Wharfedale
Encyclopedia
Wharfedale is one of the Yorkshire Dales
in England. It is the valley of the River Wharfe
. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (in order, travelling downstream, from west to east) include Buckden
, Kettlewell
, Conistone
, Grassington
, Hebden, Ilkley
, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley
, Pool-in-Wharfedale
, Arthington
, Collingham
, and Wetherby
. Beyond Wetherby the valley opens out, and becomes part of the Vale of York
.
The section from the river's source to around Addingham
is known as Upper Wharfedale and has a very different character to the rest of the area. The first fifteen miles or so is known as Langstrothdale
, including the settlements of Beckermonds
, Yockenthwaite
and Hubberholme
, famous for its church, the resting place of the writer J. B. Priestley
. As it turns southwards, the Wharfe then runs through a green and lush valley, characterised by limestone
outcrop
s, such as Kilnsey Crag
, and woodland, generally quite unusual in the Dales.
The Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust
has a remit to conserve the ecological condition of Wharefdale, Wensleydale
, Swaledale
and Nidderdale
catchments from their headwaters to the Humber
estuary
.
Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales is the name given to an upland area in Northern England.The area lies within the historic county boundaries of Yorkshire, though it spans the ceremonial counties of North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Cumbria...
in England. It is the valley of the River Wharfe
River Wharfe
The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale...
. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (in order, travelling downstream, from west to east) include Buckden
Buckden, North Yorkshire
Buckden is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England.Buckden is situated in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, on the River Wharfe in Wharfedale. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 184. It is situated where Buckden Gill, which rises on Buckden...
, Kettlewell
Kettlewell
Kettlewell is a village in Upper Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England. It lies between the villages of Grassington, Kilnsey and Conistone to the south, Starbotton to the north west, the hamlet of Horsehouse to the north east, and later on Coverdale...
, Conistone
Conistone
Conistone is a small village in North Yorkshire, England. It lies 3 miles north of Grassington, beside the River Wharfe, in Upper Wharfedale....
, Grassington
Grassington
Grassington is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England.The town is situated in Wharfedale around from Bolton Abbey and is surrounded by limestone scenery...
, Hebden, Ilkley
Ilkley
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in the north of England. Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the metropolitan borough of Bradford. Approximately north of Bradford, the town lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe...
, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley
Otley
-Transport:The main roads through the town are the A660 to the south east, which connects Otley to Bramhope, Adel and Leeds city centre, and the A65 to the west, which goes to Ilkley and Skipton. The A6038 heads to Guiseley, Shipley and Bradford, connecting with the A65...
, Pool-in-Wharfedale
Pool-in-Wharfedale
Pool in Wharfedale is a village and civil parish in the Lower Wharfedale area, 10 miles north of Leeds city centre and 2 miles east of Otley. It is in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire and within the historic boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is in the LS21 ...
, Arthington
Arthington
Arthington is a small village in Wharfedale, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is a civil parish which, according to the 2001 census, had a population of 561 and is in the LS21 postcode district with Otley as its post town...
, Collingham
Collingham, West Yorkshire
Collingham is a village and civil parish south east of Wetherby in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. The clergyman, the Reverend William Mompesson was born there in 1639....
, and Wetherby
Wetherby
Wetherby is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Wharfe, and has been for centuries a crossing place and staging post on the Great North Road, being mid-way between London and Edinburgh...
. Beyond Wetherby the valley opens out, and becomes part of the Vale of York
Vale of York
The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the north-east of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north-south transport corridor for northern England....
.
The section from the river's source to around Addingham
Addingham
Addingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of West Yorkshire. It is situated on the A65, west of Ilkley, north west of Bradford and around north west of Leeds. It is located in the valley of the River Wharfe and is only from the Yorkshire Dales National Park...
is known as Upper Wharfedale and has a very different character to the rest of the area. The first fifteen miles or so is known as Langstrothdale
Langstrothdale
Langstrothdale is a valley in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. The uppermost course of the River Wharfe runs through it, but Wharfedale does not begin until the Wharfe meets Cray Gill, downstream of Hubberholme....
, including the settlements of Beckermonds
Beckermonds
Beckermonds is a small hamlet in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the conversion of the Green Field Beck and the River Wharfe. The hamlet lies on the Langstrothdale Chase, from which the River Wharfe originates.-External links:*...
, Yockenthwaite
Yockenthwaite
Yockenthwaite is a hamlet in the Langstrothdale valley in the Yorkshire Dales in the north of England.Yockenthwaite lies on the north bank of the River Wharfe...
and Hubberholme
Hubberholme
Hubberholme is an old village in Upper Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England, at the point where Langstrothdale meets Wharfedale. It is quite secluded and the nearest village is Buckden....
, famous for its church, the resting place of the writer J. B. Priestley
J. B. Priestley
John Boynton Priestley, OM , known as J. B. Priestley, was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. He published 26 novels, notably The Good Companions , as well as numerous dramas such as An Inspector Calls...
. As it turns southwards, the Wharfe then runs through a green and lush valley, characterised by limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
s, such as Kilnsey Crag
Kilnsey
Kilnsey is a small village in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the B6160 road, between the villages of Grassington and Kettlewell, near Arncliffe and just across the River Wharfe from Conistone....
, and woodland, generally quite unusual in the Dales.
The Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust
Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust
The Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust was formed in 2004 with a remit to improve, restore and conserve the rivers Swale, Ure, Wharfe and Nidd whose headwaters lie within the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
has a remit to conserve the ecological condition of Wharefdale, Wensleydale
Wensleydale
Wensleydale is the valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire, England.Wensleydale lies in the Yorkshire Dales National Park – one of only a few valleys in the Dales not currently named after its principal river , but the older name, "Yoredale", can still be seen...
, Swaledale
Swaledale
Swaledale is one of the northernmost dales in the Yorkshire Dales National Park in northern England. It is the dale of the River Swale on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire.-Geographical overview:...
and Nidderdale
Nidderdale
Nidderdale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south through the dale, forming several reservoirs including the Gouthwaite Reservoir, before turning east and eventually joining the River Ouse.The only town in the dale is...
catchments from their headwaters to the Humber
Humber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...
estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
.