Читать книгу The Dales Way. From Ilkley to the Lake District through the Yorkshire Dales онлайн

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It may surprise you to learn that otter, deer, red fox and water voles are also present, as well as rabbit and grey squirrel.

History and culture

The outlines of Iron Age fields and hut circles can still be traced on the fells above Kettlewell and Grassington, and although most of the area through which the Dales Way passes was occupied for centuries by the British tribe of Brigantes, these were subdued by the Romans shortly after their occupation of Britain.

Once the Romans had departed both from what is now Yorkshire and Cumbria, the ancient Britons were infiltrated by Angles who began the process of clearing forests and establishing farming practices. Vikings settled the entire area from about the 10th century, leaving their language inscribed in place names: The name Wharfe, for example, derives from the Old English weorf, or Old Norse hverfr, and means ‘winding river’.

During Anglo-Saxon times, large estates were created. After the Norman invasion, the lands were given to Robert Romilly. Alice de Romilly donated land in the mid 12th century for the construction of monasteries that quickly developed vast sheep farms and the founding of drove roads, many of which can still be seen and walked today.