Strenuous Leader : Martin Distance : 10 miles plus
We set off through Grassington and warm up with a short, sharp ascent on track and field. A flat road walk with strong headwinds takes us to the disused lead mines at Yarnbury. From here we have a gradual descent on grass and gravel (potential for wet boots crossing the beck) to Hebden and then on to the suspension bridge over the river Wharfe. A picturesque riverside walk takes us to Burnsell Bridge for lunch and toilet stop. We cross several fields and 17 (or more!) high stiles/awkward stock gate combo, on to the pretty hamlet of Thorpe. We make our way across the fields to Linton and onward to Linton Falls (scope to add in Linton Church depending on time). A five minute stroll take us back to Grassington.
Moderate Leader: Joan Distance : 7 miles
The outgoing leg of this varied walk takes us from Grassington up to Yarnbury to explore the old lead mine workings. They date back to the 17th and 18th centuries and, at their peak employed 170 people. We then follow pretty Hebden Beck to link up the River Wharfe, which provides a gentle return to the village.
As well as the industrial archaeology there are lots of water features including three sets of stepping stones (we step over one set) two waterfalls and elaborate Victorian suspension bridge. It was built using redundant steel rope from old mines in 1884 to connect Hebden with Thorpe after a man drowned trying to cross the wharf.
Easy Leader: Jackie Distance: Approx. 5 miles
The coach will park in the Yorkshire Dales National Carpark where there are toilets free of charge, but 20p donation requested.
We leave the car park, up through Grassington village, and along Chapel Lane to pick up a stony track, then Dales Way through lovely limestone scenery. Along here we should find some nice limestone ‘seats’ for our lunch. The along through Bastow Wood, down through Grass Wood, emerging onto Cove Lane. We then follow lane, tracks and field paths down to the River Wharfe at Grassington Bridge. Along the river to Linton Falls (which can be quite spectacular after rain) and back up Sedber Lane, a short steep climb back to the coach park.
It should be fairly good underfoot most of the way, although some of the field paths will probably be muddy at this time of year.
NOTES ON THE AREA
Known as the “capital of Upper Wharfedale”, Grassington is a large village on the hill-side sloping down to the north-east bank of the River Wharfe. It had its most prosperous period in the lead mining era of the late 16th to the 18th centuries, and during this time many of the delightful stone properties were built. Its bridge dates from 1603. After 1850 the economy declined, but it received a lift from the construction of the Yorkshire Dales Railway between Skipton and Grassington, now closed. In medieval times the village was an important market town.
The path down to Linton Falls from the car park at Grassington is known as the Snake Walk and was used by millworkers walking to and from Linton Mill. Now replaced by cottages, this former textile mill was powered by a weir upstream. Linton Falls is a natural limestone feature where acrobatic swallows and low-flying dippers are frequent visitors. The Falls were used to provide hydro-electricity for the village from 1909 until the National Grid came.
About a mile north of Grassington lies one of the most outstanding Romano-British field systems in the Dales. The land is privately owned but a footpath skirts the site, where Celtic fields are clearly divided into squares and rectangles by stone banks. Among the fields are indications of a settlement, for circular outlines of hut foundations, perhaps prehistoric farmsteads, have been traced. On the hillside near Linton ‘bands’ can be seen on the side of the fields.
It was near here where the ladies known as Calendar Girls lived.
Today, Grassington is a popular choice with visitors who come to admire its traditional buildings and enjoy the lovely countryside round about. The village centre has been designated a Conservation Area because of its special architectural and historical interest and particular efforts are made to protect and enhance its appearance. The stone used is local, predominantly limestone and sandstone.
Features to look out for are heavy flagstone roofs, narrow 17th century mullioned windows and decorated door lintels often inscribed with a date. The Square, recobbled through the efforts of the Chamber of Trade and voluntary groups in 1973, is one of the village’s finest features. The old lamp post, locally known as Old Gormless, and the old pump (actually a syphon fountain that used to bring water from the underground stream into horse trough) survive as relics of former years.
The Upper Wharfedale Museum Society has opened a Folk Museum in the Square. An interesting survival from the past can be seen by walking up Garrs Lane from the Square. Near the top on the left are two cottages which once constituted a theatre at which Edmund Kean appeared. Almost opposite the Post Office in Main Street is Salt Pie Hill where the salters’ wagons used to deposit the village’s salt supply.
St Michael’s Church, Linton, is one of the finest churches in the Dales. It has a bell turret but no tower, and stands on what was almost certainly an Anglo-Saxon, possibly even a pagan site, which explains its distance from the four villages it originally served – Grassington, Linton, Threshfield and Hebden. The stepping stones over the River Wharfe formed part of the ancient Parishioners’ Way to Hebden Village until its own church was built in the last century.
There is also a lively social calendar to attract visitors. The Grassington Festival is a two week event in June with music, performances and visual arts with many well-known personalities taking part. In September there is a 1940’s themed weekend and in early December there is a two week Dickensian Festival.