Through the seasons


January New Year and above ground temperatures may dip to their lowest, but underground it’s always 8o


May C. The National Park has some of the finest and


most extensive limestone caves - part of our famous limestone scenery known as karst - in Britain.


If you go down to the woods in late spring you’ll be in for a great delight. A carpet of flowers, bluebells and lily-of-the-valley, could welcome you, while the smell of wild garlic lingers in the air and birds sing from broad-leafed tree branches. If you’re very lucky you might just see a roe deer (pictured) or red squirrel.


Visit one of the spectacular show caves - White Scar Cave, Stump Cross Caverns and Ingleborough Cave - or be winched down the incredible main chamber of Gaping Gill with the local potholing clubs on bank holidays (see event listing on pages 15 to 25). Local adventure companies can also help you explore the dramatic underground rivers and stunning potholes.


February


Winter brings frost and snow and a thin ground covering can highlight archaeological features - ancient field systems, outlines of deserted settlements and the bumps of Bronze Age burial cairns.


Industrial heritage sites, like Ribblehead Viaduct in Ribblesdale, Old Gang smelt mill in Swaledale and Grassington Moor in Wharfedale (pictured), are worth a visit to help you appreciate the hardship faced by workers in these isolated places.


March The National Park turns into a nursery at this time of year. Spring lambs (known as hoggs until their first shearing at 8 to 14 months) are found in lower fields, and cows, which overwintered in barns, are turned out in April and May to share the fields with ground nesting birds like lapwing and curlew (pictured).


Between March and July it is important to keep dogs on leads; however, if you feel threatened by cows let your dog go.


April


April showers swell the many rivers that, over the centuries, have helped shape the Dales. As they travel to the coast they thunder down 30 main waterfalls in the National Park, both deafening and delighting passers by. Visit Aysgarth Falls, Ingleton or Hardraw Force - the longest single drop waterfall in England - to experience just a few.


Whitfield Benson


There are public paths through Freeholders’ Wood at Aysgarth Falls and Strid Wood near Bolton Abbey, or you could take our self-guided red squirrel trail to a special viewing point in Snaizeholme reserve.


June


Upland hay meadows come alive with wild flowers, insects and small mammals like field voles. Swaledale is one of the best places to view. As you walk through the meadows around Muker, imagine what it was like during the hot, hard work of haymaking later in the summer and how welcome the ‘drinkings’ were - food and drink brought out and shared, while stories were told and company enjoyed.


Gavin Duxbury


Or you can escape the cold by visiting indoor heritage attractions like Dales Countryside Museum, Bolton Castle or Gayle Mill in Wensleydale or Dent Village Heritage Centre in Dentdale. Check seasonal opening times and weather conditions before travelling.


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The unpolluted waters are also great for spotting wildlife, not only fish, but birds like grey heron and goosander. In late spring young Atlantic salmon, a UK priority wildlife species, make their way to the ocean; adults return in autumn, dramatically leaping up-stream to reach their spawning ground.


Children can get up-close to smaller water-loving beasties by joining one of our Wild Wednesday stream-dipping events at Aysgarth Falls, Malham and Bolton Abbey during school holidays - see page 22 for details.


Remember, haymeadows are fragile places - always stick to paths and walk single file through fields.


Visit the Yorkshire Dales National Park online at www.yorkshiredales.org.uk


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