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Cover Bridge to Middleham

There's something very reassuring about a walk with pubs at either end. If the walk itself is beautiful, so much the better. A pleasing link between the pubs, with some history thrown in? A perfect way to spend a few hours.

As the name implies, the 17th century Cover Bridge Inn sits right next to the bridge over the river Cover, a few metres from where it joins the river Ure and just down the road from beautiful Jervaulx Abbey.

If you prefer to sit and enjoy the sound of the river and rich birdlife, there are plenty of riverside tables and chairs in the garden of the Cover Bridge Inn. At the front, a sign outside proudly proclaims 'Ham & Eggs'. That's certainly one of its claims to fame. Years ago, the pub had another: a much-loved landlord, Jim Carter.

His daughter, Sharon once told me about her father's casual approach to licensing laws - he didn't always close the pub when the magistrates thought he should, resulting in numerous warnings and fines. Eventually he was told he would lose his licence. More than 100 disgruntled pub goers wrote letters and petitions, but to no avail. Magistrates refused to renew his licence but transferred it to his wife. There was a condition attached: Jim Cater had to move out. He had to stay elsewhere for a few months before being allowed to resume his place behind the bar, and presumably to carry on entertaining locals and visitors as he always did. Just in case you're planning an after hours session - this was all years ago...

Next door to the pub is a narrow gap in the wall. Squeeze through it and you'll be able to follow the path for a very enjoyable walk up towards Middleham. It's a relatively easy and varied walk, meandering through woods and meadows by the river. When the river is low you'll see stepping stones and a mini limestone pavement on your way. There's also a really good spot for wild swimming.

In Middleham look out for the castle, the many racing stables and several pubs. Two of these, the Richard III and Dante (named after a Middleham racehorse that won the Derby) are both very welcoming 'real' pubs now run by Sharon Carter-Ward, daughter of the former landlord of the Cover Bridge Inn.

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Malham Safari

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In a top secret location in a special place in a hidden spot of Malham in the Yorkshire Dales, something special and quite magical is happening. A herd (or flock? or a troop? colony?) of 'mythical beasts and fantastical creatures' are slowly being brought to life.

No one quite knows exactly what species they are. There's hot debate about where they've been hiding and gossip is rife about their origin. Some of the animals look strangely similar to those spotted around this time in Malham last year, but with some different markings. Some of them have never been seen before.

Those who're prepared to look closely and complete a simple quiz trail will be rewarded with sightings of these mythical beasts and fantastical creatures during the week of the Bank Holiday week at the end of May when Malham Safari takes place.

It's a simple idea: locals create these eye-catching animals which are 'hidden' through out Malham for visitors armed with a quiz sheet to spot.

As if that wasn't enough to entice you to Malham, there's plenty of other family entertainment including a magician, face painting and a daily duck race. There's quite a bit of throwing things too: coconut shy, archery, and axe throwing, as well as homemade cakes and refreshments from the Safari Cafe. The event is organised by creative volunteers and proceeds go to local charities.

One final point though: please park sensibly in a designated car park, not on the side of one of the narrow lanes (how would you feel if your car was the one preventing access by emergency vehicles, or if it's damaged by a tractor?) or you never know what one of the Malham beasts might do...

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Underground wonders

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Image: Lost Earth Adventures

We're used to enjoying stunning views in the Yorkshire Dales but most of us miss some of the most magnificent ones.

There's a whole other world of incredible sights right beneath our feet.

Hidden underground in the Yorkshire Dales, especially around Clapham and Ingleton is an extensive network of cave systems and potholes. Some are easily accessed, others more suitable for experienced cavers.

Thanks to the Three Counties Cave system, you could go underground in Yorkshire, move under Lancashire and emerge in Cumbria. It's already the longest system in Britain but new entrances and passages are constantly being found - there are at least 40 different entrances and it's thought to be about 90 km long. I love some of the expressive names of different parts of these caves such as the Bull Pot of the Witches, and Wretched Rabbit Passage!

You don't have to be an experienced caver to see some of the magical underground spaces, as we have three show caves, Ingleborough, White Scar and Stump Cross Cavern. These are all open to the public, and relatively easy to access although you have to be prepared to walk and down (and up!) a number of steps.

One of the most famous caves and largest underground chambers in Britain is Gaping Gill. Thanks to the Bradford Pothole Club and Craven Pothole Club who set up a gantry over the main shaft, there are chances (usually twice a year in May and August) to enjoy a really incredible underground experience, being winched 100 metres down into Gaping Gill. Organisers joke that the cost to go down is free, but the ride up again costs £15. A bargain to see one of Britain's secret awe-inspiring beauties.

