Many of the upper fells in the Yorkshire Dales offer a reminder of the days when mines provided employment for thousands of men. The tradition of lead mining goes back as far as Celtic times, but with the import of cheap foreign lead in late 19th century it signalled the start of the demise of the industry in the Dales. By the early part of the 20th century all the mines apart from a few small exceptions had closed, many of the men going on to become coal miners.

The River Swale making its way along the valley bottom near Keld.

Moving onto the high fell above Swaledale.

Lapwings love the open moorland and high fells. The heather and grass tussocks offer excellent camouflage for the chicks as you can see in the picture below.

Swaledale with all its glory spread out in the late afternoon sunshine. Many of the stone walls dividing the land will have stood for a century or more.

Another familiar sight on the uplands, a black faced ewe and her lamb.

More intricate stone walls. It may be that these smaller fields and barn would have been used in years gone by for shearing sheep when that task was undertaken on the fell side.

After a night of heavy rain these small waterfalls flow across fields on their way
to the valley bottom and Cray Gill, the Gill eventually flows into the River Wharfe.

The evening sun flooding Arkengarthdale.

A Curlew lazily making its way home in the evening.

Bolton Castle in Wensleydale was completed in 1399 by Sir Richard Le Scrope, Lord Chancellor of England and 1st Lord Scrope of Bolton. In Queen Elizabeth I's reign Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here for a short while before being moved nearer to London. During its 600 years of history, the castle has never been sold and remains in the private ownership of Lord Bolton, Sir Richard le Scrope's direct descendant.