Opening up the past

You might be interested to know that on just a few special days each September you get a rare opportunity to see inside some of the most amazing buildings in the country, absolutely free.

In 2012 this wonderful annual national event falls this weekend.

Once a year, on Heritage Open Days, a large number of historically and architecturally interesting buildings open their doors to members of the public all over England, allowing people to see British building gems for free. Perhaps more interestingly, many buildings open up areas that visitors normally don’t get to see. Some of them may not be open at all for the rest of the year. This makes Heritage Open Days a great weekend for anyone who’s interested in architecture or local history and heritage.

Naturally, this includes some buildings in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Farfield Mill Arts & Heritage Centre near Sedbergh is offering free entry on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 September, giving you a great chance to see heritage displays and working looms, as well as craftspeople in action in the many artisan studios it houses. Elsewhere, historical churches will be happily welcoming visitors; St Margaret’s Church in Hawes will be offering tours and cream teas on Sunday, while St Wilfrid’s Church in Burnsall will be offering refreshments on Saturday and Sunday.

Linton Falls Hydroelectric Power Station is now providing
power to local homes again after nearly 100 years

 (courtesy of J N Bentley)

For something a little different, the recently restored Linton Falls Hydroelectric Power Station is a great example of the technologies of the past being used in modern times. After a century of neglect the turbine house – a scheduled monument – has been fully restored to its former glory, and on Thursday and Friday of last week visitors had a rare opportunity to see inside.

You can still ‘sneak a peak’ at this Edwardian building, and the newly installed Archimedean screws that power 90 family homes this year, by taking a short stroll along the River Wharfe between Grassington and Linton - there's an interpretation panel outside that will tell you more about its fascinating history. And if you're local, look out for special school visits, too.

Gold Viking ring uncovered at Sedbergh in 2008,
now on display at Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes

And there's still time tomorrow to absorb some fascinating Dales stories, get hands on with interactive displays and explore some amazing exhibits - including a gold Viking ring found in Sedbergh - at our own Dales Countryside Museum.

The aim of Heritage Open Days is not only to raise public awareness of some beloved and important buildings, but also bring people together by opening these local landmarks up for people that might otherwise not have visited them. Whether you’re hoping to learn more about local history and tradition or you just want to try something different, this weekend is a great opportunity you shouldn’t miss out on.

If you're interested in the historic buildings of the Yorkshire Dales National Park take a look at our webpages and learn how we help care for them. While you're there don't forget to delve into the curious world of our Feature of the Season - highlighting some of the smaller, hidden gems of this special place!

I’ve created a monster!

This time last year my town-dwelling nephew, Oli, came to stay with me in the Yorkshire Dales National Park for three weeks. My initial excitement quickly turned to horror when I realised I knew very little about keeping a sixteen-year-old boy entertained for very long.

Panic set in as I stared at my modest collection of console games and ‘girlie’ CDs, DVDs, and books. Then I looked out the window – “why was I trying to create a home from home for him, he’s coming to a national park,” I said to myself, “get out and help him discover this magical place for himself.”

Oli on the path next to Malham Tarn, GPS in hand

With gusto I grabbed my highlighter pen and a copy of The Visitor and got down to work, circling all the family-friendly events happening during his visit, as well as ideas for things to do and places to visit.



We climbed hills, played Pooh sticks (no one is ever too old or too young for Pooh sticks), skimmed stones, visited local attractions, and gave every last thing a go at the local agricultural shows and game fairs. We also went on a few of the events organised by the National Park Authority. 



As is par for the course with teenagers, the monosyllabic grunts that I was afforded during his stay turned to gushing enthusiasm once in different company.



Back at his home he couldn’t stop talking about the introduction to geocaching session we had attended near Malham Tarn. He had loved it - working with the GPS gadget, walking across a beautiful landscape, hunting for the cache box that contained prizes that he could swap – the challenge of this modern day treasure hunt had played right into his competitive and active nature.

Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices and then share their experiences online.

Intrigued, my sister Judith agreed to take Oli out geocaching again that summer. She bought a cheap ‘pre-loved’ GPS to get them started, and signed up to geocaching.com so they could find the co-ordinates of nearby caches and log the ones they find.  

Little did I know the impact that afternoon on the moors around Malham would have!

A year on and the pair have logged nearly 250 caches and hidden seven of their own. They have found them in phone boxes and by harbours, deep in forests and high on hills, and the whole family have even been out on mass caches with other enthusiasts. For my birthday last month they even sent me ‘Log My Dog’ tags so I can turn my two greyhounds into walking caches!

I truly have created two geocaching monsters. But this obsession does not seem too uncommon.

Geocaching – using multi-million dollar
satellites to find Tupperware in the
 woods/long grass/hedges...

Visit Aysgarth Falls National Park Centre and you may meet our Information Advisor Janet who has logged 444 geocaches in the past five years.

Calling themselves the ‘Dales Golden Girls’, Janet goes out with friends from work searching for caches. She said “It’s such a fascinating hobby. It keeps me active and I get to visit places I’ve never been to before. There are caches out there as small as your fingernail to the size of a crate, and they are everywhere - from cities to fields to mountains. It’s so exciting and fun.”

Her enthusiasm for the pastime spills over into her working life. On her recommendation a couple from Derby visiting the National Park Centre whilst on holiday, rented a GPS and found their first cache. A year later, remembering Janet’s geocaching.com pseudonym, they got back in contact to let her know that they had found over 800 caches since their holiday. The most recent was one that Janet herself had found only weeks earlier. 

Next time you visit http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/, think about the behind-the-scenes guy, Stuart, who even had his own geocaching coins minted. He now tracks their progress across the world as geocachers collect them from one cache, deposit them in another, and record their finds on the internet.

A Dales Volunteer shows
the group a cache

You can try geocaching for yourself at the upcoming National Park event for beginners on 7 July or learn more about the craze, where to hire GPS equipment and National Park caches from our website www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/geocaching

Saturday 7 July,11:00 to 15:00

National Park Event - Hidden GPS Treasure (Geocaching for Beginners)

Meet Street Gate parking area, south Malham Tarn (grid ref SD 9038 6567)

A moderate 6 mile (10 km) walk that introduces geocaching - a 'treasure' hunt using handheld GPS units - as a new outdoor activity. If you have a GPS please bring it along - we have a limited number to borrow, please reserve in advance.

call 01729 833200 email malham@yorkshiredales.org.uk