The Yorkshire Dales

As a Yorkshire man I am perhaps biased when it comes to the Dales, but whist the Lake District can boast comparable landscapes, the rest of England falls well short in what it has to offer.

Right, a typical scenic view of the Dales at its best in Spring 2006.

Yorkshire scenery fits neatly into two well defined categories (both National Parks), the Dales and the Moors, with the later being more stark and less wooded. The Yorkshire Dales National Park was founded in 1954 and is definitely my favourite.

What the Dales has to offer

If you like picturesque scenery, quaint little towns and villages, exploring old buildings and castles, country walks, hiking treks, outdoor sports or country drives, the Dales is the place for you. It is littered with dozens of old villages, although today most recognise the importance tourism and have cafes and memorabilia stores in them.

Ancient ruins like those of Fountains Abbey and nearby Bolton Abbey have visitor centres and there are plenty of castles and Forts too. Numerous sites are now owned and managed by the National Trust or English Heritage and many of these constitute a day out in themselves.
Above left, a view of the tiny village of Burnstall in the heart of the Dales.

The Dales themselves cover all four of Yorkshires Ridings, the north, south, east and west and occupy around 1800 square kilometres with a population of approximately twenty thousand people. They are characterised by a green and rolling landscape with hundreds of miles of dry stone walling dividing the countryside into what was once many small tenants.

Farming has always been the main agricultural main stay and the livestock of cows and especially sheep are everywhere. The dales lie across the Pennines, known as the backbone of England, and vary greatly in the different landscapes that they offer. The Dales of the county’s north tend to be less visited, but are in fact the more appealing, less commercialised and less busied by traffic.

When should you visit the Dales

Stalwarts of the countryside will tell you that the Dales are great at any time, but Spring (late April to mid May) is when the area is at its best. It is during this period that the foliage starts to appear, the bluebells are out and the fields are full of spring lambs. The Dales definitely do have an appeal on a cold bleak winters day, but not to me, I will take the fair weather and blue skies at anytime.

Our opinion

On a par with the Lake District, Scottish highlands, Welsh mountains and scenery of Galicia (Spain).