90 Glorious Miles (or how a Dent farm girl who thought hikers were a pretty odd bunch came to create a long distance walk)

I grew up in Dentdale. My dad was a shepherd and we lived on a farm called Stonehouse, huddled just under Arten Gill viaduct on the Settle Carlisle railway line. 

Under Arten Gill viaduct

Fell walking wasn’t something we did for pleasure in those days though we certainly did plenty of it. Our sheep were on Whernside, the highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, and in the days before quad bikes we walked up and down the mountain several times a year, bringing sheep home for lambing, clipping, dipping and tupping.  

Dad feeding sheep

And we certainly met plenty of walkers – the farm was close to the Youth Hostel and we’d giggle at the hikers as we called them trailing past in their orange cagouls heading for their bunkbeds while we went home to watch Top of the Pops in front of a nice warm fire.

So how did a farm girl who thought walkers were a bit bonkers end up creating A Dales High Way - the long distance trail that stretches all the way from Saltaire to Appleby through the Yorkshire Dales National Park?

To find out come and join us at Baildon Methodist Church at 7.30 on Tuesday 11th July where I'll be finishing the story and showing slides from the route as part of Baildon Walkers Are Welcome AGM. 

You don't have to be a member to come along. everyone's welcome at Walkers Are Welcome!

Haytime - hard work and happy memories

Growing up on a hill farm at the top of Dentdale I had very mixed feelings about haytime. The days in the fields turning and scaling the mown grass with an old fashioned wooden rake were long and hard for a young girl. We had very little machinery, an old grey Fergie tractor, a mower and a sled to cart the loose hay back to the barns, so it was all hands on deck as we worked fast to beat the rain. 

Dad setting off to the hayfield with his basket of pop

Leaning on his rake

But we had fun too. All us farm kids had to work and on a fine sunny day in July before the start of the summer holidays our classroom would be almost empty with just the children of the shop keeper and the vicar sat at their lonely desks. Our mothers worked with us in the fields and all of them carried a yellow duster. When one of them spotted the school inspector's car chugging up the Dale out came the dusters and a ripple of golden semaphore sent us running home to pull on pyjamas and jump into bed. 

These days I love to see the hay meadows filling the valley bottoms with a sea of yellow. Look closer though and you'll see that amongst the meadow buttercups and yellow rattle are the blues and whites and pinks of speedwell and chickweed and clover. 

A hay meadow in Dentdale

In the upland hay meadows of valleys like Dentdale you can find over 120 species in a single field. This abundance of wildflowers is a result of centuries of traditional farming practice. The grass is allowed to grow in late spring after the lambs go off to the fells with their mothers then cut for hay in the summer. As stock goes back onto the fields in autumn and early spring their hooves break up the soft ground and cause ideal conditions for the flowers to germinate.

We mustn't take them for granted though.  In the last 70 years over 98% of our hay meadows have been lost. So if you're walking or cycling through the Dales this month, if you're watching the Tour de France, if you're on a coach trip or a day out and you're loving the flowers, please think about all the generations of Dales farmers whose hard work keeps this glorious landscape alive.

Should I, Would I, Could I?

Last week we hired a cottage in Settle and stayed there for the Ride2stride Walking Festival. The town was full, with walkers staying in cottages, pubs, B&Bs, tents and caravans. Our cottage was lovely. Converted from a garage attached to the owner's own house it had a small living room/kitchen that opened straight off the street with a bedroom and ensuite above. Charming and quite big enough for 2 people on a walking holiday but certainly not big enough for a full time residence.

I've always had very mixed feelings about holiday cottages. I'm from Dent where 20% of the houses are holiday or second homes. When my mum and dad retired they had to leave the farm, the house went with Dad's job. 

Our farm

Second home ownership had pushed up the prices of cottages beyond anything a retired shepherd and his wife could afford. It was an anxious time. They were lucky - a housing association was building homes in the village and they lived out the rest of their lives in the Dale that they both loved. Young people are not so lucky.They often end up moving away from the villages they've grown up in. In Dentdale over half of the residents have lived there for less than 10 years and 40% are retired. 

So, should we buy second homes? Holiday cottages in towns like Settle and villages like Dent that we can go to for weekends and holidays and let out to family and friends. It's tempting isn't it, especially for those of us who live our real lives in large towns and cities? Or should we stay in pubs and on campsites and hope that the pints we buy and the chocolate bars and the fish and chips do something to help keep small businesses alive in our towns and villages? What do you think?