Yockenthwaite - A Yorkshire Dales Hamlet

Langstrothdale is a scenic valley in the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The uppermost course of the

River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale. ...

runs through it, but

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated at source in North Yorkshire and then flows into West Yorkshire and forms the upper valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (downstream, from west to east) includ ...

does not begin until the Wharfe meets Cray Gill, downstream of Hubberholme. The name Langstrothdale derives from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

and translates as 'long marsh' or 'marshy ground'. The dale was first colonised by Anglians in the seventh century, with Norse invaders arriving later. In Norman times, many of the isolated settlements were allowed to remain, but were prevented from expanding by an arcane ruling known as the 'Forest Law'. At that time, Langstrothdale was well forested, and the upper northern part of the dale (which is now moorland) was a royal hunting forest known as Langstrothdale Chase or as the 'Forest of Langstroth'. The dale became part of the lands owned by the Clifford family and in 1604, due to the then Earl of Cumberland's 'extravagances', the lands were sold to pay off his debts. This allowed many Dalesfolk to purchase their own farmsteads. In the age before mass transportation, the road through the dale was part of a packhorse route from Lancaster to Newcastle upon Tyne. Previous to this, it had been a monastic route that came over from Ribblesdale into Langstrothdale. The current road westwards through the dale is not a through route to vehicles, ceasing to be a metalled road at High Greenfield (). The other branch of the road through the dale turns northwards at Beckermonds, to go through Oughtershaw and over Fleet Moss into Sleddale. The long-distance paths, a Pennine Journey, and the Dales Way both traverse the dale. The largest conifer forest in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Greenfield Plantation, was created in upper Langstrothdale between 1968 and 1979. The forest (including a second adjoining plantation known as ''Cam''), covers an area of , and was made publicly accessible with of bridleways in 2022. Greenfield Plantation was designated as a red squirrel reserve in 2007, and a culling programme for grey squirrels has seen them all but eradicated from the upper dale.

Settlements

* Hubberholme * Yockenthwaite *

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England that is the home ground of Preston North End. Built in 1875 and in use since 1878, Deepdale is recognised as being one of the oldest continuously used football stadium ...

* Beckermonds * Oughtershaw

References

Bibliography

* {{authority control Valleys of North Yorkshire Yorkshire Dales River Wharfe