Is it in our blood to feel excited when, out walking in glorious countryside we come across an easily accessible cave? Does the rush of pleasure and urge to explore come from thousands of years ago when this would have meant shelter, possibly a new home? Or maybe it's just the hint of adventure that a hole in a cliff or in the ground represents? If you enjoy exploring in this way, there are numerous caves to discover in the Yorkshire Dales. Use the map on the Dalesrocks website to see where to go for different types of caving adventure and find out more about their formation.

If you're of an even more adventurous disposition, you might like to explore some of the potholes and caves that fewer people know how to access. Rather than risk getting stuck and having to call out cave rescue volunteers, it's best to go underground with someone who is an accredited adventure activity guide such as Alfresco Adventures, Yorkshire Dales Guides, or Lost Earth Adventures.

A few years ago a small group of passionate volunteers established the Overground Underground Festival, which has now grown to offer an extensive programme of events from May to September including caving, abseiling, and geology talks and walks.

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Swaledale Museum

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What makes a truly excellent museum?

Some museums store and display objects of historical significance and expect people to be interested.

The very best ones fascinate, educate, and intrigue, making the past relevant to the present.

Swaledale Museum in Reeth manages to do all this within its tiny hidden space. It's one of the best museums I know. I've worked with countless museums in the UK, from small private collections to big names like the Natural History Museum and V&A. After a while they all merge into one confused memory. Very few truly stand out.

Swaledale Museum is remarkable for its simplicity, beauty, and the accessible way it tells the story of this beautiful part of the Yorkshire Dales.

It reminds me of the mini museums I used to design when I was little. I'd create collections of items with simple labels on window-sills, often bringing together quite eclectic objects for the pleasure of the display. From this it might sound like Swaledale Museum is amateurish but that's at all the case. The slightly home-spun feel makes it feel more welcoming and relevant, but displays are carefully created and curated by a true professional who fully understands the value of each object.

Curator and owner, Helen Clifford took over the museum from its previous owner a few years ago and has given it a fresh feel. Forget any ideas of museums as musty old places with bad lighting and row upon row of glass cases. The building is old, but has white walls, and light streaming in through the windows. Unlike the soporific atmosphere of many huge museums, this one feels uplifting and intriguing.

Walking down the cobbled path and cottage garden to the museum at the bottom corner of the Reeth Green, it feels more like you've been invited to visit the home of a really interesting relative, someone with a lovely welcoming home who has carefully hoarded many items of simple beauty and who is very relaxed about letting you indulge your curiosity to nose around their collection.

Some museums invest in touch screens and gizmos to try to bring collections alive. At this one they have two very simple techniques to help visitors get closer to the objects and understand them: friendly staff encourage visitors to pick up items that interest them, and then they explain some of the stories behind the objects or point out other related items.

The objects within this small space are definitely 'eclectic' but one thread draws them together: they're all related to story of Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, spanning about 270 million years!

The story of lead mining, farming, and local crafts is told through the many different objects. There's a domestic feel through out - this is a museum where you genuinely get a sense of how people used to live.

A team of volunteers help to keep the museum alive, taking care of the objects, helping with research and welcoming visitors.

The small shop sells a range of unusual souvenirs, festival and event posters.

For opening hours (closed in Winter) and more information please see Swaledale Museum's website.

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Swift Trail

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Around about now, swifts can be spotted all over the Yorkshire Dales. They're some of the most remarkable birds to spend the months between May and August here.

You're most likely to see swifts whirling around high in the sky at great speeds, or screaming around rooftops in small groups. They swoop low to catch flying insects but don't land. If you see a similar looking bird perched on a wire, it's almost certainly a swallow.

Swifts come here to nest and breed, flying without a break from Africa. They nest inside barns and in holes inside buildings so you're unlikely to see their nests.

Swifts eat and sleep on the wing so are airborne for several months at a time. Recognise them by their dark colour, slightly forked tail (not as much as swallows) and long, narrow wings. One of the places you may see them is around Masham Market Place, where they're such a familiar and much-loved sight, a Swift Sculpture Trail has been created.

Ten sculptures were created by Michael Kusz, Jennifer Tetlow, Katherine Dereli, Adrian Wood and Gaynor Pearson. Each of the sculptures are mounted on historic buildings in and around the square. Some of them are more obvious than others so you may take a little while to spot them, or pick up a map leaflet from Masham Community Office.

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Walking in the Yorkshire Dales

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There are miles and miles of footpaths for walkers to enjoy through out the Yorkshire Dales, whether you want to enjoy a short saunter by a river, stride out over the moors or climb one of the peaks.

There's no shortage of information to help you enjoy a walk in the Dales so I thought I'd do something a little different for today's blog and suggest some useful websites, blogs and companies to help you plan walks in the Yorkshire Dales.

