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The lockdown has now eased to allow overnight stays. Hotels have opened up. Pubs are allowed to have indoor drinkers. Attractions and cinemas can re-open with limited numbers. However, the Spring weather has been shocking. Hospitality has had a slow re-emergence from the long hibernation. The most hardy and desperate of drinkers must have winced about sitting outside in the cold and damp just to savour a pint. There have been plenty with sun on their minds, who have been hankering after a trip to one of the "Green" list countries. Portugal has won hands down. Iceland and others in permissible territory apparently haven't captured the public imagination.
We are at the Outlaws. The NEPSR is looking more December than May. The wind is blowing, the clouds threaten and the temperature has hit the highs of 6 degrees. The Algarve it is not. I consider my options for the day - options preferably where football is available and water falling from the sky won't ruin totally ruin the day. A plan hatched.
SUNWACD. A totally meaningless collection of letters, but a helpful aide memoir. I remember it from school to this day. The major rivers of Yorkshire, listed North
to South. Swale. Ure. Nidd. Wharfe. Aire. Calder. Don. The Yorkshire Dales. The reference to education is ironic, as the last time I can recall being in this neck of the woods was ironically on a school trip in our last year at Junior School. I am sure a bit might have changed in nearly 50 years. I set off for Wensleydale.
On my theory of Yorkshire Dale's above, I should be heading in modern day terms for Uredale. However the valley of the River Ure takes its name from the small market town of Wensley, a few miles west from Leyburn. Wensleydale it is then and Yoredale, as it was known in ancient times, is just a name on Medieval maps. I cut off the A1 near Catterick and head through the barracks area of the Garrison. The military still rule the roost here and the fortified compounds are very much in evidence either side of the road. When we were growing up, this was just Catterick Camp. It changed to Catterick Garrison in 1973 and it projected to keep on growing to an anticipated population of 25,000. There were new housing developments springing up everywhere after the
Carperby
..... new arrivals village of Colburn - armed forces discount available, proclaimed the advertising signs. The majority of the barracks I pass are named after First World War military actions. I am soon out on to the higher ground, where tanks and sheep dominate. Every few hundred yards, warning signs announce " tanks crossing" or tanks turning". I saw none.
A sign of a rams head on a stone plinth announced my arrival into the Yorkshire Dale's. I detour off the road to photograph the castle overlooking the valley. This is Bolton Castle in the village of Castle Bolton. The Castle was built at the end of the 14th Century and remains in the hands of the same family. The Castle is most notable for being the "prison" of Mary, Queen of Scots, for a 6 month period in 1568. After her initial abode on fleeing Scotland in Carlisle was deemed unsuitable, she was brought to Bolton. The word prison seems fairly loose, given that she had 51 knights, servants and other household staff with her. She remained a potential threat to Elizabeth 1 and was moved further south to Staffordshire in January 1569. Mary never made it back north of the
border. Apart from Mary, other famous visitors have included the casts of various feature films - Ivanhoe (1958) and Elizabeth (1998). Wensleydale is also All Creatures Great & Small territory and I read that James (Christopher Timothy) proposed to Helen (Carol Drinkwater) here. I drove on to Caperby.
The village centre of Carperby is dominated by a Cross, dated 1674. It denotes the former Market centre status. The village was on the main Richmond to Lancaster turnpike road and was once a centre for the Quakers in Wensleydale. Today, all was quiet. The really came to the village in January 2011 with TV crews and national media attention. The local village football team, Carperby Rovers, were in need of a new sports pavilion for their players to replace their old wooden structure and after years of fundraising, still fell way short of the financial target. A mere £40,000 had been raised and a further £55,000 secured in grants. The team entered a "Just Play" competition run by Mars in conjunction with the Football Association and hit the jackpot. Mars agreed to donate the balance of the money to complete the pavilion. The village commitment was to complete the building
in time for the filming of a TV advert for Mars Bar. Peter Crouch, then of Tottenham Hotspur and England, was pointed north to do the honours. "Crouchy" duly rocked up, did the opening honours and was a "gentleman". He then had a stroll round, making ashurst appearance in the local" derby" friendly against Askrigg United. A set of step ladders were brought in to assist in the task of marking him, but he was allowed to bag a couple of ceremonial tropy goals before departing back to the warmth in London. There is no record of a "robot" celebration. Today, the only evidence of the commotion is a simple plaque on the pavillion. Mars Bar colours, of course. The attendance is not recorded, but we can safely say it was a Carperby Rovers record! Crouch, having failed to gain a contract in Carperby - they weren't sure he could hack it in the depths of a Dales' winter - left Spurs for Stoke in August 2011. Carperby Rovers were not playing today or I would have been back.
