Ron Freethy's Easter Walks - Aysgarth

I MAKE a point of walking in the Yorkshire Dales in the springtime at least once every week.

There are many reasons for this but two stand out in particular.

Firstly, I was born in the Lake District and this area gets so busy in the season that finding quiet walks is not easy.

More than 40 years ago my uncle took me on a trip to Aysgarth Waterfalls.

We strolled quietly on our own and, although the area is now much busier, the car park is usually not full and the beauty of the waterfalls remains.

This was the area used by the film makers to shoot sequences for Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.

Secondly, I can never resist the sight and sound of a waterfall.

Standing above the waterfall is Aysgarth Parish Church.

Experts on these matters tell me that because the graveyard is large and circular, this means that it is very ancient and probably Anglo Saxon. My uncle was not only a good botanist but he was a fountain of knowledge about the folklore of plants.

In the Dales he showed me a flower called herb paris. He warned me that the plant was poisonous if eaten, but when applied as a poultice it was regarded as something of a cure-all. It was also regarded as a remedy against witchcraft.

Without doubt, however, this man loved apples.

He got excited when he saw apple blossom and made the most wonderful pies from crab apple and blackberry, sweetened with honey.

All those years ago we watched the local people playing a game called "quoites."

This consisted of throwing heavy iron horse shoes on to a metal peg - or trying to.

This year I searched to see if the game was still played. It is and there is even an organised league.

I was shown a quoites court at the nearby village of Redmire and given a photograph of the court situated on the green.

A network of footpaths circle around the well appointed visitors' centre at Aysgarth and there is a cafe by the bridge. What is now a carriage museum was once a huge woollen mill.

This has its place in 19th century Italian history because it was the place where red cloth was woven. A job lot was bought by Garibaldi's army and became famous during his exploits.

Aysgarth is a delightful spot with wonderful riverside walks.

At times of flood the sound of the waterfalls is almost deafening.

During the day I watched dippers and grey wagtail building their nests, gasped at the beauty of a kingfisher flying under the bridge, found herb paris, ate a bacon butty and a slice of apple pie and cheese.

I did not forget my Uncle Albert, the man who got me addicted to apple pies and waterfalls.

From East Lancashire the best way to reach this area is via Settle, Ribblehead and along Wensleydale from Hawes.

Take all day to enjoy the splendour of the Dales. Then go home and hire Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.

You can then live again and again the joys of Aysgarth, the king of waterfalls.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.