Snaizeholme | |
---|---|
Floor elevation | 878 feet (267.7 m) [1] |
Length | 3 miles (4.8 km)North/south |
Area | 1,390 acres (561 ha) |
Geology | |
Type | Glacial |
Geography | |
Country | England |
State/Province | Yorkshire and the Humber |
Coordinates | 54°15′43″N2°16′08″W / 54.262°N 2.269°W |
River | Snaizeholme Beck |
Snaizeholme is a small side valley of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (YDNP), North Yorkshire, England. The valley is noted for its red squirrel reserve, the only place within the North Yorkshire part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park where red squirrels are known to live, and a tree re-wilding project.
Along with Ribblehead further to the west, the upper slopes of Snaizeholme are known to be one of the wettest places within the YDNP. Rainfall on Snaizeholme Fell (at 1,900 feet (579 m) is a mean average of 77 inches (1,957 mm) per year.
It is thought that during the Anglian stage of glaciation, ice pushing south from the main Wensleydale stem, created the bowl shaped nature of the upper valley. [2] The amphitheatre nature of the valley is consistent with an ice-stream pushing southwards towards Grove Head and into Wharfedale. [3] The settlement of the Norse people in Wensleydale lent their language to the name of the valley; Sneis meaning twig led to the name being translated as the water-meadow with twigs. [4] It was first recorded in 1280 as Snaysum or Snaysome, when the vaccary (a name for the cattle farms in upland regions of the Pennines) was listed as £6 per year (equivalent to £7,000in 2023). [5] [6] In the seventeenth century, a survey listed the valley as being either Snaisholme or Snailsholme, which was in the township of Hawes with a population of nine, eight house, 30 outhouses and 268 acres (108 ha) of meadow lands. [7] A directory from 1893 shows that most people (if not all) in the dale were farmers and their families. [8]
The valley is in a rough north/south direction, extending to 3 miles (4.8 km) in length, and covering an area of 1,390 acres (561 ha). [9] Snaizeholme Beck drains the valley northwards into Widdale Beck, both tributaries of the River Ure. Snaizeholme Beck flows for 4.2 miles (6.7 km) and drains an area of 2,790 acres (1,131 ha). [10] The beck is fed by 21 streams, all of which total a complete length of 26 miles (42 km), [11] and between 1970 and 2020, the average flow out of the beck into Widdale Beck is 7.1 cubic feet per second (0.2 m3/s). [12] The valley extends from a low of 878 feet (267.7 m) to the top of Snaizeholme Fell which is 1,793 feet (547 m). [13] [14]
The valley was originally part of the Forest of Wensleydale; however, farming practices have left most of the valley without tree cover. [15] [11] In 2021, the woodland trust proposed a scheme which would involve planting birch, rowan, oak, willow and Scots Pine trees across 550 acres (220 ha) of land within Snaizeholme valley. At that time, less than 5% of the Yorkshire Dales had woodland cover, with only 1% consisting of ancient woodland, the type most beneficial to wildlife. [16] The proposal was to encourage the squirrel habitat, but also to attract otters, kingfishers, herons and grey wagtails into the valley. [17] The trees will enable carbon to be captured, and will slow the flow of water, therefore reducing the risk of flooding. [18]
The planting of the first 100,000 saplings began in spring 2023, with a further £8 million needed to be raised to see the project through to a successful conclusion. [11] [19] Besides the planting of trees, the project aims to restore 279 acres (113 ha) of blanket bog peatland, 247 acres (100 ha) of limestone pavement, and 191 acres (77 ha) of the open valley bottom. [20] The geography of the dale has been assessed as 13% woodland, 86% grassland, and 1% bog or heath. [21] The land is mostly carboniferous limestone, with shales and coal measures deeper down, and an isolated pocket of millstone grit to the south-east of the dale where it rises up to the peaks. [22] [23]
The road into the Snaizeholme stretches up from Widdale, but peters out in the middle of the valley, so the dale is only accessible by vehicle from the north. [14] On the high ground of the eastern side of the dale is the Cam Road, an old Roman Road that was once part of the Richmond to Lancaster Turnpike, and now forms part of the route of the route of the Pennine Way. [24] The road through the valley was traditionally another route used by drovers out of Hawes and they would get to Cam Road between Dodd Fell (to the east) and Snaizeholme Fell, (to the west). [25] Even though the River Ure was part of the long border between the old county divisions of the West and North Ridings, Snaizeholme has always been in the either the North Riding or North Yorkshire. [26] [27] Historically it was in the wapentake of Hang West in the parish of Aysgarth; it is now in the parish of Hawes. [28]
The annual ultramarathon The Fellsman , runs through the dale. [29] [30]
