In the same way as the term "Cumbrian Hills" is exchanged for the popular "Lake District" so is a large section of the Pennine Range paradoxically known as the "Yorkshire Dales." It is because the hills are so big that the valleys are deep, and it is owing to the great watersheds that these long and narrow dales are beautified by some of the most copious and picturesque rivers in England. In spite of this, however, when one climbs any of the fells over 2,000 feet, and looks over the mountainous ridges on every side, one sees, as a rule, no peak or isolated height of any description to attract one's attention. Instead of the rounded or angular projections from the horizon that are usually associated with a mountainous district, there are great expanses of brown table-land that form themselves into long parallel lines in the distance, and give a sense of wild desolation in some ways more striking than the peaks of Scotland or Wales.... The roofs of churches, cottages, barns and mansions, are always of the local stone, that weathers to beautiful shades of green and gray, and prevents the works of man from jarring with the great sweeping hillsides. Then, instead of the familiar gray-brown haystack, one sees in almost every meadow a neatly-built stone house with an upper story.... The villages of the dales, although having none of the bright colours of a level country, are often exceedingly quaint, and rich in soft shades of green and gray. In the autumn the mellowed tints of the stone houses are contrasted with the fierce yellows and browny-reds of the foliage, and the villages become full of bright colours. At all times, except when the country is shrivelled by an icy northern wind, the scenery of the dales has a thousand charms. (Home 4-8)
The Yorkshire Dales in Victorian Times
Buildings
- St Margaret of Antioch, Hawes
- Ripon Cathedral (restored by Gilbert Scott)
- Wesleyan Chapel, Reeth, Swaledale,
- Reeth Evangelical Congregational Church, Swaledale
- A House in the Yorkshire Dales
Engineering Works, Railways, and the Industrial Revolution
- Ribblehead Viaduct
- Dent Head Viaduct
- Arten Gill Viaduct under construction
- Settle-Carlisle Railway: Derby Gothic
Sources
Collins, Martin. The Pennine Way: A Practical Guide for Walkers. 2nd ed. Milnthorpe, Cumbria: Ciceroone, 2003.
Conservation Area Appraisals in the Yorkshire Dales National Park: Sette-Carlisle Railway. Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. Web. 23 August 2011.
Home, Gordon Cochrane. Yorkshire Dales and Fells. London: A & C Black, 1906. Internet Archive. Web. 23 August 2011.
Leach, Peter, and Nikolaus Pevsner. Yorkshire West Riding, Leeds, Bradford and the North. The Buildings of England series. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2009.
Scholes, Ron. Yorkshire Dales. 3rd ed. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Landmark, 2008.
Smith, Roly. Swaledale. London: Frances Lincoln, 2008.
Speight, Harry. Romantic Richmondshire: Being a Complete Account of the History, Antiquities and Scenery of the Picturesque Valleys of the Swale and Yore. London: E. Stock, 1897. Internet Archive. Web. 23 August 2011.
Toothill, David, and Marian Armstrong. The Settle-Carlisle Railway: A Guide to Your Journey: Leeds. Settle. Carlisle. The Settle-Carlisle Railway Development Company, 2010.
"Stations" (see individual stations). The Settle-Carlisle Railway. Web. 23 August 2011.
Williams, Frederick Smeeton. The Midland Railway: Its Rise and Progress. A Narrative of Modern Enterprise. London: Strahan & Co., 1876. Internet Archive. Web. 23 August 2011.
Wright, Geoffrey Norman. The Yorkshire Dales. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1977.
Yorkshire Dales National Park. Official site. Web. 23 August 2011.
Last modified 6 September 2011