I left the car in situ and walked off down the road towards Aysgarth. It was typical Dale's
countryside. The winding lane was bordered on both sides by drystone walling using the local stone. Drystone walling is an engineering masterpiece - perfect boundaries built to withstand the harshness of local climate without need for mortar. I climbed over a stile to follow the footpath within the field. The inhabitants looked a little nervous. Ewes and their new lambs kept a cautious eye on me. The path led to the car park at Aysgarth Falls, which is undoubtedly the busiest of the waterfalls in the area. Ruskin, Turner and Wordsworth all visited the area and the Falls also made an appearance in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. The fight scene between Kevin Costner and Nick Brimble was filmed here. The signs warned against not thinking of parting with the relevant charge or parking up outside the marked spaces. Today, the majority of visitors come by car or coach. However in Victorian times, the tracks carried daytrippers to the small Railway Station just beyond the car park entrance. The link, established in 1877, was closed in 1954. Aysgarth Falls is split into the High, Middle and Lower Falls and extends over about mile of the River Ure. The former is
a mere 150 metres or so from the parking, part of which is a muddy track. The recent rain that had attracted many to visit, had not registered in their minds of all when choosing the appropriate footwear. White, boxfresh trainers would soon look a real mess before a waterfall had been sighted. There is no record of what footwear Robin Hood and Little John used on their walk. The ease of access to the Upper section probably means most linger here. The numbers seemed sparse in comparison at the Lower viewpoints. I wandered back along through the woods to the road to begin my return to Carperby and the car. A couple of weeks earlier and this blog could have been full of photographs of bluebells, which proliferate here on woodland floor. Alas, they are on their way out.
Chasing waterfalls, I set off in search of West Burton. I must confess, I had never heard of the village prior to thinking about this trip. West Burton is a particularly picturesque village with an impressive waterfall. West is used to distinguish the village from that of Constable Burton and its Hall. The market is long gone, but the
cross and stocks still sit on the upper part of village green. The two roads either side of the village green are Front Nook and Back Nook. A great address, if ever there was one. A small scale pair of football goals waited for a bit of action from the local school kids and a splendid apple blossom tree provided a great backdrop. There were some fine looking houses, an antiques shop, a village store and a family butchers. W S Harte is a business that looks straight off the TV in a period drama, but us still on the go offering "excellent meat at excellent prices", free local delivery and have home-reared Wensleydale lamb available. The shop local practice during the pandemic will hopefully have served them well. A few groups sat on the tables outside the Fox and Hounds. If I wasn't in the car, I would have joined them. As the pub quotes, the view is a picture postcard in real life. I wandered down Mill Lane to the West Burton Falls, better known as the Cauldron Falls. Turner famously painted them on his visit. Today, a few photographers were practising their art. The peace and quiet
was a change from numbers at nearby Aysgarth. If in the area, make sure you don't miss them.
Waterfalls finished for the day, I had a brief stopover in Wensley. When in Wensleydale, it seemed an appropriate thing to do. Wensley was once a prominent market town, but very little was happening as I parked up. Up to the 16th century, the village had the only charter for a market in the whole Dale and thus it acquired the prosperity to build Holy Trinity Church. It dates from 1300, but is now redundant. As with Bolton Castle, the Church featured in the love life of James Herriot and was used as the location for his wedding in a 1978 episode of All Creatures Great & Small - "The Last Furlong". I ate my sandwiches, took a few photographs of Holy Trinity and headed over to Leyburn. Leyburn is now the primary settlement in the area, but there was nothing to keep me after a quick turn round the main market square. I drove on to Middleham - the so called "Newmarket of the North".
Middleham is a bite size town with a big story to tell.
It is twinned with Agincourt in France. The history goes back to the Doomsday Book, but ramps up a gear when construction started on Middleham Castle in 1190. The Castle was said to have the largest keep of any in England. It sits near the site of an original wooden Castle on the ironically named, William's Hill. Ladbroke weren't around in those days. Richard, Duke of Gloucester and later King Richard III, spent his childhood here being tutored in the art of knighthood. It was a major political and administrative centre and became known as the Windsor of the North. During the Wars of the Rose's, both Henry IV and Edwars IV were held prisoner here. Richard succeeded to the throne, only to become the last monarch to die in battle. The Shakespeare play uses the words "A horse. A horse. My Kingdomfor a horse", after Richard's mount was slain from under him at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
If it was a horse he was after, Richard could have looked no further than Middleham. Horses are the main business of the town today. At every turn, there is a race horse trainer. The yards are literally in
town. The gallops occupy the surrounding countryside. The Wensleydale Hotel on the square features a restaurant called the Tack Room and one of the pubs is called the Dante Arms, after the last northern horse to win The Derby in 1945. The big name these days is the Johnson Racing yard, which sits just off the square. The centrepiece of the operation is the rather swanky looking Kingsley House, but the empire covers 300 acres in and around the village. The Johnson yard has been incredibly successful, in terms of both overall number of winners and lifting the prizes for the big Group 1 races. We are talking 1000 Guineas and Gold Cups at Ascot. I know absolutely nothing about horse racing, but even I know that this is a top trainer. I was a bit late for the sight of all these thoroughbreds wandering through town. They had all been out early and the four legged ones were all back in the stables having a spot of lunch. I wandered into the churchyard next door. The Church of St Mary & Alkelda dates from 1291. Alkelda's Well is said to restore "weak eyes".
