A Bank Holiday Monday meant a day out with me Dad.
After heading down to Kendal to meet me we decided to let his new car “stretch its legs”, so head east into the Yorkshire Dales. A wander around Hawes and the beautiful Upper Wensleydale was in order.
It’s been a while since I’ve wandered around Hawes, and I was stunned by how busy and seemingly thriving it was. Hawes has always been popular with bikers anyway, but beyond the regulars there were scores of people enjoying the sights of what Hawes has to offer.
We timed it well, too. Not long after leaving Hawes via Blea Moor Road and the Ribblehead Viaduct, the heavens opened and the rain fell.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony FE 28–70mm f3.5–5.6 OSS and Vivitar “Series 1” 70–210mm f2.8–4.0 zoom lenses. RAWs were developed in Lightroom for iPad using RNI Films’ Kodachrome film profiles.
Hawes was so busy that we couldn’t find any parking within the town. We had to stop outside the eastern end of the town. Thankfully, that afforded us views down Wensleydale like this.
A proper bucolic northern English scene, with the characteristic golden sandstone buildings of Hawes with the crags of High Clint in the distance.
One of Hawes’ most well-known scenes. Gayle Beck flows north from Sleddale and through Hawes town centre, dropping here as a beautiful series of falls.
One of many independent shops in Hawes, some have been here longer than others.
Hawes has an almost timeless aspect to it, save for the bright blue bins of course. No matter where you look, you can always see the fells of Upper Wensleydale.
There were plenty of crochet sheep and yarn bombing all around Hawes, raising funds for Great Yorkshire Ambulance.
Look at these fantastic woollen renditions of Wallace and Gromit! Wallace & Gromit is a stop-motion animation franchise, and Wallace became well-known for his love of Wensleydale Cheese. It can be argued that the renewed interest in this cheese, courtesy of Wallace & Gromit, was what saved the Wensleydale Creamery from bankruptcy.
I couldn’t resist immortalising this timeless scene. I wonder how long they’ve been going for?
We wandered up the road towards Gayle to take in a loop of the town and get some higher vantage views of it. Here, the road points the way towards Wether Fell (614 m/2,014 ft).
The cap of Yorburgh with a pair of trees point towards it.
The well-maintained path takes you around the back of Hawes and opens up the views from above it. Here, the path serves as a leading line past St. Margaret’s Church and over the buildings of Hawes, with the nub of Smuker Hill, part of Lovely Seat, visible.
I love capturing timeless rural scenes like this. Hawes makes it very easy.
Taking the little back yards of Hawes makes you feel like you’ve stepped back in time.