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The Yorkshire Dales
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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 and tend to be glacial
Most of the dales in the Yorkshire Dales are named after their river or
stream (e.g. 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 is 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 (e.g.
Ribblesdale, Malhamdale and Airedale, Wharfedale and Nidderdale) running
roughly parallel from north to south.
The more northerly dales (e.g. Wensleydale, Swaledale and Teesdale) running
generally from west to east. There are also many other smaller or lesser
known dales (e.g. 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').
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.
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 50 miles (80 km) 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
cycle ways.
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
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 2009) 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
* Wharfedale
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