soothing to watch, resulting in high quality candles. The third small treasure is the Community Gardens, a tiny patch of land that's carefully tended by locals. There are several benches where you can rest to enjoy the wildflowers and birdlife in this lovely tranquil spot.
Before the early 18th century many of these had wooden cruck frames and a heather thatched roof. You can see a fine example in Nidderdale close to Grimwith Reservoir.
In Swaledale you'll hear people refer to "cow'uses" or cow houses, which were the subject of a recent Yorkshire Dales National Park project. Watch this lovely short film to find out more. After the excesses of Christmas, you may be scrabbling round looking for cash. You might even find yourself muttering "money doesn't grow on trees" to your off-spring. Or maybe it does... but you'll struggle to get hold of it. At Bolton Abbey, follow the path from the stepping stones bridge up stream through the woodland. Along the way you'll pass three fallen trees all filled with coins. The trees were left there after storms in the late 1980s, and the coins appeared as if by magic... Cautley Spout waterfall can be seen from the A683, set against the Howgill Fells just outside Sedbergh. It's only when you get closer, you realise that it's actually a series of narrow waterfalls, tumbling about 650 feet. A pleasant 40 minute walk from the road will take you to Cautley Spout, starting gently as the path meanders alongside the grassy river bank. As you start to hear the water rushing downhill, the path starts to climb much more steeply. Luckily by then the prospect of an amazing view from the top of Cautley Crag is tantalisingly close. Archaeologists have found the houses and fields of an Iron Age farming community in the valley below, with a stone-edged track from the settlement to the falls. It appears that Cautley Spout may have had some special significance to these former inhabitants. Nowadays Cautley Spout acts as a magnet for visitors seeking a short walk that justifies a trip to the pub afterwards. Fortunately the path leads directly back to the road and the Cross Keys Inn. Unfortunately for those seeking alcohol, this is a temperance inn: a pub without any beer! The 1732 date stone above the entrance refers to John and Agnes Howgill who owned the building when it was a farmhouse. It was once possible to buy alcohol at the Cross Keys but the then landlord was drowned when trying to help a customer home from the Inn. The next owner, Mrs. Edith Bunney removed the licence in 1902. She left the property to the National Trust who now let it to Alan and Christine Clowes who now maintain one of the cosiest "pubs" you'll find in the Dales. You might not find any beer there but the Cross Keys has plenty to welcome the thirsty visitor, serving morning coffee, lunch, teas and dinners (essential to reserve for dinner). There are comfortable rocking chairs, a piano which you're welcome to play and even a wind up gramophone. You're also welcome to take your own alcoholic beverages.
The views from Tan Hill can be stunning on a clear day - it's said you can see as far as Redcar, 70 miles away. In Winter, a real highlight is the opportunity to see Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) in the night sky, as this short film from Joe Burn shows. I know of one Swaledale resident who flew specially to Iceland for five days to see the Northern Lights but came home disappointed. She was just putting her key in the door of her Swaledale home when they appeared right in front of her! January and February can be some of the best months to see them, with really dramatic night skies. The Dark Skies Festival takes place across the Yorkshire Dales in February, with lots of opportunities to discover our starry skies.
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