The Dales Way. Terry Marsh

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СКАЧАТЬ throughout the course of the Dales Way. The rocks that shape Wharfedale are sedimentary and date from the Carboniferous period (about 350 million years ago). Around Ilkley, the underlying rock is millstone grit and covered by crags and heather moorland. But as the route progresses up-dale it’s clear that the rocks are different, and form deep strata of limestone, sandstone and shale. Weathering of these strata has produced a stepped profile to some parts of the valley, while glaciers during the last Ice Age have fashioned the classic U-shaped landforms we see today.

      As the Dales Way enters the Lake District, it explores a vast area of rocks known as Silurian Flags and Shales formed (435–395 million years ago) during a prolonged period of continuous sedimentation, overlying volcanic rocks. These rocks produce a gentle, rippling landscape that rather disguises the 500 million, often-violent, years it took to create the Lake District. In a few places, Carboniferous limestones appear, often rich in fossils; these are especially noticeable at the eastern fringe of the District and in isolated patches north and northeast of Kendal.

Plants and wildlife

      The predominant species of tree are ash, birch, hazel, hawthorn, yew and rowan, while the limestone is favoured by a wide range of plant species such as alpine cinquefoil, lily-of-the-valley, valerian and angelica, as well as bird’s-eye primrose, butterwort, bedstraw, dog’s mercury, wood anemone and wild garlic.

      Almost 250 species of bird have been observed from red grouse, snipe, golden plover, stonechat, whinchat and redstart to great spotted woodpecker, nuthatch, tree creeper and woodland visitors such as chiffchaff, willow warbler and garden warbler. Goosander are often seen on the Wharfe as are large numbers of mandarin duck that have grown in number since this book was first published.

      It may surprise you to learn that otter, deer, red fox and water voles are also present, as well as rabbit and grey squirrel.

History and culture

      The outlines of Iron Age fields and hut circles can still be traced on the fells above Kettlewell and Grassington, and although most of the area through which the Dales Way passes was occupied for centuries by the British tribe of Brigantes, these were subdued by the Romans shortly after their occupation of Britain.

      Once the Romans had departed both from what is now Yorkshire and Cumbria, the ancient Britons were infiltrated by Angles who began the process of clearing forests and establishing farming practices. Vikings settled the entire area from about the 10th century, leaving their language inscribed in place names: The name Wharfe, for example, derives from the Old English weorf, or Old Norse hverfr, and means ‘winding river’.

      During Anglo-Saxon times, large estates were created. After the Norman invasion, the lands were given to Robert Romilly. Alice de Romilly donated land in the mid 12th century for the construction of monasteries that quickly developed vast sheep farms and the founding of drove roads, many of which can still be seen and walked today.

      After the dissolution of the monasteries, cattle and sheep rearing continued, especially among the rocky folds of south Lakeland, although there was an increasing incidence of small-scale arable farming slotted into riverside land holdings. But it was the demand for food during the 19th century that saw many farms turning to producing milk from cattle raised on the riverside pastures, and sheep on the higher ground. While agriculture in one form or another continues to be a staple of the rural economy, tourism has increasingly figured since the 18th century. This grew once the railways reached the north of England in the mid 19th century, and expanded hugely with the designation of large areas as national parks: the Lake District in 1951, and the Yorkshire Dales in 1954.

      Local residents, near Yockenthwaite (Stage 3)

      THE DALES WAY: ILKLEY TO BOWNESS

      Old grassy track, near Crook of Lune (Stage 5)

      WHARFEDALE

STAGE 1

      Ilkley to Burnsall

Start	Old Bridge, Ilkley (SE 112 480)
Finish	Burnsall Bridge (SE 032 611)
Distance	13 miles (20.6km)
Total ascent	1033ft (315m)
Total descent	835ft (255m)
Walking time	6-6½ hours
Terrain	An easy start to the Way, largely on good paths, tracks and lanes with no significant climbing; woodland, open pasture
Accommodation	Addingham, Bolton Bridge, Burnsall

      This first stretch into Wharfedale presents no real challenges other than coping with a surfeit of beautiful landscapes and joyful walking. For the whole way, the River Wharfe is never far distant, and its easy-going nature is a hint to how the walking might best be undertaken: at a leisurely and gentle pace. There are no significant ascents, and for the most part the route crosses low-lying riverside farmland and woodland.

      ILKLEY

      A tour of Ilkley makes a fitting overture to the Dales Way. The whole of the way offers beauty (in all its guises) heaped upon beauty, and Ilkley is an ideal introduction, probably unsurpassed as a setting-off point for any of this country’s major walks. It lies near enough to major towns and cities to be easily accessible, and provides a range of accommodation to suit all pockets.

      Dominated by the brown dome of Ilkley Moor, with which it is synonymous, Ilkley is a bright, bubbling, attractive town, a destination for walkers from far and wide. It has a considerable history, having been an important centre since the Bronze Age. Known to the Romans as Olicana, it has also been called Olecanon, Illicleia, Hilleclaia, Illelaya, Illeclat, Illeclay, Yelleilaia, Yelkeley and Hekeley. Before the Romans, the land around Ilkley was occupied by the Brigantes, the ancient Celtic tribe whose great kingdom extended roughly to the boundaries of present-day Yorkshire. The Romans built a substantial fort here, and the lines of their roads are still etched across the surrounding moors, indeed many of them will be encountered along the way.

      Under the Anglo-Saxons Ilkley became a manor, held for a while by the Archbishop of York and later passed through various ownerships, including serving time as a seat of justice for the great hunting forests of Yorkshire. The manor rolls from the 12th to the 17th centuries still survive and provide interesting reading. One record states that: ‘No tenant shall receive or harbour vaccabund or arrogant lyers but which are known to be borne within this wapentake…’ Nor, the record goes on, are you permitted to house ‘evell condicioned women…’!

      By the early 18th century, Ilkley had degenerated into ‘a very mean place…dirty and insignificant…chiefly famous for a cold well, which has done very remarkable cures in scrofulous cases by bathing, and in drinking of it.’ Even so, Ilkley’s fame as a ‘modest’ inland spa brought with it wealth that allowed medieval streets and cottages to be replaced with more spacious houses and thoroughfares. Today, СКАЧАТЬ