Dawdling on the Dalesway

Early summer must be the best time of year to attempt the Dalesway long-distance footpath. It runs from Ilkley to Bowness on Windermere in the Lake District, 80 miles of glorious Yorkshire Dales scenery. I walked just the first few miles with a friend recently. To be honest, we were too busy chatting to take in much of the scenery but when we did stop to look, the wildflower meadows and the River Wharfe beside the path were beautiful, even on an overcast day.

We tip-toed among the buttercups...

Little lambs are rapidly becoming big ones, though they were sleepy in the warm humidity.

The river, whilst not overfull, was showing the results of recent rain up in the hills.

The weir is related to the adjacent mill, Low Mill, which was built in 1788, harnessing the river's power to become the first successful wool worsted mill in the world. Before that, wool cloth had been produced by hand spinners and weavers. Mills initially were largely devoted to cotton production. The mill finally stopped production in 2002. Nowadays the site and the adjoining cottages and buildings have become an attractive little housing development on the edge of Addingham village.