"God's own country! " a Yorkshire Dales National Park Travel Page by Sjalen

Just like last time, I cannot believe that I haven't been back for soooo long but for this I blame my Scandinavian-obsessed Yorkshire husband who insists on staying away from Yorkshire and of course, my own discovery of Italy in later years. The Yorkshire Dales is one of only three places in the world which make me cry when I leave (the others being my Baltic Sea archipelago house and Sicily) they are that special to me. I guess I just love the down to earth feeling of the people here, coupled with a scenery where cloud and sun make patterns on desolate fellsides, all full of black faced sheep.

Yorkshire Dales is maybe not as dramatic as the Lake District to the west with its higher peaks, but it just feels more natural. Even the Dales can be overrun with tourists but still not like the lakeside towns with their non stop souvenir shops and coach loads. Here I write about some of my favourite places in the park. I tend to visit the upper eastern part more than the western and southern, so you will find more tips on those Dales, but just bear with me and I will have visited much more as I keep returning.

Dale is an old Norse word which means "valley" and is a legacy from viking times ("dal in Swedish and Norwegian today for instance). The Yorkshire Dales consist of five different dales areas with smaller dales in between. Most (with the main exception being Wensleydale along the river Ure) are named after the rivers running through them:

Dramatic Swaledale and Arkengarthdale in the north
Wensleydale with its farming heritage and history
Nidderdale and Wharfedale in the south
Ribblesdale and the Cumbrian border with caves
Malhamdale and Langstrothdale with more caves and lakes

All have different characters and sights even if they all have fells (hills), sheep farming and stone walls in common and the National Park logo is in fact a Swaledale sheep. I describe their differences further under "General tips".

For more information than I can ever give you, do visit the official park webpage: http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/