Splashing out

NEAR Aysgarth we found cheap parking and a nice day, and walked some pastures to said village, by walls splashed with lichens and the Wensleydale fells splashed with sunshine.

At Aysgarth the George and Dragon was bypassed, not thirsty, similarly the cheese shop, not hungry; but the Edwardian rock garden was worth an exploration, being recently restored and sparkling with alpines, dripping with water, and sprouting with ferns. It was built for a man who dealt in rare gull eggs, and who obviously saw no fault in tearing up limestone pavement to make the complex and towering pile. How attitudes have changed.

Soon we turned our backs on lovely Wensleydale, took some fine tracks, including Folly Lane, and crossed a high and empty landscape under a sky full of fieldfares. A flock of a hundred of these big handsome wintertime thrushes (Turdus pilaris) swooped around, trying out the grass, checking out the sparse trees. En mass they bomb predators with their droppings, and can kill (hawks).

Bishopdale looked ace, not as wide as Wensleydale, but not small. After a few yards downhill we could see the roofs of Thoralby and a few minutes later were strolling its old street to The George Inn.

The pub/B&B is in new and capable hands; Charles and Becci came in the spring. Considering that he was an accountant (Darlington way) portion control wasn't evident, quantity and quality much appreciated by locals and walkers all.

Luckily Eastfield Lane was gently digestive, flat with a handful of stone walled pastures above and the same below. The lane led to a path by Bishopdale Beck which was pretty, bar a batch of caravans, and with a scampering stoat and a grey heron whose five-foot wingspan almost reached bank to bank. To the left there is the old line of the beck persistent in a pasture; to the right is the 'Aysgarth Rocket', a folly in stone.

That just left the Ure. Though just is the wrong word. The great river was very low and clear, at first expansive with an island. Then, still wide but with a level bed of limestone pavement, the blocks hollowed with ages of swirling stones, an acreage of rock that the water flowed through as much as over.

As we continued upstream the river narrowed between vertical rock banks and at the Lower Force dropped in a single sheet.

We climbed, caught a glimpse of the Middle Force falls through a curtain of autumn coloured beech, then came upon a copse, then a graveyard, then sonorous music, and then, in the much acclaimed interior of St Andrews, the pleasure of a young lass taking an organ lesson from a cleric. Outside, by the path, is a gravestone for 'Deaf Jack'.

Fact File:

Distance: Five miles.

Time: Three hours.

General location: Northern Dales.

Start: The caf car park.

Right of way: The complete route is along public rights of way.

Date walked: Saturday, October 18, 2003.

Road route: A1, A684.

Car parking: Falls Cafeteria, £1 winter, £2 summer.

Lavatories: The eco 'compost' loos at the parks centre are a sweet experience. The hardware is made in Arizona and there is a warning posted about 'the wide toilet chutes' and the importance of supervising small children.

Refreshments: The George Inn at Thoralby. Cafs and Inns at Aysgarth.

Tourist & public transport information: National Park Centre Aysgarth Tel: 01969 663424.

Map: Based on OS Explorer OL30 Yorkshire Dales northern and central areas.

Terrain: Two valleys and the intervening ground.

Points of interest: Half a mile away is the National Park Centre, with easy access to the Middle Force and Upper Force waterfalls.

Difficulty: A trouble free and surprisingly gentle five miles.

Dogs: Suitable, The George Inn is dog friendly.

Weather forecast: Evening Press and recorded forecast 0891 500 418

Directions

When in doubt look at the map. Check your position at each point. Keep straight on unless otherwise directed.

1. Right from car park, gated squeezer on left opposite church (signed), across fields (squeezers/yellow dot waymarks), walled path, squeezer on right at end, 50 yards, squeezer/ fieldgate to road.

2. Right to road through village. At right-hand bend, straight on to Thornton Rust road (signed). Walled track on left by barn (signed Gayle and Thoralby).

3. Left at junction to walled track, bridge over stream, fieldgate, uphill by wall to left, squeezer/gate (signed), one o'clock across pasture and over brow of hill (signpost).

4. Fieldgate to track downhill (ignore right turns). Left to road through Thoralby.

5. At right-hand bend, straight on to tarmac track/road.

6. Cross road to squeezer by bridge to beckside path.

7. Right to main road (verge), track on left before bridge and immediately squeezer on left and one o'clock across field to riverside path.

8. Before path descends, 11 o'clock to squeezer into copse, path, through churchyard.

Please observe the Country Code and park sensibly. While every effort is made to provide accurate information, walkers set out at their own risk.

Updated: 09:00 Saturday, October 25, 2003

Click here to view a map of the walk