A diamond in the landscape

It's been a bumper time of celebrations and nostalgia marking the Diamond Jubilee - and who are we to resist adding to the mix!

When Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952, the Act that led to the creation of the UK’s National Parks had been passed just three years before. 



Enjoying a walking break in Malham, Easter 1954
(copyright Alan Watkinson)

Five National Parks had already been created and the boundary of the Yorkshire Dales National Park was being pondered over by the local authorities. Nearly seven hundred glorious square miles were eventually designated - and in 2014 it will be celebrating its own diamond jubilee.

It seemed a good excuse (as if we needed one) to enjoy some super old photographs supplied by good friends of the National Park, looking back at how we lived, worked and played here when the young Queen was taking on her first duties.

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We hope you enjoy these photos from our Yorkshire Dales National Park Flickr page. Please do share yours with us, of all your experiences of this special place - we would love to hear from you!

A grand day out

What are you and your family up to this half term? Busy running a website offering everything you need to know about things to do with children under 5 in and around Skipton as well as being a mother of two, our guest blogger Kate Taylor can’t think of anything better than a grand day out in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Moving from London to Rylstone on 24 December last year was without doubt the very best Christmas present our family has ever given itself.

We have drawn back our curtains every day to the same breathtaking view and fallen in love with it afresh each morning.

Rylstone Cross

We’ve been smitten in all weathers. We’ve watched as mists have rolled in and completely covered Hetton, barely a quarter of a mile across the fields. We’ve seen frosts glittering across the dry stone walls. We’ve watched giant hailstones bounce and skid across our lane. We’ve watched transfixed as carpets of thick snow quietly fell. We’ve seen a rainbow arc over the escarpment up to Rylstone Cross. We’ve watched as winds whistled and whipped through the trees. Needless to say, we’ve also seen rain like we’ve never seen before. And we’ve been out in it too. All of it!

When the farmer turned the cows out last week, it heralded the start of summer. And, as if on cue, we pulled back our curtains and saw our amazing view of green field after bright green field lit up by glorious sunshine. 

Malham Cove - a gentle walk
 from the village centre


Not to waste a golden opportunity, we decided to head over to Malham. I grew up in Skipton so Malham has been a regular favourite for a long time. It’s a special place for us as my husband proposed to me on the limestone pavement at the top (terrified of losing the ring to a grike!) and we couldn’t wait to introduce our two and a half-year-old daughter Olive and 6 month-old son Ted to the cove.

We parked up at the National Park Centre where there are ideas for walks and days out, a weather forecast, audio-visual presentations, displays, maps, guides and - vitally for us and our young crew – toilets, and headed for the cove.

Malham’s a beautiful place to stroll through and Olive delighted in throwing stones into the beck as we went and popping in to Town Head Barn to try out the interactive displays, fascinated by the bird calls.

She twit twoo’d her way onto the accessible path that the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) has resurfaced. It’s great for pushchairs and means that, with relative ease, families can get up close to one of the jewels in the crown of God’s own county – if not the country.

As Ted snoozed on oblivious to the stunning scenery around him, we three breathed it in getting ever more excited as the cove which had seemed so tiny started to loom before us. Every single time, I am struck by how magnificent the sheer wall of limestone is. I wasn’t expecting my little girl to be quite as enthralled; but she was. She seemed even smaller and it seemed even bigger with her standing at its foot. We couldn’t drag her away from playing among the rocks, messing around in the stream and staring up, and up, and up trying to fathom what she was seeing. 

Young peregrine falcon at Malham Cove



It was fantastic to see so many families also out enjoying the sunshine. There was a special buzz around the peregrine falcon viewing points, which are set up each year in a partnership between the RSPB and the YDNPA to allow visitors to view these rare, spectacular birds as they nest, hunt and rear their chicks. The shorter height telescopes were a hit with children of all ages.

As we began the walk back to the car, stopping off for a quick ice cream and sit down at the village green, we decided we’d be back again soon. And the posters for the forthcoming Malham Safari played their part in tempting us! Running from 2 – 7 June, people are invited to hunt for the crowns hidden around the village as well as a host of other entertainments like the coconut shy, stream dipping with the YDNPA, archery and rifle range and duck races every day. This is a delightful event every year and this looks to be one of the best yet.

So, our first family trip to Malham was a date to remember in our ongoing love affair with this amazing part of the world, that we’re so privileged now to call home.

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Kate (33), and friend Angela Appleby, run a not-for-profit website called www.moobaakids.co.uk for families highlighting places to go and things to do with children aged 0-5 in Skipton and the surrounding area. The site has had overwhelming support since it launched in July last year – attracting on average more than 4,000 hits per month with an active community on Facebook and Twitter.

Chaffage...who needs it!

What are you doing this hot late May weekend? How does a 100km trek over 30 hours (yes – that is non-stop, day and night) across the Yorkshire Dales National Park appeal? 


Well, that’s exactly what over 1,000 intrepid walkers are up to as part of Oxfam’s Trailtrekker to raise money to help people in poverty.

