The Yorkshire Dales and a 3D Map

Earlier this month I mentioned visiting Skipton Castle. We went around it on New Year's Day before staying overnight in the town.

We used to know Skipton fairly well in younger years but had not been in the town for quite a number of years as the main A59 and A65 roads bypass it and we always seem to have been on the way to somewhere else.

Skipton is an excellent point from which to explore the Yorkshire Dales, especially Airedale and Wharfedale. Spots by the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey and Burnsall are especially popular and deservedly so.

This is beautiful countryside which, although now living further away, we have been fortunate to be able enjoy quite conveniently for most our lives. (The photo above was taken in 1979). However, many people find it quite difficult to picture how the various river valleys relate to one another in the Yorkshire Dales landscape.

One answer to this had been found by the owner of the B&B hotel at which we stayed this time. In the hallway was a map of the Dales but instead of a flat map on paper it was made of a moulded plastic composition showing the hills and valleys in three dimensions.

The lady said that this Yorkshire Dales 3D map was very helpful in explaining the shape of the countryside to her guests. I can truthfully say also that, although I know the area quite well, there some points that I picked up that I'd never noticed from even the best of normal contour maps.

One of these would make a great memento of a visit to the Dales, maybe instead of an artists's print to hang on a wall.

Yorkshire Dales 3d raised relief map

Skipton Castle

Skipton is a small town in the Yorkshire Dales and home to possibly the best preserved medieval fortress in the North of England. In the 17th century after servere damage from its "slighting" following the Civil War its then owner and occupant, Lady Anne Clifford, the Countess of Pembroke, had it very thoroughly repaired. Cromwell was not enthusiastic about this but Lady Anne was a tough character and got her way, although one condition was that the roof had to be weaker than before so as not to take the weight of cannon.

She also restored her castles further north in Westmorland - in Brougham, Brough, Appleby and Mallerstang (Pendragon) - although with the exception of Appleby these fell into ruin again in later centuries.

Skipton Castle has survived exceptionally well. After being bought in the 1950s by a family with long business connections to Skipton many needed repairs were carried out, and today while the later Tudor section is a private home the medieval castle is open to visitors - with a fully intact roof so that even on a damp day one can wander round the rooms at leisure, guide book in hand.

Visitors to the Yorkshire Dales, on days when not out walking in the splendid nearby Ribblesdale, Airedale and Wharfedale countryside, are well advised to take some time out to visit Skipton Castle.