| The following morning was warm and bright,
encouraging me to drive topless (the car, not me) to Malham via Grassington,
Rylstone, Winterburn and Calton.
There were few tourists, and the roads were very quiet;
helpful as they are extremely narrow hereabouts. I decided to take a walk to
Gordale Scar, somewhere I had visited many times over the years. It's a
couple of miles out of Malham Village. |
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Gordale is a master of visual drama in that
as you approach, you only gradually reveal the hidden sights and sounds. |
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The drama is all around, above on the ridges
where trees hang on to ledges and maintain their arboreal composure. |
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Birds continually soar looking for their
prey. |
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Finally, the triple waterfall is seen in all
its glory. There were no other tourists at all (which is rare!) and I
enjoyed the sight and sounds as it echoed around the huge overhanging
limestone cliffs. Not quite
Canadian Rockies, but impressive in its
own way. |
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Do you believe what your eyes see here? |
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What always fascinates me about limestone
scenery is the way rivers appear and disappear at will. here, the water is
emerging on the bottom right and flowing towards the River Aire. |
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I am not alone... |
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The classic shot of Malham village. |
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OK, so it was just one mile to Gordale from
the Village! |
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I climb past Malham Cove and Malham Tarn on
a wild and beautiful road which heads North and then North west back towards
Wharfedale... |
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...which we see below us here. |
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My tourist time ran out and I returned to
the lush lowlands of the Yorkshire plain. To Ripon, where I was able to
spend a little time in the cathedral.
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A different kind of beauty to the wild
fells, but worth a little time just to stand and stare. |
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The elaborately carved choir stalls are the
foreground to the organ.
I would like to be there when it was in action. |
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And finally, the one photograph that was one
to sum up my whole experience of my small trip through the Yorkshire Dales:
'Let there be Light.' |
