Horton in Ribblesdale

We have taken Fufu for a stay on the car park of the Helwith Bridge Inn, North of Settle, at Horton in Ribblesdale. 

On the way there, we called in at the Craven Lime Works, which is the site of a number of derelict lime kilns, including a huge Hoffmann kiln and a number of draw kilns.

Limestone, which was quarried from the hillside alongside the kiln, was burned to create quick lime, which was used in construction and as a fertiliser.  A temperature of 900 to 1000 degrees Celsius is needed to burn the limestone and create calcium oxide on a massive scale. 

The most impressive structure to be seen on this site is the Hoffmann kiln, which is immense.  It is almost like an underground racetrack around 100 yards in length, with access points all around the outside.  Lime was burned continuously 24 hours a day in a circuit gradually moving around the “racetrack”, a circuit taking around 6 weeks to complete.  A mixture of limestone and fuel was placed by hand in front of the fire and the quick lime removed afterwards.  The working conditions must have been dreadful with the heat and the corrosive nature of the end-product.

Apparently the Hoffmann Kiln was used to store munitions during the second world war.

Unfortunately our pub stopover at the Helwith Bridge Inn did not live up to our expectations.  The car park is level and large enough to accommodate at least 20 motorhomes of campervans, which is fine and as the evening drew on, it became filled to capacity.  No problem with this.

We had a meal in the pub earlier than we had booked, and received a warm welcome, but when it arrived, Alison’s food was not hot, needing to be sent back to be microwaved, and my fish and chips were spoiled with the fish having a very thick coating of uncooked batter on it. 

To be fair, when I was asked if everything was OK and I said I was disappointed, I was not charged for the meal, but it was clear that the staff attitude had changed towards us and we were given a very “cold shoulder”.  Such genuine feedback should be valued as a way of improving the services offered (and why ask if you don’t want an honest answer).  It is a shame really, as Alison had enjoyed her food and if there had been a different attitude, we would have returned for another meal the following evening as we had originally planned to stay for two nights.