A dale is a valley , especially an open, gently-sloping ground between low hills with a stream flowing through it. It is used most frequently in the North of England and the Southern Uplands of Scotland ; the term " fell " commonly refers to mountains or hills that flank a dale. As with many other words, dale was preserved by Viking influence in Northern England .
31-522: Kingsdale is a valley on the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park in northern England . The name Kingsdale derives from a combination of Old Norse and Old English ( Kyen and Dael ) which means The valley where the cows were kept . Humans were active in Kingsdale from 6,700 BC onwards. Evidence of fire-pits used by hunter-gatherers have been found in the dale. Kingsdale
62-676: A major area for caving in the UK. The word dale , like dell , is derived from the Old English word dæl . It has cognates in the Nordic / Germanic words for valley ( dal , tal ), and occurs in valley names across Yorkshire and Northern England. Usage here may have been reinforced by Nordic languages during the time of the Danelaw . Most of the dales are named after their river or stream (e.g., Arkengarthdale , formed by Arkle Beck ). The best-known exception
93-599: A mobile-device software app for those who wish to explore the relevant areas. In this primarily agricultural area, tourism has become an important contributor to the economy. In 2016, there were 3.8 million visits to the Yorkshire Dales National Park including 0.48 million who stayed at least one night. The park authority estimates that this contributed £252 million to the economy and provided 3,583 full-time equivalent jobs. The wider Yorkshire Dales area received 9.7 million visitors who contributed £644 million to
124-599: A wall of water that travels down the valley across the dry riverbed. The single minor public road which serves the valley is an old packhorse route that connected Ingleton with Deepdale, then Dentdale, and which also forms the NCR 68 and the Yorkshire Dales Cycle Way . This road was a rough track until just after the Second World War , when it was re-laid with tarmac, and reaches a height of 1,552 feet (473 m). On
155-543: Is Wensleydale , which is named after the small village and former market town of Wensley , rather than the River Ure , although an older name for the dale is Yoredale. River valleys all over Yorkshire are called "(name of river)+ dale "—but only the more northern valleys (and only the upper, rural, reaches) are included in the term "The Dales". The Yorkshire Dales are surrounded by the North Pennines and Orton Fells in
186-520: Is a particularly famous product from the region. The dales are popular for hiking, and are crossed by the Dales Way , Pennine Way , and Coast to Coast long-distance footpaths . The Yorkshire Three Peaks is a walking trail entirely within the area which takes in its three highest mountains: Ingleborough (723 m (2,372 ft)), Whernside (736 m (2,415 ft)), and Pen-y-ghent (694 m (2,277 ft)). The extensive cave systems are
217-491: Is a short narrow dale, that measures 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from Thornton-in-Lonsdale in the south, to High Moss in the north. During the Last Glacial Maximum , when many of the dales were affected by ice, a glacier carved out the valley of Kingsdale, and left behind a lake impounded at its southern end by a terminal moraine Raven Ray, a piece of land higher than the broad valley beyond it. The presence of fire-pits in
248-529: Is currency unit dollar , stemming from German thaler or daler , short for joachimsthaler coins manufactured in the town of Joachimsthal in Bohemia. The word is perhaps related to Welsh dol (meadow, pasture, valley), Russian dol (valley, reverse side) and Serbian/Croatian/Bulgarian/Russian dolina (basin, doline is a geological term for certain surface depressions in karst areas). The uses are semantic equivalents to many words and phrases, suggesting
279-521: Is overlain in many areas by the Yoredale Series of alternating weak shales and hard limestones and sandstones, which give the dales their characteristic 'stepped' appearance. Most of the dales contain rivers, and the area contains seven primary catchments : the Swale , Ure , Wharfe , Aire , Nidd , Ribble , and Lune . There are several notable cave systems in the area, including the longest system in
310-461: Is unclear what the mounds were for. Another named mound is the Apron Full of Stones , the local legend being that the stones fell from the devil's apron. The site was excavated in 1972 and is a Bronze Age burial mound, though not made with limestone boulders, but from gritstone from outside of the valley. The enclosing of the land in the valley around 1820, involved the reclamation of some areas, and