Useful walking route websites
These websites have masses of walking route descriptions to download and use free

Where2Walk
Walking English Man
CountryFile
Dales Walks
Happy Hiker
Walking Britain
Walking in the Yorkshire Dales
Yorkshire Dales National Park - short walks to download, including some without stiles

Long distance routes
We've got some excellent and well-marked long distance routes:

52 - 76 miles:
Herriot Way
Ribble Way
Dales Inn Way

80 - 100 miles:
Lady Anne's Way
Dales High Way
Dales Way

100 - 270 miles:
Pennine Way
Coast to Coast
Pennine Bridleway

Walking tour and luggage transfer companies
If you want to follow a long distance route, you might find it helpful to do a navigation course before you go, or to use a walking holiday company to make accommodation arrangements on your behalf and transfer your luggage to save you carrying it. Here are some companies that could help:

Brigantes Walking Holidays
Where2Walk
Mickledore
Inntravel
Contours Walking Holidays
Footpath Holidays
On Foot Holidays

Walking books
There's a huge number of books featuring walks in the Yorkshire Dales, including some that focus on short walks with children, those that cover longer distance walking routes, tea shop walks, pubs walks, history walks... Many of these are available from great independent bookshops in the Dales such as the Little Ripon Bookshop, Stripey Badger in Grassington, Castle Hill Bookshop in Richmond and Westwood Books in Sedbergh.

Pick up more information, advice and books from one of the National Park Centres at Aysgarth Falls, Grassington, Hawes, Malham and Reeth.

Walking with dogs?

Please note: there are many ground nesting birds in the Yorkshire Dales, between March to July. They can easily be disturbed by dog and likely to fly off, leaving their young behind. Please keep dogs on leads.

You may think your dog won't chase sheep but no-one really knows for sure and every year hundreds of sheep are killed either by dogs attacking them, or through the stress of having dogs run among them. During lambing seasons please keep sure you keep dogs on leads.

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Guide to Health & Happiness

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When I was able to move back to Yorkshire almost 15 years ago, there were many draws, including fresh air, being in the hills, the sense of community and changing seasons. Over time I realised that since moving back, I've felt much healthier and if I'm feeling down or stressed, find time spent outside in the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales is soothing and up-lifting.

I started to think about the contrast between city and country living, and to wonder whether there were scientific reasons why time spent outdoors among natural beauty is good for you. I found plenty of research endorsing what I'd instinctively felt.

I realised that part of the reason for my passion in promoting the Yorkshire Dales to visitors was that I wanted to share the positive benefits of spending time here with others.

After a lot of conversations with other people who live in the Dales, talking about what they love, what makes them happy and their insiders' tips for places to go and things to do, I had the idea of compiling all these thoughts and ideas into a short guide. The Yorkshire Dales Guide to Health & Happiness was the result.

We're not experts but we do hope that flicking through the guide will offer some simple, often free, ideas for things to do and places to enjoy which might help improve your mood or make you feel better in some way.

Download the Yorkshire Dales Guide to Health & Happiness free right here. Please help to spread a little happiness by sharing this and telling others about it!

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Romantic Ruins

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When I'm writing these blogs I like to either already know about a place or thing, or be able to double check the details. Today's blog is more of a musing, a series of unanswered questions.

We know that people have lived here since Roman times. Some places rose to prominence for a while, often thanks to the riches from the wool trade or lead-mining. Then life changed and some of the villages and buildings that were once important, became less so. The beautiful little village of Wensley is a good example - it used to be a market town, the 'capital' of Wensleydale but after the plague in the 1500s many villagers moved away.

I'm fascinated by the way places change in fortune, the effort once put into buildings that belonged to people with wealth and that have since become abandoned.

There are romantic ruins all over the Yorkshire Dales, sometimes with ghost or other stories attached to them.

One of my favourites is Lobley Hall. It's a grand name for a building that's not so big but which clearly once belonged to some one of importance, with stables or outbuildings attached to the main house. It stands alone and quite isolated near Ilton and Druids Temple.

The front door lintel bears two initials and a date, which I think is 1668. Once upon a time someone was proud enough of their house to have their initials carved into it. The derelict building is now fenced off and dangerous to explore. Despite the trees growing from the inside though, you can still see features such as the enormous fire place where a family must have once gathered to cook and warm themselves. There are mullioned windows with chamfered sills. Such hope and plans must have gone into the building of this house, and it's now just a romantic ruin. No-one seems to know any of its history, why it was built here or what happened to its occupants. How can such a substantial building just lose its history?

What are the stories behind these abandoned houses in the Dales? Did the family linger through troubled times or was there a moment when they suddenly decided to move on? Why didn't anyone ever move into the house in their place? Will these beautiful buildings be gradually taken over by nature, with more trees growing through their roof? I guess we'll never know so I'll just carry on inventing my own stories.

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Hares

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Brown Hare by Simon Phillpotts

Hares are curious and beautiful creatures: I always feel awe and wonder when I spot one. We were brought up to think of them as magical, but never quite knew what their special powers were meant to be.

