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aysgarth |
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The ribbon-village of AYSGARTH , straggling along and off the A684,
is the vortex that sucks in Wensleydale's largest number of visitors,
courtesy of the twin Aysgarth Falls , half a mile below the village (there's
a path through the fields). A marked nature trail runs through the
surrounding woodlands and there's a big car park and information centre
on the north bank (Easter-Oct daily 10am-5pm; Nov-Easter Fri, Sat & Sun
10am-4pm; tel 01969/663424). The Upper Falls and picnic grounds lie just
back from here, by the bridge and church; the more spectacular Lower
Falls are a half-mile stroll to the east through shaded woodland. B&Bs
along the main road include Marlbeck (tel 01969/663610; no credit cards;
under £40), while the village's only pub , the George & Dragon (tel
01969/663358; £50-60), has pleasant en-suite rooms and a bar-meal menu.
Other local choices are all down by the falls, where the Wensleydale
Farmhouse (tel 01969/663534; no credit cards; £40-50) is on the main
road at the turn-off for the falls, with the youth hostel (tel
01969/663260, ) just behind. There's a campsite , Westholme Caravan Park
(tel 01969/663268; closed Nov-Easter), half a mile east on the A684.
There's a superb circular walk northeast from Aysgarth via Castle Bolton
(6 miles; 4hr), which starts at the falls themselves and climbs up
through Thoresby, with the foursquare battlements of Castle Bolton (March-Oct
daily 10am-5pm; restricted winter opening, call for details; tel
01969/623981; £4) themselves a magnetic lure from miles away across the
fields. Built in 1379 by Richard le Scrope, Lord Chancellor to Richard
II, it's a massive defensive structure in which Mary, Queen of Scots was
imprisoned for six months in 1568.
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