“Its Wensleydale Gromit”
Before leaving Hawes, we visited The Wensleydale Creamery. Here they make Wallace and Gromit’s favourite, Wensleydale Cheese.
In fact they make a bewildering aray of cheeses, some of which are shown in the picture below:
And as you might expect, in the gift shop, there was a small selection of Wallace and Gromit mechandise.
We were tempted and purchased some cheesy items, though not of the Wallace and Gromit variety.
Buttertubs Pass
Our plan was to visit the village of Muker on our way home, so we ventured carefully over Buttertubs Pass, mindful of the recent snowfall on higher ground. We had travelled this way on our last visit to the area and it was stunning then, but the snow added a new dimension to the landscape.
As we reached the far side of the pass, the weather was clearly closing in with very black clouds ahead and remembering the very steep descent into Muker, we decided to not risk it and returned the way we had come, back to Hawes. Maybe we were being a little over-cautious but a motorhome is not a 4X4.
Ingleborough
Heading back west from Hawes, a little way beyond Ribblehead, we were fortunate enough to be able to park near the entrance to the Southerscales Nature Reserve, a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve.
There is a good path from the road, which passes what must be an old limekiln:
The path took us on towards Ingleborough:
…and through the middle of a large limestone pavement:
As we left the limestone pavement behind, we came to realise that this was the path that is used by those competing in the “Three Peaks” race. Not sure whether the route is up or down this bit, but either way it looks fearsome, especially the top bit:
At this stage of the walk the wind really started to make its icy presence felt, so we turned back at this point. It must have been much worse further up. We used to call such a wind, “lazy” because it goes straight through, rather than around you.
On the way back we passed a huge shake-hole, called “Braithwaite Wife Hole”. It must be easily 50 metres across and 20 metres deep. Not sure of the story behind its name; perhaps the unfortunate Mrs. Braithwaite fell in.
Shakeholes (or “dolines”) are formed when the underlying rock is disolved over time, by the action of rainwater. A huge system of underground caves lies beneath Ingleborough.
"See-u-Later" 