The green at Bainbridge is surrounded on three sides by stone cottages, and at the northern end by the Rose and Crown Hotel. On the green is a set of stocks, once a warning to wrongdoers. Inside the Rose and Crown is a horn that is blown each night at nine o'clock between 27th September and Shrovetide (the three days before Ash Wednesday) — a medieval custom dating back to when Bainbridge was surrounded by forests where wolves roamed, acting as a guide for travellers to reach the village safely.
The stone houses of Askrigg wind up the hillside. St Oswald's Church dates back to 1240, and the lead covering the roof came from local mines. In front of the church surrounded by cobbles is the market cross (granted a charter by Elizabeth I). In the 18th century the village was noted for its clockmakers: grandfather clocks sold to people in neighbouring Swaledale were carried over the 1,700-foot-high ridge by two men, with clock mechanisms carried separately in a basket.
The tall stone house opposite Askrigg Church may seem familiar, having been used on numerous occasions as Skeldale House in the first 'All Creatures Great and Small' TV series (after fundraising by stars of the show, including a charity cricket match, the house was bought in 1979 as a residential home for elderly folk of the dale).
Wensleydale is famous for cheese; the first were made in medieval times by Cistercian monks at Jervaulx Abbey (all pickled in brine back then, creating a finer flavoured cheese). On the walk back from Askrigg to Bainbridge, the small village of Worton is visited, featuring listed buildings like Worton Hall and the Victoria Arms public house, which had one of the longest-serving landlords in British pub history (Ralph Daykin was publican for 57 years between 1956 and 2013).
Between Worton and the finish back in Bainbridge, a small climb is made to walk the elevated ridge of Worton Scar and Brough Scar. Gaining around 30 metres of altitude is rewarded with lovely views across the Upper Wensleydale valley, including rooftops of the three villages visited.
Standing just to the east of Bainbridge is the site of the Roman fort of Virosidum, built by Gnaeus Julius Agricola and occupied until the end of the 4th century AD, with roads radiating out to York, Lancaster, Ilkley, and Stainmore. Looking back over the road bridge upstream, there is a delightful view of small waterfalls on the River Bain — the shortest river in Britain, running about two miles from its source at Semerwater to its confluence with the River Ure just north of Bainbridge.
Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.
