Upper Wharfedale & Wensleydale…

There has been no more rain since yesterday but Bessie did have a bit of a hiccup even though she was near the top of the slope! With visions of phoning Ken again for assistance from his big red tractor, we held our breath as she stuttered the short distance to the top.  Phew!

With no real plan for today except for making the most of a dry day with a hint of blue sky, we headed west, encountering steep hills, both up and down, amazingly old stone farms in tiny hamlets and miles and miles of dry stone walls.  Plus, of course, a variety of animals, mostly sheep but a fair amount of cows.

Some hills seemed almost vertical and, for one who is not a lover of heights, the drops were scary!  Here are just some of the photos I took from Bessie’s passenger seat.  They are mostly through a windscreen but not too bad.

One of the amazing stone bridges

We had to follow the sign to ‘Crackpot’ but it turned out to be mostly just a few farm buildings and a dead end:

A very small ford…

Most of the villages were no more than a few stone buildings around a narrow track and some were very isolated, but there was no denying their charm. Not much fun in the winter I fear…

After climbing high we eventually descended into Wensleydale and the quaint small town of Hawes with its “Herriott Hotel” (no pic).  Probably swarms of tourists in the summertime but now very quiet.  We took Alfie for a quick walk and went to look at the old engine and rolling stock near the small museum.

Then it was back over the moors (see also header pic) to hunt for Thwaite and the Kearton Tea Rooms which we last visited in 2016.

In the Kearton Tea Rooms we settled down to cheese scones with tomato chutney and a slice of Wensleydale cheese plus an amazing DIY Mocha with tiny marshmallows, cream and a large luxury chocolate cube to dip and stir in!

Another short walk for Alfie and it was time to return to Park Top Farm.  By this time the sky was deep blue and the views were magnificent.

There’s a bit of rain forecast for tomorrow so staying at the top of the field!

PS. An old Massey Ferguson for Sean…

SaveSave