Swaledale's stone barns

From Wensleydale we drove north and over into the next valley, Swaledale, which is famed for its many limestone field barns. They were originally built to overwinter cattle and store their feed. Many are in disrepair, though some have been restored. Swaledale is a beautiful valley, harder to reach than some and with fewer obvious tourist attractions and few large settlements. Unlike Wensleydale it never had a railway, and to some extent that has preserved its mystery. It has some amazing wildflower meadows, thanks to the practice of letting the flowers bloom and seed before cutting the grass for hay or sileage. These photos were taken in Yellands Meadow Nature Reserve.