Thursday 4 July 2013

Hardraw in the Yorkshire Dales

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving across the country looking for a campsite at 7 o'clock at night. Quite frankly, I was a bit scunnered and hungry, not to mention that my last cup of tea was becoming a distant memory, and I was beginning to think that I was probably in driving home distance when I spotted a signpost for Hardraw. I'd spent a good weekend here in 2005 playing tunes with some of our local Galloway folkies and I knew that there was camping to be had (at a very acceptable £7 a night). I was feeling better even before I had the tent up, kettle on and a bite to eat made. Refuelled, I went for a wander round the village.


Hardraw Beck runs through the village.


The Beck might look gentle today but in 1889 it was high enough to destroy the current bridge's predecessor.



I would be lying if, when I saw the signpost to Hardraw, I said I didn't remember that they also have an excellent pub with good beer as well as a campsite. I should have taken some pictures in here, it has a lovely old bar with a stone floor and beamed roof, but you can go to the Green Dragon's own website and look for yourself. I spent a pleasant evening having a couple of pints and nattering to some tourists, one of which also came from Kirkcudbright - it's a small world.




The following morning I followed the beck for a short distance.



You can go as far as the waterfall known as the Hardraw Force. At 100 feet tall (30 metres), it's the highest single drop waterfall in England. In Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Kevin Costner takes a bath here. It may be on Youtube somewhere but it's better hidden than my determination to find it.



When I was here in 2005, there was much more water coming over the top.



The village church, St Mary and St John.


Not much stained glass but this was above the altar.


This strawberry plant is a familiar mark - it's by Sir Ninian Comper who also made a window I saw in Cromarty last year (in this blog)


On the way home I stopped the car here to have a look at some lapwings I saw in a field.


I really got a good view of them but the little blighters don't want to hang about long enough for me to get a decent picture.





6 comments:

Michael (Light-In-A-Box) said...

Nothing like camping when the weathers good, you have a nice spot, & there is beer down the street! : ) I love camping.. Hippies use the back door? Seriously?

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

So, was the back door unlocked when you tried it?

Sandy's witterings said...

Michael, I do enjoy a bit of camping. The tent does offer quite a bit of flexibility of where to stay and when and it's like having your own home with you (appeals to my Scottish finance thinking too)

John, I sneeked in the front quietly when nobody was look. Risky!

The Glebe Blog said...

Only ever spent five minutes in Hardraw about thirty years ago. Heading back to Lincs via Aysgarth, lovely countryside.
The Green Dragon l.ooks welcoming

Shundo said...

It looks wonderfully green, and probably the beck was much quieter without the huge volume of water coming down. I wouldn't want to take a bath under that at full flow...

Sandy's witterings said...

Jim - You could probably see most of Hardraw in five minutes - it's not huge.
The Green Dragon certainly is (unless you're a hippy that wants to use the front door)

Shundo - Hollywood has a bit of a history of bigging up the joys of showering under waterfalls. Personally, I like my showers warm, safe and I like to know that if I drop the soap it's not half way to the ocean before I can catch it.