The Land of the Lune

Chapter 5:  Lower Rawtheydale and Dentdale

Deepdale and Dentdale

The Rawthey from the Clough ...

Sedbergh, with Winder, Arant Haw and Crook behind

The River Dee

      In the valley the River Dee gathers the waters than run steeply off the fells through deep gorges and cascades, and proceeds serenely down its upper reaches from Dent Head to Cowgill. The riverbed is mostly flat rock, which the river seems to shimmer over, with occasional ledges producing little waterfalls and, at Scow, a reasonably large one.

Right: Ibbeth Peril

      As the Dee turns west, it enters a more turbulent phase. If you investigate the river closely – for example, around the Ibbeth Peril waterfall and along the stretch between Lenny’s Leap, where the river narrows to run in a gully 50cm wide, and Tommy Bridge – you may notice that the volume of water does not always increase as it flows west. Some of the clefts and holes that can be seen in the limestone walls and bed of the gorge are large enough to form caves, through which the river tends to disappear. As you walk on the north bank towards Tommy Bridge, water can be seen entering the Dee from below the south bank, with no beck apparent in the fields above.
      The area forms the Upper Dentdale Cave System, a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is one of the best examples of a cave system that had developed beneath the valley floor and that has been broken into by the modern river eroding its bed. The system extends for 1.7km in a narrow band under the present river and includes a 30m by 60m chamber. Under normal conditions, most of the river is now underground and is modifying pre-existing caves. The cave system is complex and needs experts to investigate and interpret but, on the surface, we see holes and caves, with water flowing into or out of some of them.
      Above the level of the floodplain Dentdale is lined with farmsteads every 200m or so on both sides. Most of the farmsteads are still actively farming, giving a predominantly rural feel to the valley. Some have been converted to holiday homes and some are derelict. The most interesting of the latter is Gibbs Hall – a ruin now surrounded by its offspring: Gibbs Hall Cottage, Little Gibbs Hall and Gibbs Hall Barn. From the road two windows with chamfered mullions and arched lintels can be seen.
      On the opposite bank is the imposing Whernside Manor, originally and more properly called West House, as it is not a manor house. It was built by the Sill family, who not only became rich by exploiting slaves in Jamaica but also employed slaves in Dentdale, a practice continued long after they were supposed to be emancipated. This is now a matter of shame for locals although I overheard one in the Sun Inn who was either proud that Dentdale had had the last slaves in England or had imbibed too much of the esteemed local ale from the Dent Brewery at Cowgill.
      The name of Whernside Manor reminds us that the Dee has been flowing around the broad northern slopes of Whernside, the highest point (736m) of the Yorkshire Dales, and gathering the becks that flow north from it. Despite its height, there are few impressive views of Whernside, the one from Dent across Deepdale being as good as any. It is a ridge rather than a plateau or peak and has few of the high-level cliffs that provide such distinctive profiles to other Dales peaks.

      It is usually assumed that Whernside’s name derives from the querns, or stone mills for grinding corn, that were extracted from its slopes. However, Harry Speight, in his 19th century guides, says that it comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for ‘warn’, since anyone on the ridge, which separated the Anglo-Saxons to the east and the Norse to the west, could give warnings. At least this draws attention to the differences east and west of Whernside: the Anglo-Saxons were arable farmers and lived in small villages; the Norse were sheep farmers who preferred isolated farmsteads.
      Deepdale Beck is a substantial tributary of the Dee that drains the basin that lies north of the ridge separating Deepdale from Kingsdale. Deepdale itself is a rarely visited dale, quieter even than Dentdale and with, as the name would suggest, a deeply incised valley. Its hay meadows are a Special Area of Conservation under European law. The road over to Kingsdale is not often travelled but those who do tackle it are rewarded with a roadside view of Lockin Garth Force.

