Ripley

 Wednesday 13th May 2026

The sun went missing today, and rainy magoo had taken it's place, so, between the showers, we went for a short walk around the nearby village of Ripley. 

This is a slightly odd place as the whole village is privately owned by the Ingilby family who live in the castle. They have worked hard to commercialise everything - it's a bit like a smaller version of Longleat or Beaulieu but without the animals or cars. 

The original village was torn down in the 19th century apart from the castle and church. What happened to the villagers does not seem to be recorded.

But the "new" village is a pretty place with numerous listed buildings and well worth a couple of hours to explore.

Despite Ripley Castle being occupied by the owners of the village, there are conducted castle tours which I wasn't temped by. 

There's also a nice walk down the valley to a feature waterfall.

With the rain becoming more persistent we headed to Fountains Abbey, a nearby National Trust site.

We waited and waited for the rain to clear and as soon as it did we set off for the Abbey, but the respite was short lived and soon the rain was horizontal in a very strong wind. 

We had the quickest walk around ever then back to Ed for more hot tea and a dry off.

No photos, it was too wet, grey and windy.

I'm booked on a campsite tonight, but it's a grass pitch and motorhomes don't mix with wet grass, they sink in the mud and need pulling out with a tractor.

The weather forecast is for the same tomorrow and Friday, so the decision was made to head home instead .

I cancelled the campsite and set the sat nav for home.

A bit disappointed but I've enjoyed these few days away, especially the walk at Malham, so I'm pleased I came and hopefully the weather will improve next week as it's been a very cold and wet May so far 

Grassington and Brimham Rocks

Tuesday 12th May 2026

I had a great night's sleep in Malham village with just the sheep for company. 

It's a very pretty village but it seems to have few residents living there which is a shame. 

I had a walk around in the evening and there was almost nobody about. 

Maybe most of the cottages are holiday let's or Airbnb ?

Still it was nice having the place to myself.

After breakfast we made our way to Grassington, famous as the setting for James Herriots All Creatures Great and Small.

It's another very pretty village with cobbled streets and artisan shops with a Yorkshire twist.

After a wander around the village we walked down the the river Warfe at Linton where there are some picturesque waterfalls and a circular walk along the river and back to Grassington.

It was a bit rainy magoo today and blustery magoo too, but we managed to miss the showers and it was very pleasant when the sun did make a welcome appearance.

Next it was onto Brimham Rocks which are amazing formations, sculpted over 320 million years by the ice age, wind, rain and the elements to create these impressive rocks, many balancing on top of each other to create a unique landscape.

Malham

 

Monday 11th May 2026

We had some rain earlier this morning at Penistone Hill, so stayed in bed a bit longer than usual to avoid a soaking on our early morning doggie walk.

Thankfully it had stopped by the time I was up, but it was a fresher feeling to the day today.

The park up at Penistone Hill was very peaceful overnight, just myself and the couple from Chile braved it.

There were some quite strong winds overnight rocking the motorhome too and fro, but we survived unscathed.

After breakfast I set off for Malham, the popular and very picturesque village in the Dales.

It's famous for the stunning circular walk up to Janet's Foss, then Gordale Scar and finally Malham Cove with the extraordinary limestone rock formations.

It was a beautiful day with sun, blue skies and cotton wool white clouds sailing past.

The scenery is fantastic, it's such a beautiful area and now I know why it's one of the most popular walks in the country.

It's been on my 'to do' list for ages and now it's finally ticked off.

My achilles tendon is complaining bitterly now though but I'm sure it'll be ok tomorrow, hopefully.

Spag bol for tea and a beer to follow later will see me right for the next stop tomorrow.

Janet's Foss

Gordale Scar

Lunch stop at Gordale Scar

Malham Cove and it's famous limestone rock formations

Amazing scenery and views

           They may be extrodinary rock formations, but Louis refused
      to walk over them, so we had to find an alternative route
The limestone Karst is formed from boulders called clints and grikes which are the fissures between and are a real contrast to the surrounding lush green landscape. Despite me explaining all this to him he still refused to walk over them fearing the doggie treat monster would pounce and steal all his treats !