West Burton

4:40pm Tuesday 25th April 2006

As the summer month approach, one of the most popular places to visit has to be the Yorkshire Dales with its spectacular scenery. This week, CELIA MORLEY looks at the historic past of the ancient village of West Burton.

ONE of the most picturesque waterfalls, of the many to be found in the Yorkshire Dales, in my opinion, is the one belonging to the ancient village of West Burton where the river tumbles gracefully over gigantic rocks after squeezing through a narrow gorge.

The lure to view these magnificent cascades from behind the curtain of water makes it quite dramatic and enticing.

It takes a fair bit of imagination, these days, especially in cold weather, to cast the mind back to the Carboniferous period, some 280 to 330 million years ago, when the Yorkshire Dales used to be near the equator. Limestone is a sedimentary rock laid down in shallow tropical seas.

Millions of sea creatures, including corals and molluscs, helped to make up the formation of the rock when their skeletons, along with shells, sank slowly to the bottom of the sea to create, through the ages, the hard thick sediment.

Many climatic changes and ice sheets have all worked their magic to create the grey-white rock we see exposed and gleaming in the sun in the 21st century.

The periodic movement in the earth's crust eventually formed the cracks and faults within the rock that now makes the Yorkshire Dales home to some of the most spectacular and varied waterfalls unsurpassed anywhere else in Britain.

Mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086, the ancient village of West Burton lies on the east side of Bishopdale, a little over a mile south of Aysgarth. The wide green was used for fairs and a stepped stone spire was erected in 1820, crowned by a weathervane. Penhill, reaching 1,726 feet above sea level, is to the east of West Burton.

Aysgarth lies on the southern banks of the River Ure, four miles downstream from Askrigg. The spectacular Upper Aysgarth Falls can be viewed from Yore Bridge, which is believed to date from 1539, as it cascades over three broad limestone terraces; the result of erosion, when sections were washed away from the thin beds of soft shale beneath the limestone blocks.

A pretty woodland path, running along the north bank of the river, leads to the Middle and Lower Falls. The falls and foamy torrents have inspired many famous names to paint and photograph here, such as Turner, Wordsworth and Ruskin.

The National Park information centre and shops are located near the car park. Opposite there is a museum of carriages and horse-drawn vehicles.

The highest waterfall above ground, plunging 96 feet, is Hardraw Force, near Hawes. To get to this magnificent waterfall you have to go through the Green Dragon Inn and along the path, which leads to the entrance.

The gorge made an excellent natural amphitheatre and towards the end of the 19th century, brass band concerts were held. The remains of the bandstand can still be seen along with overgrown terrace seats.

In recent years, these concerts have enjoyed a revival from time to time. More very attractive waterfalls can be found at Shaw Gill Wood.

Hardraw, sometimes spelt Hardrow, is another waterfall that entices the brave onlooker to walk behind the slender columns of water where sparkling rainbows mingle with the light and the fine spray before disappearing into nothingness, another area that attracted Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy in 1799.

There are many enchanting little unnamed waterfalls to chance across along the country lanes or moorland paths. Some innocent trickles can readily turn into raging torrents after rain, falling from great heights of hillside, reminiscent of late glacial times, before the draining of the lakes.

The impressive, Wain Wath Force lies below Cotterby Scar, about one mile northwest of Keld and is one of a series along the River Swale as it snakes its way through a wooded gorge towards Muker. 1,732 feet above sea level stands Tan Hill Inn - the highest Inn in England and very welcome for walkers seeking refreshment. The smaller Mill Gill Force is found by footpath near Askrigg church, which lies in a wooded ravine.

The Dales National Park covers an extensive 680 square miles, but beyond those boundaries the Yorkshire Dales stretches over a far greater area. There is always another place of interest to discover.

Editor's Choice