Yorkshire Walks

The old forge or Smidy owned by Tom Lee who was
hanged in the 1760's for the murder of the local doctor

The walled track called Bank Lane

At the end of Chapel Street we turned right up Bank Lane still following the Dales Way route. Bank Lane became a walled track between the fields and at map ref. SE002646, the Dales Way route turns left off the track through a pedestrian gate to cross the fields. We stayed on the track which contoured around the hillside with lovely views over Grassington and down Wharfedale. After a few hundred meters the track rejoined the Dales Way at map ref. SD998651.

Today my mate, Jim, and I drove to the visitor centre car park at Grassington in Wharfedale at map ref. SE002637. It was a poor weather forecast with heavy showers expected almost anywhere. At least it was fine as we set from the car park up the village street which was completely congested with parked cars so that the traffic was held up in both directions. On foot we negotiated our way around all the vehicles and continued up the village street. We followed the Dales Way route out of Grassington. We turned left along Garrs Lane which became Chapel Street.

Setting out along Bank Lane

The walled track called Bank Lane

Looking across Wharfedale from the Dales Way

One of many such stiles on the Dales Way

Dales Way heading for Conistone Dib

There were many decorative little snails along the track

There is also a very solid old lime kiln with an iron plaque describing how it would have been used. At the head of Conistone Dib, the Dales Way crosses a track that come all the way over the moor from Middlesmoor and Howstean Gorge in Nidderdale to Conistone in Wharfedale.

From here we continued along the Dales Way route for about 3km to the head of Conistone Dib. Along the way there were limestone scars each topped with its limestone pavement. It's a very picturesque route.

Lime kiln by the Dales Way

Climbing up to the head of Conistone Dib

Heading for the opening into Conistone Dib

Going down into Conistone Dib

Looking down Conistone Dib

The wide middle part of Conistone Dib

Dry river channel in the lower part of the dib

Another multi-coloured snail

The path down the dib finishes with a series of limestone shelves about 1.2m deep just before the path emerges into Conistone village.

As we approached this track we turned left to enter Conistone Dib. The public footpath descends down a rocky cleft in the ground. It's very steep to start with and it's really a short rock scramble down the rock cleft to more of a footpath below. The limestone rock was very slippery in this showery weather and great care was needed to descend safely. The gorge was eroded by a river of melt water at the end of the ice age and there's one place in particular where rocks caught in a whirlpool have eroded a dome shaped alcove in the limestone wall of the river channel.

Looking back to the scramble down into Conistone Dib

Descending into the lower part of Conistone Dib

Dome shaped alcove in the rock formed by a whirlpool in the old river

Rock shelves near the bottom of the dib

Looking back to the dib from the village

An old barn near the edge of the village

Looking back to Kilnsey Crag

Climbing away from Conistone

Path around the rim of the Dib Beck valley

Back along the path from Conistone we had a lovely view of Kilnsey Crag looking up Wharfedale. We climbed up to the edge of a deep valley flanked by limestone cliffs with Dib Beck running in the bottom. As we approached there didn't seem to be a way across but I have been this way before and the path skirts the top of the cliff to the head of the valley and makes an easy crossing.

About 100m from the centre of the village we turned left off the road to follow a path sign posted to Grassington, climbing up the hillside. On the hillside across the River Wharfe there is an ancient settlement and field system marked on the OS map. I can remember seeing the terraces and platforms picked out by the shadows of the banks on a previous visit but there was no sun today and I could not spot anything resembling an ancient field system.

The centre of Conistone village

Climbing away from Conistone

Common daisies by the path

Path around the rim of the Dib Beck valley

Path around the rim of the Dib Beck valley

Looking north from the top edge of Bastow Wood to the limestone scars towards Conistone

Heading back towards Grassington

The end of Bank Lane in Grassington

Then we returned to the car park at the Visitor Centre. The whole route had been 11km and it had taken about 5 hours including our stops. This is the longest and hardest walk I have done since my knee replacement operation at the start of the year, so things are still progressing. It's a long slow process.

The path climbed up along the edge of Bastow Wood and we followed it along a grassy track through limestone outcrops to cross the Dales Way path at map ref. SD998651. From there we retraced our steps along the walled track back into Grassington. We found a pleasant little cafe in the village centre for a coffee and a bacon roll.

Heading back to Grassington along Bank Lane

Returning down Main Street in Grassington