341-580: The Discover England websites, for example, were using the tagline "Discover 'All Creatures Great and Small' in Yorkshire". The dales are U- and V-shaped valleys, the former enlarged and shaped by glaciers , mainly in the most recent Devensian ice age . The underlying rock is mainly Carboniferous Limestone , which results in a large areas of karst topography, in places overlain with shale and sandstone and topped with Millstone Grit , although to
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#1732851471777372-569: The Nidderdale AONB , but without the towns listed above apart from Settle. The lower reaches of Airedale and Wharfedale are not usually included in the area, and Calderdale , south of Airedale and in the South Pennines, is not often considered part of the Dales (even though it is a dale, is in Yorkshire, and its upper reaches are as scenic and rural as many further north). Additionally, although
403-453: The Trip Advisor site include Aysgarth Falls , Malham Cove (scenic walking areas), Ingleborough (hiking trails) and Ribblehead Viaduct . The DalesBus service provides service in the Dales on certain days in summer, "including the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty". In summer, these buses supplement the other services operating year-round in
434-537: The Washburn Valley whose tributary streams and rivers feed into the larger valleys, and Barbondale , Dentdale , Deepdale and Garsdale which feed west to the River Lune . The characteristic scenery of the Dales is green upland pastures separated by dry-stone walls and grazed by sheep and cattle. A survey carried out in 1988 estimated that there were just over 4,971 miles (8,000 km) of dry-stone walling in
465-655: The Dales. Tourism in the region declined because of restrictions implemented in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and into 2021. Later in 2021, the volume of visits was expected to increase as a result of the 2020 TV series All Creatures Great and Small , largely filmed within the Dales. The first series aired in the UK in September 2020 and in the US in early 2021. One source stated that visits to Yorkshire websites had increased significantly by late September 2020. By early 2021,
496-648: The National Park includes the Howgill Fells and Orton Fells, they are not usually considered part of the Dales. Most of the larger southern dales – Ribblesdale, Malhamdale and Airedale, Wharfedale and Nidderdale – run roughly parallel from north to south. The more northerly dales – Wensleydale and Swaledale – run generally from west to east. There are many other smaller or lesser-known dales such as Arkengarthdale , Bishopdale , Clapdale, Coverdale , Kingsdale , Littondale , Langstrothdale , Raydale Waldendale and
527-513: The United Kingdom, the Three Counties . Agriculture and other land management has significantly affected the appearance of the Dales, through the creation of pastures and meadows for livestock grazing and moorland for red grouse shooting. Dry stone walls and field barns are characteristic of the valley floors, particularly Wensleydale and Swaledale in the north. Wensleydale cheese
558-756: The Yorkshire Dales. Many upland areas consist of heather moorland, used for grouse shooting from 12 August (the Glorious Twelfth ). Much of the rural area is used for agriculture, with residents living in small villages and hamlets or in farmsteads. Miles of dry-stone walls and much of the traditional architecture have remained, including some field barns, though many are no longer in active use. Breeding of sheep and rearing of cattle remain common. To supplement their incomes, many farmers have diversified, with some providing accommodations for tourists. A number of agricultural shows are held each year. Lead mining
589-465: The beck was also straightened. This gives the valley, what W. R. Mitchell calls, "..an unusually neat appearance." The larger part of the valley lies within the county of North Yorkshire but its highest reaches fall just within Cumbria . It is defined by the hills of Whernside to its east and Gragareth to its west. Kingsdale is drained by the south-westward flowing Kingsdale Beck which assumes
620-518: The dale dating back to the Mesolithic era (6850–6840 BC), provide evidence of humans using the dale, but only for hunting during the summer months, with the people expected to be from the lowlands. More permanent occupancy of the dale occurred during the Bronze Age , with sooty mounds found in Kingsdale dating back to 1500 BC. The mounds consist of ash, charcoal, sooty remnants and rock fragments, though it
