Читать книгу Walking in the Yorkshire Dales: South and West. Wharfedale, Littondale, Malhamdale, Dentdale and Ribblesdale онлайн

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That same diversity is repeated further west in the hills that give rise to the River Aire, from the gritty moors above Winterburn to the awesome limestone scarps of Malham and Gordale. Like Grassington, the village of Malham must be amongst the most visited of the whole park, and its popularity stems simply from the grand beauty of its setting. The accessibility of Malham Cove, Gordale and Janet’s Foss has put them within reach of almost everyone, and their natural charm has no doubt awakened a love of the countryside in many a child visiting as part of a geography field trip. But, even on the busiest summer weekend, you need not wander far to experience a sense of quiet and freedom.

The River Skirfare sometimes tumbles along its bed at Litton (Walk 16)

With working quarries and a railway that runs its full length, Ribblesdale appears the most workaday of the Dales. Yet even here, it is the loveliness of the scenery that makes the greatest impression. Of all the dales, it is the one that most obviously proclaims an identity in the mountains that enclose it, for here they stand well back and can be viewed with anticipation. And this is the dale intimately linked with the Three Peaks Challenge, which begins and ends at the famous café in Horton. So much is said of them that you might be forgiven for thinking them the three highest in Yorkshire – and while Whernside and Ingleborough most certainly are, Pen-y-ghent, barely 30m lower, only ranks eighth in the list. Despite this handicap, it is perhaps the most striking of all, and, if approached along the Pennine Way from the south, arouses all the expectancy and sense of achievement of a real mountaineering peak.