Everything about Yorkshire Dales National Park totally explained
The
Yorkshire Dales (also known as "The Dales") is the name given to an upland area, in Northern
England.
The area lies within the
historic county boundaries of
Yorkshire, though it spans the
ceremonial counties of
North Yorkshire,
West Yorkshire, and
Cumbria. Most of the area falls within the Yorkshire Dales District National Park, created in 1954, and now one of the twelve
National parks of England and Wales (not including the South Downs which is due to become one).
The Dales is a collection of river
valleys and the hills in between them, rising from the
Vale of York westwards to the hilltops of the main
Pennine watershed (the British English meaning). In some places the area even extends westwards across the watershed, but most of the valleys drain eastwards to the Vale of York—into the
Ouse and then the
Humber.
"Dale" comes from a Nordic/Germanic word for valley, and occurs in valley names across Yorkshire (and northern England generally) but since the creation of the Yorkshire Dales National park, the name "Yorkshire Dales" has come to refer specifically to these western dales (the area of dales and hills EAST of the Vale of York is now always called the "
North York Moors" after the National Park created there). Confusingly, the Yorkshire Dales have plenty of moors, too.
They tend to be Glacial.
Geography
Most of the dales in the Yorkshire Dales are named after their river or stream (eg Arkengarthdale, formed by Arkle Beck). The best-known exception to this rule is
Wensleydale, which is named after the town of Wensley rather than the River Ure, although an older name for the dale is Yoredale. In fact,
valleys all over
Yorkshire are called "(name of river)+
dale"—but only the more northern Yorkshire valleys (and only the upper, rural, reaches) are included in the term "The Dales". For example, the southern boundary area lies in
Wharfedale and
Airedale. The lower reaches of these valleys are not usually included in the area, and
Calderdale much further south, would never normally be referred to as part of "The Dales" even though it's a dale, is in Yorkshire, and the upper reaches are as scenic and rural as many valleys further north.
Geographically, the classical Yorkshire Dales spread to the north from the market and spa towns of
Settle, Deepdale near
Dent,
Skipton,
Ilkley and
Harrogate in North Yorkshire, with most of the larger southern dales (for example Ribblesdale, Malhamdale and Airedale, Wharfedale and Nidderdale) running roughly parallel from north to south. The more northerly dales (for example
Wensleydale, Swaledale and Teesdale) running generally from west to east. There are also many other smaller or lesser known dales (for example Arkengarthdale, Barbondale, Bishopdale, Clapdale, Coverdale, Dentdale and Deepdale, Garsdale, Kingsdale, Littondale, Langstrothdale, Raydale, Waldendale and the Washburn Valley) whose tributary streams and rivers feed into the larger valleys.
The characteristic scenery of the "Dales" is green upland pastures separated by
dry-stone walls and grazed by
sheep and
cattle. The
dales themselves are 'U' and 'V' shaped valleys, which were enlarged and shaped by
glaciers, mainly in the most recent,
Devensian ice age. The underlying rock is principally
Carboniferous limestone (which results in a number of areas of
limestone pavement) in places interspersed with
shale and
sandstone and topped with
millstone grit. However, to the north of the Dent fault, the hills are principally older
Silurian and
Ordovician rocks, which make up the
Howgill Fells.
Many of the upland areas consist of
heather moorland, used for
grouse shooting in the months following
August 12 each year (the '
Glorious Twelfth').
Cave systems
Because of the limestone that runs throughout the "Dales" there are extensive
cave systems present across the area making it one of the major areas for
caving in the UK. Many of these are open to the public for tours and for
caving.
These include:
Yorkshire Dales National Park
In 1954 an area of 1,770 km² was designated the
Yorkshire Dales National Park. Most of the
National Park is in
North Yorkshire, though part lies within
Cumbria. The park is north east of
Manchester; Leeds and Bradford lie to the south, while Kendal is to the west and Darlington to the east.
Over 20,000 residents live and work in the park, which attracts over eight million visitors every year. The area has a large collection of activities for visitors. For example, many people come to the "Dales" for walking or exercise. The National Park is crossed by several long-distance routes including the
Pennine Way, the
Dales Way, the Coast to Coast Path and the latest national trail - the
Pennine Bridleway. Cycling is also popular and there are several cycleways.
The Park has its own museum, the
Dales Countryside Museum, housed in a conversion of the
Hawes railway station in
Wensleydale in the north of the Park. The park has 5 visitor centres located in major destinations in the park. These are at:
Aysgarth Falls
Grassington
Hawes
Malham
Reeth
Other places and sights within the National Park include:
Bolton Castle
Clapham
Cautley Spout waterfall
Gaping Gill
Hardraw Force
Horton in Ribblesdale
Kisdon Force waterfall in Swaledale
Malham Cove and Gordale Scar
Sedbergh
Settle
Settle and Carlisle Railway including the Ribblehead Viaduct
Skipton
The Yorkshire three peaks
Miscellaneous
James Herriot's veterinary books are set in the Dales, as is the TV soap opera Emmerdale.
The acclaimed American travel writer Bill Bryson lived in and is an admirer of the Yorkshire Dales. He describes the dales in his book on Britain, Notes from a Small Island.
The British writer Gervase Phinn has published four autobiographical novels (a fifth will be released in summer 2007) about his career as a school inspector in the Dales.
The Yorkshire Dales is served by its own radio station, Fresh Radio, which broadcasts programmes from studio bases in Skipton and Richmond, North Yorkshire.
List of Dales
Arkengarthdale
Birkdale
Bishopdale
Coverdale
Dentdale
Garsdale
Langstrothdale
Littondale
Malhamdale
Nidderdale
Ribblesdale
Swaledale
Wensleydale
WharfedaleFurther Information
Get more info on 'Yorkshire Dales National Park'.
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