There is obvious money in
Middleham. Understated, but nevertheless there. It seems there always was money. On a bridle path by the Castle, metal detectors unearthed a 2 1/2 gold pendant encrusted with a 10 carat sapphire. The 15th century pendant was eventually sold for £2.5 million. I walked back up towards the Castle, but no pendant jumped out at me. I would have to wait on my lottery ticket later. My original plan was to see somd football in town. Alas, Leyburn Town who use the Middleham Sports Ground in the shadow of the fortifications was postponed. Waterlogged apparently. I moved on to nearby Harmby.
The majority of football leagues have had their second aborted season due to COVID or are playing out a series of friendlies and their Cup competitions. Meanwhile, it is all stations go in the Wensleydale Creamery League. The League is being played to a conclusion, along with the Dale's and Medals Shield Cups. The Wensleydale Creamery is based in nearby Hawes and has one of the longest running sponsorship deals in Non League football. They share the sponsorship love with Yorkshire Cricket Club and the Dales Food Festival. Cheese is big business in the local community, sourcing milk
from over 40 local farms. "Cheese Is Life" proclaimed a tee shirt worn by one woman in Aysgarth. My destination was Ferrand Park, where Spennithorne & Harmby were looking to put the brakes on the title challenge of Richmond Mavericks from nearby Swaledale. It hasn't been a great 10 days for the Mavericks and it was going to get worse. They started out losing in the Dale's Cup on penalties to Richmond Buck Inn. New Marske came across from Teesside and put them out of the North Riding Football Association Saturday Challenge Cup semi-final - on penalties! You would imagine third time lucky, but Richmond Town Reserves got the better of the penalty shootout in the Medals Shield Final. As a result of their Cup exploits, the Mavericks have games in hand and winning them should see them in a very strong position in the Creamery League. Spennithorne had other ideas.
Ferrand Park was a decent set up. The dugouts were set into a natural grass banking above the pitch level. The elevated bank provided a decent view of proceedings for spectators. I counted 31. The stone built sport pavilion and changing rooms were every bit as good as
Caperby, but had been completed without the aid of Mars or Peter Crouch.
The fortunes of a football season can turn on the small moments. In this case, it was the weather. If Friday had not been such a washout, Scott Ryan of Spennithorne would have turning out for his cricket team. The cricket game was waterlogged off and he was therefore available for selection. Ryan helped himself to 2 first half goals, as Spenntihorne romped into a commanding first half lead. It could have been worse with a goal disallowed before the inevitable fightback. The home side held a 4-3 advantage at half-time, but were lucky to still have 11 players after an elbow incident. The reaction was a bit theatrical, but the referee missed it. There was no VAR to ponder over the validity of the lack of a decision. As the second half wore on, it was all Macericks pressure. The inevitable goals on the breakaway were calmly slotted in added by Ryan to seal the victory. The run of misfortune for Mavericks continued, as they failed to close the gap on the league leaders.
Appendix 1 Wensleydale Creamery League Spennithorne & Harmby FC 6 Richmond Mavericks FC 3
Venue: Ferrands Park, Harmby, Leyburn. North Yorkshire. DL8 5PQ
Date: Saturday 22nd May 2021 @ 1400 Hours
Attendance: Est 31
Scorers: Ryan (4), Harker & Thompson (Spennithorne) and Pickersgill (Pen), W Gredziak & Johnson (Richmond)
Spennithorne & Harmby FC: Beales, Harker, Harmsworth, Ryan, Smith, K Stanger, Thompson, Walker, Weatherill, N Walker, J Walker Subs: Crook
Richmond Mavericks FC: Bainbridge, Cocks, Dunwoodie, Galloway, Miller, Johnson, Pickersgill, Sartini, Short, Sims, J Stanger Subs: Bastow, Cookson, B Gredziak, W Gredziak
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Rainyb
Lorraine Brecht
Lots of iron in those rocks?