Wensleydale Ales

I have been lucky enough to interview Geoff Southgate who, along with business partner Carl Gehrman, recently took over the Wensleydale Brewery based just outside Leyburn. You can read the full interview here:

http://massmovement.co.uk/hops-barley-brewers-tale-wensleydale-brewery/

I recommend you settle down in a comfy chair with a glass of Semer Water Light Ale and then enjoy what Geoff has to say!

Wensleydale - Bolton Castle and Aysgarth Falls

Sometime is has to be said, Claire and I get a bit stuck on a rainy day. If we're in the Lakes, we'll put on the waterproofs and head out anyway, but when you're home seeing the rain pelting the windows, it does get a bit harder to get motivated to head outdoors.

Wensleydale is a good answer though as it has a few decent rainy day options. Heading over there via Swaledale, we can always make a stop in Richmond or Leyburn to stock up on goodies, and if we head over to Hawes there are all sorts of things to do there.

We recently had a couple of friends visiting from New York and decided that on this fairly dull day, a quick tour of some North Yorkshire highlights would be a good idea. We started off with Bolton Castle, which I had not previously visited.

It is well worth doing a tour of the castle as it is a really interesting place - part ruined, part restored and part museum. The tour includes displays of birds of prey which is well worth sticking around for, although we missed the archery demonstration. One of the highlights for me was the spectacular views to be had from the castle tower, far and wide across Wensleydale.

After Bolton Castle we drove the short distance to the National Park Visitor Centre near the Aysgarth Falls. The centre is packed with books, information, displays of the flora and fauna of the National Park, as well as a cafe.

From here it is only a short walk to the upper, middle and lower falls and they are always impressive - especially so on this occasion when the river was full and fast flowing after recent rain.

The next time we are in the area I think we will do a walk combining Bolton Castle with Aysgarth Falls as they are only a couple of miles apart with what looks like a nice clear footpath joining the two.

Wensleydale Ales

As well as home of the famous cheese, Wensleydale is also home to plenty of real ale. I recently picked up a nice selection of beers from the Wensleydale Brewery and they certainly went down a treat.

The beers each have their unique attributes, but one thing that brings them all together is - to put it simply - they are very drinkable! I found them all to be fairly simple and light on the palate, and tasty served both chilled and out of the cupboard. With modern beers upping the alcohol percentage to compete with the lagers and ciders, Wensleydale simply go for taste, the strongest of these was the Semer Water at 4.1%. What you do get is a really nice beer, with the bitters tasting just how they should. I enjoyed the Rowley Mild too, which could definitely be a choice for a Winter drink. If I was to pick a favourite, I would probably go for the Semer Water - I'm a sucker for the name! Despite being a Summer Ale, I was happy to drink it mid-December.

With a trip to Leyburn planned soon I'll stock up on more of these and I think I'll be paying the brewery a visit for a more detailed insight into the life of a Dales brewery so keep an eye out for that. Cheers!

For more information visit: http://www.wensleydalebrewery.co.uk/

A Masham Circular - Wensleydale Walkings

Of course a mention of the town of Masham has you immediately thinking real ale - not suprisingly as it is home to the Theakston and Black Sheep Breweries. I went there to discover another side to the town too, as I was interested in trying out some new walking country.

This walk starts near the hamlet of Fearby, a couple of hundred metres away from the Druids Temple, built by William Danby, the squire of Swinton. The countryside around Masham is much gentler than the Dales further north, rolling fields, rivers, hills and woodland offering pretty and contrasting views.

The start of the walk is on fairly high ground and gives a great view over to the east with the hills of the North York Moors looming in the distance. As soon as you set off the varied landscape never fails to impress - the horizon changes as you cross each field and stile and past sections of woodland. One moment you cross large lush pastures accompanied by sheep and the North York Moors.

A couple of stiles later you are gazing up into distant hills of the Yorkshire Dales with Wensleydale just beyond. These looked magnificent with their dusting of snow on the tops.

As you cut back down towards the Fearby road, you are back in the sleepier more rustic world of the Dales, with drystone walls, gentle valleys and quiet villages.

Finally after crossing the road and heading back into the hills, you are back into a wilder countryside, where pasture becomes moorland and the moss has conquered the walls, alongside Sole Beck, which feeds into the river Burn.

Alongside the dry stone walls, ancient stone barns appear and almost disappear into the surrounding countryside, so much they appear to live in harmony alongside nature.

The wet woodland was home to all kinds of flora such as these patches of giant mushrooms appearing at the foot of the trees

A muddy trek back across farmlands brings this fine circular walk to a close. Just a short distance away is the Druids Temple and my next post will give you an small insight into this mysterious place.

Some Christmas Cheers and Beers

With all the preparations for festivities I haven't had as much chance to get out and about as I would have liked - although I did sneak in a walk close near the Druid's Temple, just outside Masham whilst shopping for Christmas presents so watch out for the report and pictures in the New Year.

In the meantime I made a stop off in Leyburn for some goodies and was pleased to find a selection of celebration ales from the Yorkshire Dales Brewing Co. I also got to see what must be one of the best views of Wensleydale, from The Shawl which is a couple of minutes away from Leyburn market place.

Having watched the number of my blog followers grow and grow, I aim to keep up a high standard of regular entries with reports, photos and news items, so thank you for inspiring me to keep going. I wish you all a cheerful Christmas and a Happy New Year, I hope you get the chance to get outside and and enjoy the scenery!

view of Penhill from The Shawl in Leyburn

Semer Water

"Semerwater rise! Semerwater sink! And swallow the town, all save this house, Where they gave me meat and drink."
Semer Water is a beautiful and quiet location, in fact I was amazed at how few people I encountered on this walk on what was the last weekend of the school Summer holidays.It is also home to a legendary city that was drowned by after an old man visiting the town was turned away from all but one house - that one house on the hill was saved from the watery grave.