Walkers on the Settle Loop get in their stride

While we ponder the epic size of that task over an ice cream, it's got us thinking about some of the challenges endurance events like this throw up and how best to prepare for this, and any hill walking - from what to pack to how to deal with blisters.  



As you would imagine, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority staff are keen, outdoorsy types, so who better to ask for some top tips on that ultimate horror: chafing.

Lubricant seems to be the key – and an awful lot of it. 

For Ranger Matt – who, in 2010, ran an incredible 190 miles from coast to coast in just over 61 hours for charity – the solution is fundamental: “Vaseline all over your feet and E45 cream for your nether regions - nowt worse than undercarriage chaffage...”.

The thing about blisters is to stop them before they form, says Mark, our Access and Recreation Manager and a keen cyclist.

“You normally get a ‘hot spot’ often on the heel when going uphill – that is the time to put on tape to stop the rubbing from getting worse. Stopping and sticking your feet in a cold stream works wonders.”

He has a few words to say about saddle sores, too: “Cycle shorts are the answer and, if you don’t like the look, wear another pair of shorts or skirt over the top. 

“Nappy rash cream after the event sorts you out for the next day.”

Media Officer and walker Nick has a cheekier solution: “Sneak your kit into your companion’s bag, that’ll take the weight off your own feet!”

Whether you’re after a gentle stroll or a real leg stretcher, the National Park offers some truly spectacular hiking and has its fair share of famous long-distance routes. Did you know the UK’s first National Trail was our own Pennine Way which opened in the Dales in 1965? 

This summer the newest and the first designed specifically for horse riders, mountain bikers AND walkers - the Pennine Bridleway - will be launched, 52 miles of which cross the Yorkshire Dales National Park so there’s no better time to hit the trail.

And if you are one of the noble number taking part in Trailtrekker this weekend, we salute you and wish you a chafe-free adventure!

Even the most experienced walkers can end up in trouble if they don’t pay attention to a few simple rules – thinking about your clothing, equipment and, of course, the weather before you set out can ensure that your day is great not grim. For some handy advice, see www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/outandabout/planningyourvisit/beingsafe

Clashes on the road to right to roam

Eighty years ago today perhaps the most significant – and certainly the most iconic - event in the story of UK National Parks played out on the moors of the Peak District.



Mass trespass on Kinder Scout, 1932

On 24 April 1932, ramblers took part in a mass trespass on Kinder Scout, the highest point in the area, publicly declaring their belief in their right to roam in open countryside.


Scuffles with the Duke of Devonshire’s gamekeepers broke out, several walkers were arrested and five were imprisoned on charges of incitement and riotous assembly.



The trespass had a far-reaching impact. It led not only to legislation giving walkers freedom to roam over open country and common land - finally achieved by the Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) Act of 2000 - but also to the creation of our National Parks, the Peak District being the first in 1951.

The first national parks had been set up in America in the 1860s when the government saw the need to protect wilderness areas from exploitation and make them available for all to enjoy.

Although Britain at that time had no such wild areas - our moors and mountains were nearly all farmed or managed in some way - influential individuals recognised that increased industrialisation was a threat to the beauty of our more remote countryside.

They founded conservation organisations such as the National Trust and began to lobby for more formal protection from the government.

At the same time social reformers pressed that it should be the right of all to enjoy the clean air and spiritual refreshment offered by walking in open countryside. Movements such as the Co-operative Holidays’ Association brought young factory workers on outings, even opening their own guesthouses such as the one at Hebden in 1909.

By the 1930s more and more working class people were seeking an escape from towns and cities - tens of thousands used their Sundays to go walking - and there was growing conflict with landowners.

At Kinder Scout, the trespassers were motivated by the issue of access. The moor was used for game shooting for just a few weeks each year and deserted the rest of the time, with walkers not allowed. The protesters wanted a public path, allowing ramblers access when the land was not in use. At that time less than 1% of the Peak District had public access rights and if walkers strayed onto private land they would be chased off by gamekeepers with sticks and dogs.

The arrest of the trespassers unleashed a wave of public sympathy. A few weeks later 10,000 assembled for a rally at Winnats Pass, near Castleton – the largest number ever - and the pressure for greater access continued to grow.

At the end of World War II, the government set up committees to examine long term land use and ‘nature preservation’ became part of the post-war reconstruction effort. In 1949 the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act was passed and ten national parks were created over the following decade, the Yorkshire Dales National Park in 1954.

Thanks to the pre-war campaigns there was an emphasis on making countryside available for recreation for all, not just for nature conservation, and this principle remains at the heart of our National Parks.

John Dower

Malham Youth Hostel, opened in 1938, was designed by architect and rambler John Dower, and was the first purpose-built Youth Hostel in Yorkshire. Considered the founding father of National Parks, John – as Secretary of the Standing Committee on National Parks - was asked to prepare a report on how they could work in England and Wales. John believed passionately that the countryside should be there for all to enjoy, whatever their background, and the Youth Hostel movement was one of the ways that young working class people at that time could access these beautiful places. The hostel was dedicated to John’s memory in 1948.

 



For ideas on where to walk in the Yorkshire Dales National Park go to www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/walking