651-519: The dales are within the Yorkshire Dales National Park , created in 1954. The exception is the area around Nidderdale , which forms the separate Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The landscape of the Yorkshire Dales consists of sheltered glacial valleys separated by exposed moorland . The predominant rock is Carboniferous Limestone , which is particularly visible in the south-west in features such as Malham Cove . It
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#1732851471777682-516: The economy. Visitors are often attracted by the hiking trails, including some that lead to waterfalls and picturesque villages and small towns. These include Kirkby Lonsdale (just outside the area), Hawes , Appletreewick , Masham , Clapham , Long Preston and Malham . The 73-mile-long (117 km) Settle–Carlisle line railway, operated by Network Rail , runs through the National Park using tunnels and viaducts, including Ribblehead. The top-rated attractions according to travellers using
713-618: The middle is cobbles from a sea of the Carboniferous period (350 million years ago), and the lower part, where the basin is, is composed of Ordovician slate which dates back 530 million years. Kingsdale Beck is frequently dry on the surface between Kingsdale Head and Keld Head, with the water travelling underground before resurfacing at Keld Head. The same thing happens to the River Skirfare in Littondale. Spells of wet weather often bring about
744-620: The name River Twiss before joining the River Doe at Ingleton to become the River Greta . Two large waterfalls are on the lower reaches of the River Twiss; Thornton Force is 49 feet (15 m) high over one drop, whereas Pecca Falls are a series of waterfall drops covering 115 feet (35 m). The ledge at the top of the waterfall of Thornton Force is made up of the Great Scar Limestone,
775-457: The north and west of the Dent Fault the hills are formed from older Silurian and Ordovician rocks. The underlying limestone in parts of the Dales has extensive cave systems, including the 54-mile-long (87 km) Three Counties System , making it a major area for caving in the UK. There are over 2500 known caves; some are open to the public for tours. Visitors can try caving at one of
806-689: The north, the Vales of York and Mowbray in the east, the South Pennines in the south, and the Lake District and Howgill Fells to the west. They spread to the north from the market and spa towns of Settle , Skipton , and Harrogate in North Yorkshire, to the southern boundary in Wharfedale and Airedale . Natural England define the area as most of the Yorkshire Dales National Park with fringes of
837-493: The show caves: White Scar Cave, Ingleborough Cave or Stump Cross Caverns near Greenhow. The systems include: 54°16′N 2°05′W / 54.267°N 2.083°W / 54.267; -2.083 Dale (landform) It appears in various contexts, such as up hill and down dale "over every hill and dale", and "up all hills, down all dales . The word dale comes from the Old English word dæl , from which
868-526: The valley; Kail Pot, Swinsto Cave, King Pot, Jingling Pot, Valley Entrance, and Bull Pot. Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or dales , in the Pennines , an upland range in England. They are mostly located in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire , but extend into Cumbria and Lancashire ; they are entirely within the historic boundaries of Yorkshire . The majority of
899-402: The west high ground of the valley is a track known as Turbary Road (turbary being an ancient right to cut peat or turf for fuel). The route is so named as it was where the peat-cutters would transport their peat down the valley. There are several nationally important caves within the valley (such as Rowten Pot and Yordas Cave ) and the resurgence of Keld Head . Several other caves exist under
930-450: The word " dell " also derived. It is related to Old Norse word dalr (and the modern Icelandic word dalur , etc.), which may have influenced its survival in northern England. The Germanic origin is assumed to be * dala- . Dal- in various combinations is common in placenames in Norway. Modern English valley and French vallée are claimed to be related to dale. A distant relative of dale
961-481: Was common in some areas of the Dales in the 19th century, particularly during 1821 to 1861, and some industrial remains can still be found, such as the Grassington miners' cottages. Certain former mining sites are maintained by Historic England . The Grassington Moor Lead Mining Trail, with its many remaining structures, has received funding from a variety of sources. The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority provides