They're sometimes confused with rabbits but are really very different creatures. They have longer ears with black tips, intense amber eyes (perhaps one source of the many folk stories about them), and long, powerful hind legs. When hares run they hold their tails down, whereas rabbits hold up their tails showing their white bobtails. Hares can run incredibly fast - up to 45 miles an hour over short distances.

Hares live above ground without burrows and create shallow depressions or 'forms' in grass to give birth to their young leverets.

We're fortunate to be able to often spot brown hares in the Yorkshire Dales but their numbers are decreasing nationwide, partly due to intensive farming practices and the loss of so many hay meadows. They're the only game species in Britain without a closed season for shooting so the Hare Preservation Trust are campaigning for better protection for hares.

When I started to look into the origin of hares' magical powers, I was amazed at the number of worldwide folk stories that feature them. I can't think of any other creature which has such contrasting tales told about them. Sometimes the stories tell of the hare's trickery and wickedness, others hold the hare in high esteem as goddesses, fertility symbols and special messengers. They're often associated with the moon, with witchcraft and shape-shifting.

There's a poem from the middle ages which gives over 70 different names for the hare: the jumper, racer, rascal, nibbler, funk-the-ditch, ill-met, dew-flirt, home-late, starer, skulker, frisky legs, race-the-wind, scare-them-man, faith-breaker and scoundrel among them. These names are said to have been used to avoid actually naming the hare because they could inflict evil.

Thankfully most people now seem to see the hare much more positively. In Germany easter eggs are brought by the "Osterhase", and Easter hare instead of a bunny. Hares feature in the work of many Yorkshire Dales artists including Stacey Moore, Nolon Stacey and Hester Cox.

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Langthwaite & James Herriot

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Langthwaite is one of the Yorkshire Dales' lesser known hamlets in oft-forgotten Arkengarthdale, a few miles north of Reeth. Its name is old norse for 'long meadow or clearing', which seems accurate as the small settlement hugs the beck after the wild moor.

As you arrive over the moor from Reeth you'll first pass by blink-and-you'll-miss-it Arkle Town, a surprisingly big name for such a small place, named when lead mining was an important industry with big ambitions for growth.

Do park there in the car park in Langthwaite is a small village and there are no spaces elsewhere!

You may spot the free range hens wandering around - their eggs are sold from a nearby honesty box.

The few visitors who do venture into Arkengarthdale (named after Arkle Beck, a tributary of the river Swale) often visit Tan Hill Inn, or CB Inn.

James Herriot fans of a certain vintage (mine) are more likely to make a pilgrimage in memory of cosy Sunday nights watching the TV series of All Creatures Great and Small.

You'll perhaps recognise the bridge over the Arkle from the opening sequence, and the small Red Lion pub also featured in several episodes. It's a traditional pub with cosy, dark rooms and serves simple food and local beers.

Back across the bridge on the other side of the road is a small village green, with an old horse waggon from when lead mining was at its peak. From here you can choose the walk up on to the moor or continue to the other end of the village, minutes away.

The solid-looking Wesleyan Chapel built in 1883 looks out across the Dale. You might think that for one small village that one chapel would suffice, and yet a little further along the lane is St. Mary's Church, beautiful and surprisingly large. It was one of the so-called 'commissioners' churches' which the government encouraged to be built. They had become aware that there were not enough spaces in churches to house the many people who had moved to work in the new industries such as lead mining, and after the French revolution were nervous that if people were not influenced by the teachings of the Church they may rebel against authority. In the graveyard is an unusual iron grave-marker for Thomas Barningham who owned an iron foundry that was once among the largest in the world.

There were once around 300 miners working in Arkengarthdale. The whole dale would have looked and felt very different, alive to the smells and sounds of the dangerous and arduous lead mining industry.

Look out for the six-sided powder house, once used to store explosives for use in the lead mines. Its thought that the unusual shape was to make it stand out from the rectangular field barns and symbolise that this was part of a successful and modern business.

The lead mining industry flourished for a while but then struggled in the face of cheaper imports until it became uneconomic and the mines closed, leaving their desolate grey ruins behind.

If you drive on from Langthwaite towards Low Row you'll come to two interesting sites. The first is instantly recognisable to fans of All Creatures Great and Small - the 'water splash' which James Herriot and Siegfried Farnon drive over in the television series

After that come the less romantic ruins of Surrender Lead Smelting Mill.

You can still see the long horizontal chimney and wander around the ruins where two interpretation panels explain its operation - it was in use until 1880. It's incredible to imagine that once men would have worked here, feeding a furnace that reached 700 degrees, slogging away in shifts that lasted up to fourteen hours a day.

And then they'd have to wearily walk their way home across the moor...