After a number of trips to the Lakes recently, I though it was about time I paid a visit to the Yorkshire Dales again. I decided on visiting Semer Water and the surrounding Dale as the route description in my AA guide to the Yorkshire Dales sounded promising.

It was also not too far away, and seeing as I had a busy day planned this sounded about right. The drive in itself is really enjoyable as you come through Wensleydale turning off the main road just before Bainbridge.

The walk started right on the lake shore and was a great place to start. I headed up the road to a farm before crossing a stile and heading out across the meadows. There was a lot to see here, with the head of Raydale up ahead and the lake to the right. I stopped for a brief look around the ruins of Stalling Busk church and small graveyard.

From here the walk led away from the lake and into the Dale reaching the village of Marsett before long. By now the sun was emerging from the clouds and was casting shafts of light onto the surrounding daleside.

Leaving Marsett meant a steep climb up 250 metres. This was well worth the effort as the top rewarded me with some great views of Semer Water and the distinctive shape of Addleborough behind reminiscent of Ingleborough, and on the top of the open access land there were views westwards all the way over to the Yorkshire Three Peaks.

I didn't cross a single other person after having left Marsett and up on the Dale I certainly felt cut off from the rest of the world, with only countryside and the occasional farm in site. The path came back down slightly more gently than the hike uphill and soon I was on the road leading back to Semer water.

It was even quieter there than when I arrived, with maybe two or three cars parked, with people reading, drinking cups of tea and enjoying the serenity, the only noise came from the ducks on the edge of the water. All in all a really nice moderate walk and definitely one to repeat.

Ales from the Dales

After a recent walk to the Aysgarth Falls, Claire and I decided to stop in the village of Leyburn to get some local supplies. As soon as you enter the shop Campbells of Leyburn your sense of smell gets hit by the olive bar ahead of you. About 15 different types of olive await and you could spend an eternity not to mention a fair bit of cash here! We then moved onto the cheese counter and this was just as spectacular. There was a huge array of local produce, all looking really tempting. In the end we settled for this selection of Wensleydale cheeses.

Looking forward to having this with some of the chutneys and chili sauces we got from the Mainsgill Farm Shop on the A66.

We then moved onto the "crown jewels" - the massive real ale selection. Don't get me wrong I am quite happy to sup Bombardier or Greene King IPA, but I love it when given a choice of local brews. There were tons of local beers available including the very drinkable Richmond Station Ales. This time I went for a selection of beers brewed by the Yorkshire Dales Brewing Co., this was a bit of a no brainer really, as the beers names are all based around some classic Dales countryside, how could I resist?!  A lot of love has gone into the production of these beers and it is worth having a sample. I particularly enjoyed the pale refreshing Muker Silver - reminded me that it's time to revisit the meadows and paths that take you along Swaledale from Muker to Keld.

Anyway the shop is a real treasure trove and and after a long walk in the Dales, I think a treat or two are well deserved...

Aysgarth Falls walk

Our recent trip to Malham Cove and Gordale Scar took us right through the heart of Wensleydale. Along the way we passed some spectactular locations and made notes to come back and visit. This last weekend we made good on that promise and headed out to visit the Aysgarth Falls. I was particularly keen to get a closer look at Penhill. This hill is under 600m in height but it stands in isolation giving it the prominence sufficient for me to see it every morning just before getting to work from the hills above Richmond.

looking across Wensleydale with Penhill in the distance

Our walk started at the village of West Burton. The weather was holding out and as we set off the sun came out and set off the colours of Wensleydale very well. West Burton is a beautiful little village and home to the "cat pottery" which Claire was keen on visiting - closed on Saturdays unfortunately for us.

walking through West Burton

We headed out across the meadows in the direction of Aysgarth. Looking back gave us a great view of Penhill and in the distance we could make out the hills along Wensleydale.

across the meadows of Wensleydale

We crossed several fields and a lot of stiles, over a narrow bridge at Eshington. A steep climb ensued which led us over the meadows and after a mile or so the village of Aysgarth came into view. We were keen to see the falls, so headed through the village, through the churchyard and along the meadows towards the river Ure.

St. Andrew's Church Aysgarth

The path was very well maintained and gave beautiful views of the surrounding countryside - but unfortunately not the falls! It seems the woodland along the south bank of the river is being regenerated and as a result the footpath is out of bounds. We eventually joined the banks of the river and I headed back towards the lower falls for a couple of pictures.

the spectacular river Ure

A few metres later we were headed back across the pastures. The path took us beside the spectacular Sorrelsykes follies. These three follies were built some time between 1860 and 1921 and give an extra curiosity to this walk.

Sorrelsykes Follies

The path took us through another three meadows passing a barn with this piece of vintage farming material - if you know what this is please let me know!

We were soon back in West Burton and walked back to the car at the village green. We stopped for our picnic at the magnificent village cross beside the stocks. Having come here to see the falls, we drove back to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Visitors Centre. At this point it was raining heavily, so we took shelter and had a look around the excellent centre.

Aysgarth Upper Falls

The Falls were well signposted and so we headed first to look at the Upper Falls before returning to the visitors centre and walking through the woods to visit the Middle and Lower Falls.

Aysgarth Lower Falls

 This made for a great day out with some easy walking and lots to look at.

Aysgarth Middle Falls