The dale is noted as being one of the wettest places within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, averaging between 69.7 inches (1,771 mm) and 79 inches (2,000 mm) of rainfall per year. [31] [11] The mean average calculated between 1968 and 2012 was 77 inches (1,957 mm). [32] Most of the water that falls on the western and northern side of Dodd Fell, drains down to the River Ure through Snaizeholme. [33] An extreme rainfall event in May 1959 sent floods down the valley into the River Ure, which trapped a man up to his waist in floodwater and washed away sheep and lambs. [34] [35] Flooding also occurred on 31 January 1995, when Low Houses recorded rainfall of 5.39 inches (136.8 mm) in 24 hours. [36] In the floods of February 2020, the gauge at the lower end of the valley recorded a rainfall of 100 millimetres (3.9 in) in 48 hours, which was 80% of the long-term average. [37]
Year | Low House rainfall [lower-alpha 1] | Mirk Pot Farm rainfall [lower-alpha 2] | Top Snaizeholme rainfall [lower-alpha 3] | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1968 | 1,633 millimetres (64.3 in) | 1,782 millimetres (70.2 in) | 2,093 millimetres (82.4 in) | [38] |
1973 | 1,161 millimetres (45.7 in) | 1,352 millimetres (53.2 in) | 1,589 millimetres (62.6 in) | [39] |
1978 | 1,471 millimetres (57.9 in) | 1,538 millimetres (60.6 in) | (no data) | [40] |
1983 | 1,551 millimetres (61.1 in) | (data spoiled) | 2,015 millimetres (79.3 in) | [41] |
1988 | 1,985 millimetres (78.1 in) | (no data) | 2,085 millimetres (82.1 in) | [42] |
1993 | 1,823 millimetres (71.8 in) | (no data) | (no data) | [43] |
1995 | 1,500 millimetres (59 in) | (no data) | (no data) | [44] |
The reserve for red squirrels at Snaizeholme (SD828863) is one of 17 dotted around Northern England, [45] [46] and is the only location within North Yorkshire part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park where squirrels are known to exist. The Cumbrian part of the YDNP is also home to red squirrels. [47] [48] The squirrels first arrived in the dale c. 2002 (probably from Cumbria) as a result of a couple buying Mirk Pot Farm in 1967 and starting a Christmas tree plantation and other forestry schemes which enabled a good habitat for the squirrels. [49] The conservation and reserve status has been so successful, that red squirrels have been spotted in gardens in Hawes, the nearest town, and Bainbridge further down the valley. [50] The creation of new woodland, including deciduous trees, has also benefitted other wildlife, with bird species increased from thirty types to seventy, and water voles and pine martens spotted in the valley. [51]
Access to the reserve is either a 10-mile (16 km) circular walk from Hawes, or being dropped off at the bottom of the wooded plantation by the Little White Bus (a small but dedicated bus service that serves the local community. [52]
The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or dales, in the Pennines, an upland range in England. They are mostly located in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into Cumbria and Lancashire; they are entirely within the historic boundaries of Yorkshire. The majority of the dales are within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, created in 1954. The exception is the area around Nidderdale, which forms the separate Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Wensleydale is a valley in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Dales, which are part of the Pennines. The dale is named after the village of Wensley, formerly the valley's market town. The principal river of the valley is the Ure, which is the source of the alternative name Yoredale. The majority of the dale is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park; the part below East Witton is within the national landscape of Nidderdale.
Aysgarth Falls are a triple flight of waterfalls, surrounded by woodland and farmland, carved out by the River Ure over an almost one-mile (two-kilometre) stretch on its descent to mid-Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales of England, near the village Aysgarth. The falls are quite spectacular after heavy rainfall as thousands of gallons of water cascade over the series of broad limestone steps, which are divided into three stages: Upper Force, Middle Force and Lower Force.
The River Ure in North Yorkshire, England, is about 74 miles (119 km) long from its source to the point where it becomes the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only major dale now named after a village rather than its river. The old name for the valley was Yoredale after the river that runs through it.
Hawes is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, at the head of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, and historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The River Ure north of the town is a tourist attraction in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Appersett is a hamlet in the Yorkshire Dales in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England one mile (1.6 km) west of Hawes. It lies on the A684 road and an unclassified road runs alongside Widdale Beck to connect with the B6255 road between Hawes and Ingleton.
