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England's
Last Wilderness by Margaret Walker I was hesitant about going to the Dales (as, unfortunately for the local economy, many people were last year). This is the country of my childhood, narrow valleys networked with dry stone walls, and high open moors dotted with sheep. I feared the fells would be empty, and was relieved to see hardy, black-faced sheep still roaming Upper Teesdale and Weardale, although some areas have been devastated by the scourge of foot and mouth disease. The first dale I visited on this recent, short trip North, was the more southern valley of the river Ure, starting at the market town of Masham, which boasts two breweries and several pubs. The Kings Head in the market place does good meals in its bars and rustic dining room. Heading up the dale you soon come to the wonderfully romantic ruins of Jervaulx Abbey. Usually I'm the only visitor (possibly because I like the early morning, the dew sparkling, swallows swooping and birds calling everywhere). Further up the dale, the stone cottages of Middleham, clustered around the fortress/palace of Richard III, display brilliant floral arrangements in baskets, troughs and tubs. The castle merits a leisurely visit and the excellent interpretation boards evoke very effectively the Middle Ages in this Yorkist stronghold. Just across the way you can watch racehorses being exercised. You will probably see them again if you choose to explore Coverdale (do try Coverdale Cheese - and Wensleydale, of course, and Cotherstone - lots of local cheeses in this part of the world). Middleham is the gateway to Wensleydale itself, which offers plenty of attractions apart from the cheese, such as Aysgarth with a series of waterfalls and an interesting church where you will find the 16th century screen from Jervaulx. It's great walking country, too, once the foot and mouth restrictions are lifted. Various routes take you over into the next valley, Swaledale, Queen of this dale is Richmond with another splendid castle and extremely well presented hands-on exhibition. A pleasant walk outside the walls gives views of the river and the old houses of the town. The cobbled market place occupies the space of the former outer bailey and has many interesting features. Take one of the narrow streets leading from it and you will find the Georgian theatre, which is still in regular use. The countryside round about offers walks, ruins, pretty villages and B & Bs where you can sleep in a comfortable room with en suite bathroom and wrap yourself around a vast breakfast for only £18 per night. From Swaledale another scenic route takes you over to Barnard Castle in Teesdale. Needless to say, there's a castle here; there's also a pub associated with Charles Dickens (researching Yorkshire schools for "Nicholas Nickleby"), a house reputedly lived in by Cromwell (when I was a child they said it was Richard III's house), lots of antique shops and the amazing, incredible Bowes Museum, a vast 19th century French Renaissance chateau housing a collection of paintings, porcelain and artefacts amassed by John Bowes (related to the Queen Mum) and his French actress wife, Josephine. You can spend days here - and the restaurant is very popular, too. Further up the dale is Middleton-in-Teesdale, an attractive small town built almost entirely by the London Lead Mining Company in the days when lead mining was a major industry around here. And just a short way further up you can visit High Force, England's highest waterfall. The water pouring over the jagged rocks is brown and peaty, with creamy foam like the head on a glass of good ale. Most of the land in upper Teesdale belongs to the Raby Estate, whose white-painted farms stand out against the greens and browns of the landscape. Raby Castle, home of the present Lord Barnard and headquarters of the conspirators who sought to depose Elizabeth I and re-establish Roman Catholicism, is splendidly picturesque in its deer park. Close by, the pretty village of Staindrop has an interesting church with the effigies of Ralph Neville and his two wives, of whom you will have heard if you visited Middleham. To get the atmosphere of this wild region of peat bogs and moorland, take a narrow, gated road from Newbiggin to Daddry Shield. It helps if you have a companion to hop out of the car, chase the sheep away (if any remain after this terrible scourge of foot and mouth) and open and close the gates for you. Only the most remote areas are still gated; elsewhere you will rattle noisily over cattle grids. Up here there are few signs of habitation, as the population plummeted when the lead mining ceased. If you are lucky, you will see flocks of green plover, or a hen harrier searching for prey, start a hare or a whirring grouse, and hear the haunting cry of the curlew. You are unlikely to meet another car on this road. Stop, roll down the windows, breathe and listen to the silence. Better still, walk. This is England's last wilderness. Long may it remain so! Coming down into Weardale, you can turn left towards St. John's Chapel and Ireshopeburn, where (next door to the second oldest Methodist chapel still in use) you will find the fascinating Weardale Museum, which reveals many aspects of life among the leadminers and their families. Nearby is a hawthorn tree marking the spot where John Wesley, who visited this area many times, is reputed to have preached. Continuing up the dale, pause to pan for silver at Killhope open air museum with its huge restored wheel, and proceed to Alston, England's highest market town, with its picturesque cobbled streets and old pubs. From here, it's downhill all the way to Penrith and the Lake District. Alternatively, you can follow the river downstream through Eastgate and Westgate (marking the boundaries of the Prince Bishops' hunting grounds) to Stanhope, whose church was once so rich that in 1835 the Rector had an income of £4,843. In the church wall is a fossilised tree, millions of years old. Further down the dale, at Frosterley, small fossils give a speckled effect to the dark limestone known as Frosterley marble which, cut and polished, was used to floor some of the local churches. Today it is used for decorative items, such as lamp bases and bowls. Further down the dale, Wolsingham has charming 17th century stone cottages, a grammar school founded in 1614, and a male voice choir. Wolsingham Show claims to be the oldest agricultural show in the country; last year, sadly, it did not take place. From Wolsingham the B6296 rises steeply to Satley and on to Lanchester, where the outline of a Roman camp can be seen. In another 15 minutes or so you are in Durham, where the Wear loops around a crag crowned with the twin symbols of temporal and spiritual power, the Castle and Cathedral. See them at night, floodlit gold and silver. This is a World Heritage Site, as good as any you'll see (but then, I'm just a bit prejudiced, being Dunelmian born and bred!) First published in VISA issue 45 (spring 2002) |