Now that the weather is 'normal' again it is hard to remember just how awful it was. It is only when you pass houses which are still drying out, where there are piles of trashed kitchen units heaped up in the garden and where all the windows are open to let in some fresh air, or where row upon row of stone walls lie in heaps along the lanes - then in a flash it all comes back. Really it will take a long time to return to normality and I suspect that most businesses will suffer greatly as a result - anyone who was planning to come to The Dales but has not booked will surely choose somewhere else to holiday. And that will be a shame because the flooding was do localised.
This afternoon I have been to the Physiotherapist and coming back the twelve or so miles everything was perfectly ordinary for the whole journey. I followed a combined harvester almost the whole way (along with about a hundred other cars held up by the machine) and field after field had been harvested and the bales had been collected, mile after mile of golden stubble - a beautiful sight. Stone walls enclosing sheep grazing peacefully in the fields - everything as it always is. So if you are thinking of coming to The Dales please don't be put off - with the exception of a very small area The Dales are as beautiful as ever.
It's a pity that the media sensationalise these stories so that people imagine that the whole area resembles Noah's flood. Horrible as the situation is to those affected, the news programmes should present these things responsibly with a sense of proportion.
ReplyDeleteI never doubted it.
ReplyDeleteThe press always sensationalise. I am sure that most people take that on board. The area is always beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see the "Dales".
ReplyDeleteThe Dales cover such a large area most people must know there are still plenty of unaffected places. So unfortunate for those villages that were singled out for the attention of the atrocious weather. I hope the north will have a benign autumn to allow for all the repairs that are necessary to be carried out before winter sets in.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite part of England.
ReplyDeleteI hope it was a lovely, slow drive home.
ReplyDeleteI wish they would gather the bales here. Both Hay and Straw bales are just left where the baler dropped them, often turning black before they take them somewhere. It seems very slap-dash.
ReplyDeleteI often think that clearing the fields of so many bales must give the farmers the biggest headache. Here on Sheppey temporary stacks of bales have sprung up on the edge of many of the fields so that cultivations can take place. The bales will then be moved to barns or farmyards at a later date, or even sold direct from the fields.
ReplyDeleteYou do a brilliant and proud job of selling your area to tourists.
I actually love being caught behind the large farm machinery that takes to the road this time of year, you can watch the passing scenery at a slow pace. Actually some farmers are very considerate and often pull off the road to let the queue behind pass.
ReplyDeleteOne field nearby was cleared of bales the same day as they were baled but the field closest has had them laying for over a week - they'll get wet again today if the forecast is right.
ReplyDeleteThe tourist board need you!
We have biomass power stations in Norfolk, Lincs and Cambs so much of the straw from around here is sold on the field to contractors who bale it and sell it to the power stations.
ReplyDeleteThe fields down here were cut and baled before the rain came a couple of weeks ago. Some of the bales have been carted off to wherever, but some farmers have left them out and the weather is awful at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to spend a holiday in the Dales. Ages ago, before we had children (now 22 & 20) we stayed at Harrogate, but have made it further up. It's quite a trek from Devon :)
A friend of mine was so impressed with the Yorkshire Dales he moved there. I think it's a fantastic area and if I had to return to the UK one day it'd be one of the first places I'd be looking at. I think you need have no worries about people cancelling their holidays. Extreme weather is becoming more common everywhere. We'll just have to get used to it.
ReplyDeleteYes, normal weather seems to have resumed. This morning we have mist and damp - not uncommon in Coverdale, and the summit of Dead Man's Hill is enveloped in cloud. It was as clear as it could be when we went over the top to Skipton yesterday.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone who has once been to the Dales NOT want to come back? I hope that people who wanted to come to the Dales and have not yet booked will still do so. I know I'd be there in a flash if a) I could get away from work just now and b) had enough money for yet another holiday before the one we have already booked for September!
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for that vote of confidence.
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