Sedbusk is a hamlet near Hawes and Hardraw Force within the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. The hamlet is 1 mile (1.5 km) north of the town of Hawes across the River Ure. Sedbusk is in the civil parish of High Abbotside along with Hardraw and Simonstone. The name of the hamlet derives from the Old Norse Saetr buskr, which means 'the bush by the shieling'. In 1280, it was recorded as setebuskste.
Burtersett is a small village in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) east from Hawes and Gayle. The village is known for its former quarrying industry and being the seat of the Hillary family, with one strand of the family emigrating to New Zealand and raising Sir Edmund Hillary, the famous mountaineer.
Coverdale is a dale in the far east of the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. It takes its name from the River Cover, a tributary of the River Ure. The dale runs south-west from the eastern end of Wensleydale to the dale head at a pass, known as Park Rash Pass, between Great Whernside to the south and Buckden Pike to the north. It is accessible by a single track road, which runs the length of the dale and over the pass to Kettlewell in Wharfedale. The name is taken from that of the River Cover, which is of Brittonic origin. Ekwall suggested that it might mean "hollow stream", but more recently Andrew Breeze has argued that it is cognate with Welsh gofer "streamlet".
Cotter Force is a small waterfall on Cotterdale Beck, a minor tributary of the River Ure, near the mouth of Cotterdale, a side dale in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England.
Bishopdale Beck is a major tributary of the River Ure in North Yorkshire, England. The beck flows down Bishopdale, a side valley of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales.
Widdale is a small side dale on the south side of Wensleydale in North Yorkshire, England. The dale lies to the east of Great Knoutberry Hill and is bounded on the west by Dentdale, south by Sleddale and north by Mossdale. It is drained by Widdale and Snaizeholme Becks which feed the waters north into the River Ure at Appersett. The name Widdale means 'The Wooded Valley' in Old Norse.
Fleet Moss is an upland area separating Wharfedale from Wensleydale in North Yorkshire, England. The area is 1,850 ft (560 m) above sea level. Fleet Moss is noted for its peat blanket bog, which has been dated to the Neolithic period. The area is ombrotrophic; this means it needs rain, hail snow and fog for its nutrients. Fleet Moss is known as the most eroded blanket bog in all of Yorkshire; because of its observable damage, it is known colloquially as The Somme, and as such, is visible from space.
Crummackdale,, is a small valley north of the village of Austwick in the Craven District of North Yorkshire, England. The Valley is drained by Austwick Beck, which flows into the River Wenning, which in turn heads westwards to empty into the Irish Sea. Crummackdale is a narrow south west facing dale, at the south west corner of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Wether Fell, also known as Drumaldrace, is a mountain in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, in North Yorkshire, England. Wether Fell is mountain that divides Wensleydale in the north and Upper Wharfedale in the south. Its summit is 614 metres (2,014 ft). A Roman Road, the Cam High Road, passes along the southern edge of the summit reaching 1,900 feet (580 m).
Cauldron Falls, is a series of waterfalls on Walden Beck in the village of West Burton, North Yorkshire, England. It is known as Cauldron Falls due to the swirls in the plunge pools beneath the cascades of the waterfall. The beck continues on underneath a packhorse bridge where there is another cascade.
The Moorcock Inn is a public house near the watershed between the rivers Clough and Ure, in Upper Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England. It is adjacent to the junction of the A684 road and the B6259 road and near Garsdale railway station on the Settle–Carlisle line. The history of the inn can be traced back to the 1740s but it has been called The Moorcock only since 1840. The pub is near some long-distance paths and is popular with walkers.
Lunds is a hamlet in North Yorkshire, England, near to the watershed of the Eden and Ure rivers. It is on the border between Cumbria and North Yorkshire, and was at one time allocated to the West Riding, but has been traditionally treated as being in the North Riding, now North Yorkshire.
Chapel-le-Dale is west-facing valley in the Yorkshire Dales, England. The U-shaped valley of Chapel-le-Dale is one of the few which drain westwards towards the Irish Sea, however, the river that flows through the valley has several names with the Environment Agency and the Ordnance Survey listing it as the River Doe. However, some older texts insist the name of the watercourse through the dale is the River Greta, which runs from a point below the hamlet of Chapel-le-Dale, and onwards past Ingleton. The dale is sparsely populated with only one settlement, the hamlet of Chapel-le-Dale, which has a small chapel.
Sleddale is a short, narrow valley to the south of Wensleydale in North Yorkshire, England. The waters draining down the valley feed into the River Ure and form part of the Humber Catchment. The valley has only one settlement, Gayle, although Hawes lies at the mouth of the beck where it runs into the River Ure. The dale is characterised by upland farming and historical mine workings, and is between the slopes of Dodd Fell to the west, and Wether Fell to the east.
Catchment Info tab