Right: One of the Whernside Tarns

      The Craven Way, an ancient track linking Dent and Ingleton, leads around Whernside, reaching a height of 540m. The walk from the Craven Way past the surprisingly large Whernside Tarns provides a good ascent of Whernside. Combined with a drop down to the Kingsdale road and then a walk through Deepdale, it gives an excellent all-day expedition from Dent.
      The River Dee begins to behave itself, flowing steadily over an even bed, as it passes north of Dent, the centre of Dentdale. The Domesday Book records Dentone, which became Dent Town, and now plain Dent – although it is far from plain: its narrow, cobbled streets and whitewashed walls provide a distinctive, attractive character.
      The Church of St Andrews has Norman foundations and was largely rebuilt in the 15th and 17th centuries. The floor around the altar is paved with Dent marble, both the black and grey versions. Next to the church is the old grammar school (now a private home), built in 1604 from funding provided by Dentdale benefactors. The school closed in 1897 but the governors still meet for the enjoyable task of distributing money from the still-existing charities to local pupils.
      Like all grammar schools, Dent’s existed to educate young men in the delights of Latin and Greek grammar. Young women were trained in more practical skills, amongst which knitting was the most renowned in Dentdale. Girls were sent, not always willingly, to Dent from around the region to learn the art. The activity peaked in the 18th century when socks and gloves were supplied to the army. The narrow streets then appeared narrower still because the houses had over-hanging galleries where people sat to knit and chat.
      On the streets today is the Sedgwick Memorial, a huge Shap granite boulder, in honour of Adam Sedgwick. The Dent Fault that runs through Dentdale partly accounts for the differences between east and west Dentdale. To the east, becks cut deep gills in the V-shaped valley and the fields are large and walled; to the west, the slopes are gentle with fields hedged and with deciduous trees.
      In 2006 the Flinter Gill Nature Trail and the Dent Village Heritage Centre were opened, the latter helping immensely to clear the attics of local farmsteads. In fact, the leaflet for the nature trail existed before the trail did, showing it to be a fine piece of creative literature, with waulking, deiseal, sniggin, Dancing Flags and a Wishing Tree. Its wishful thinking is symptomatic of a problem with the tourist industry, upon which Dent now depends: it is liable to ruin the very things that appeal to tourists in the first place.
      Self-defeatingly, Dentdale sells itself as ‘the hidden valley’. It can be entered by the railway and by five narrow roads (from Rawtheydale, Garsdale, Ribblesdale, Kingsdale and Barbondale), all of which feel like back entrances. It should be a green, restful haven but the more we are persuaded to visit it the less hidden it will become. In the summer the cobbled streets are already thronging with people and cars. There seems little need for artificial trails or for the air of desperation that pervades Dent’s publicity.
      Flinter Gill provides a pleasant stroll along a stony track by small waterfalls but if the crowds are encouraged there it will soon need litter bins, barriers (to stop people slipping on the dangerous ‘dancing flags’), and so on. The 1km trail ends at a “magnificent viewpoint” where a toposcope tells us what we can see, leaving the fells above still empty for those with a bit more energy.
      Above this point, Flinter Gill runs from the northern slopes of Great Coum (687m), an underrated hill that displays its great coum or cirque towards Dentdale. All three north-facing slopes of Dentdale have their cirques, gouged out in the Ice Age (Middleton Fell has Combe Top and Combe Scar; Whernside has Combe and Combe Bottom) but Great Coum is the most impressive. The southern ridge of the cirque, past the old quarry where Dent marble was also mined, is the best ascent. The view is excellent, from Whernside nearby to the Howgills and the Lake District in the distance and to the south the lower Lune valley.

Left: The Megger Stones
Right: Whernside from the Occupation Road

      Below Great Coum, on a rise overlooking Dentdale, stand the Megger Stones, a group of ten or so cairns showing varying degrees of competence at cairn-building. The Megger Stones are just above the Occupation Road or Green Lane, as the OS map calls it. It is named from when the fells, used for common grazing, were enclosed or occupied in the 1850s. It may be assumed to be an ancient track, like the Craven Way, but it is not marked on an OS map of 1853. It reaches a height of 520m around the head of Deepdale and, although rutted and muddy, provides a fine high-level walk.
      From the Occupation Road we have a good view of Rise Hill, which some call Aye Gill Pike, although there is nothing pikey about it. It rises gently and uniformly north of Dentdale like an enormous backcloth, to reach 556m. Although the ridge now has stiles over the many walls it is no great pleasure to walk its boggy length. If you must conquer it, a frontal assault is possible from a permissive path that runs north through Shoolbred (northeast of Church Bridge). At the eastern end of the ridge, the OS map indicates “Will’s Hill or Peggy’s Hill”. Did Will and Peggy really argue over the ownership of this dismal hill, which is actually more of a morass?
      The Dee flows west to Barth Bridge, below the small village of Gawthrop, and by the Helmside Craft Centre to the north and Combe Scar to the south, and on to Rash Bridge. Here, we pause to point out a general problem concerning the maintenance of bridges. Bats like to roost in crevices under bridges and they are protected by law, it being illegal to damage or destroy bat roosts. Fifteen roosts were found under Rash Bridge in 1994, so delaying repair work. The bats subsequently returned, although they did not after similar repair to Barth Bridge upstream.
      [Update: I think that the Helmside Craft Centre has closed and the building is now a B&B.]
      By Rash Bridge is an old woollen spinning mill. There was an even older corn mill here, as there are records of one being demolished in 1590 after a dispute over whose land it was on. Before food was readily transported, cereals were grown locally, as oats were part of the staple diet. The ownership of corn mills was, therefore, an important matter. The Normans required all grain to be ground at the lord of the manor’s mill and not within individual households, which obviously gave power to the lord and his manor. The custom gradually lapsed and the corn mills that survived into the 18th and 19th century were often converted for textiles and other uses.
      After a further 2km, the Dee joins the Rawthey, by the narrow Abbot Holme Bridge.

Dentdale from Combe Scar, with Great Knoutberry Hill in the distance

The Rawthey from the Dee

Two views from the same spot by the Rawthey, as it approaches the Lune: Above: North to the Howgills. Below: South to Middleton Fell.

    © John Self, Drakkar Press