[Leica] Yorkshire Dales - new scans

[douglas.sharp at gmx.de (Douglas Sharp)]

Hello all,
I'm half way through scanning up a whole load of slides taken many years 
ago (Leica M3, SL2Mot, Rollei SL2000F, Voigtl?nder VSL-3E, can't 
remember which was which any more)and I'd like to share a few more of 
them with you all.

Not quite as gentle and rolling as Grahams (GEEBEE) wonderful 
countryside shots of Northamptonshire, Swaledale is still wild.
Although the area was occupied by the Brigantes, Romans and, later, the 
Viking settlers it has never really been tamed and , apart from the 
valley floor makes for a rough life for the local farmers.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/Yorkshire

A few explanations, the Yorkshire Dales start in the North with 
Swaledale (some say Teesdale but I'll stick to the Swale) followed by 
Wensleydale (aka Uredale or Yoredale), Nidderdale, Wharfedale, Airedale 
and Calderdale.
At school this was always SUNWAC, Swale-Ure-Nidd-Wharfe-Aire-Calder.

Swaledale is my favourite for many reasons, it's the wildest and rawest 
,the least overrun, and has the best stretches for walking or hiking. It 
has great disadvantages too - very little public transport and the pubs 
are too far apart at the top end of the dale.
As an amateur industrial archaeologist it's also my favourite for the 
lead mining ruins - even though mining closed down over 100 years ago 
the devastation in some parts cannot be overseen (Old Gang and 
Gunnerside Gill).

Swaledale has the epitome of a Norman castle keep at Richmond, and is 
also famous for Miss I'anson "The lass of Richmond Hill"
A legend says that King Arthur and his Knights sleep beneath the castle, 
and can be woken by a drum, to be found at the entrance to their cave, 
when England is in peril.

The pictures of Crackpot Hall are along part of the long distance walks
"Coast to Coast" and the "Pennine Way". It has nothing to do with people 
having to be crazy to live ther, it was named after a pothole or cave 
close by which was opened up and used as one of the shafts into the 
Beldi Hill mines. The ruin of the farmhouse was caused primarily by
subsidence but vandalism played a part too.

Old Gang is one of the best preserved smelt mill ruins, Surrender mill 
with complex flue systems is just a little further down the valley.
Until quite recently the spoil heaps were picked over quite profitably 
for barytes(heavy spar - used for baryte meal) and fluorspar for 
metallurgy and glass-making.
Today the dale relies for its living on cottage industries (woolens, 
cheeseand preserves making, lots of sheep and some cattle and an 
increasing emphasis on tourism (walking, riding and trout fishing - fly 
fishing only!!)

Hope you like them
cheers
Douglas