BB2230 : In Search Of The Naked Lady

3rd November 2022

“I’ll take you to see the Naked Lady” said Robin.  Tony looked rather interested.

“But first, let me treat you to sausages” he continued.  Tony positively frothed at the mouth.

Robin led us through the back streets of Upper Settle, the higher and older part of the town with its cluster of ancient buildings, then out onto the open fell along the Pennine Bridleway, passing some Ukranian supporting sheep en-route.  Peeping from behind the quarry we could see Ingleborough with a glimpse of Whernside behind.  

Ahead was Pen-y-Ghent.  

At Upper Winskill we encountered danger. The track led us through a field of bullocks. 

Normally they don’t frighten me but we did have Holly, Robin’s dog, with us (off the lead for her and our protection).  One bullock in particular threatened to take action but Robin and I issued such a mighty roar that the beast was suitably intimated and ran off.  However, greater danger lurked. 

In a gateway was a cow with its heifer, still at the suckling stage.  How to get past this seriously dangerous obstacle?  Ironically there were cattle sorting pens thereby so, in a sort of role reversal, we worked our way through the metal frames and just about got out of the field without being mauled.  Holly was less fortunate.  She got pinned in corner by a couple of nasty bullocks.  After weighing up the odds, she decided, rightly, that the correct thing to do with bullocks is attack them.  So she darted straight in their direction, swerved to avoid their menacing and emerged onto the track to re-join us.

A different sort of danger awaited.  We diverted to view Catrigg Force, a most impressive waterfall that was in spate after the night’s heavy rain.  One slip at the top and the result would be far worse than a mauling by bullocks.  Even at the bottom, great care was needed on the rocks.

I thought that was enough excitement for the day.  How wrong I was.  We dropped down into the lovely little hamlet, Stainforth.  Robin seemed very keen to cross the raging stream by some very slippery looking stepping stones.  I thought he was joking but he insisted we had to go that way to see the naked lady.  I was all for a detour but Tony’s enthusiasm took hold of his legs and he too set off gingerly across the stones.  Successfully, I should add for both of them.  What could I do but follow?  To be fair, despite their appearance, the stones were not slippery, not even the one that was under water.

“I know a good place to eat” said Robin.  “At the lady’s?” asked Tony, hopefully.  “No,” said Robin, “At a table near the river”.

After lunch we passed through fields to see one of the most remarkable hidden gems of the area.  I had been there before, with Bryan and Stan on BB1916 : A Journey Of Discovery.

I have never seen anything like it anywhere else.  Here is what I wrote in that report:

It is a structure that could be compared to a Victorian Hadron Collider.  It is a semi-subterranean oval shaped tunnel that from late in the 19th century until 1939 held a series of 22 large furnaces.  It is huge- about 150 yards long.  It is called a Hoffman Kiln.  If you want to know more about it, see also the Craven and Murgatroyd Limestone Kiln. Better still, go and see for yourself.  You will be amazed.

Tony was duly amazed.

All that now remained was to follow an old lane called Highway back to Upper Settle whilst the sun set beyond Giggleswick School chapel.

Mission accomplished, we had seen the Naked Lady and had a lot more excitement besides!

Don, Thursday 3^rd November 2022

Thanks to Tony for many of the photos

 Comitibus: Don, Robin, Tony + Holly

The Three Norths Combine

Many years ago, not long after the Norman Conquest, there was a Frenchman who did not enjoy his voyage across the English Channel to end up on the Dorset coast.  His description of the journey was "Mal Traverse".  Some time later, in 1281, John Mautraverse, presumably a descendant, owned the land thereabouts that is now known as Langton Matravers.  For the next 741 years the village existed in relative obscurity until Wednesday when it became the focus of a remarkable phenomenon.

You may be aware that the term North can be used to signify three different places or directions.

First there is True North, or the direction to the North Pole, around which the earth rotates.

Then there is Grid North, the direction suggested by a map such as those produced by the Ordnance Survey on which the lines running north are parallel and consequently never meet.  That is because maps are flat and not globular so you have the peeled orange skin effect.

Finally there is Magnetic North which wanders around due to the movement of two massive blobs of molten iron in the Earth's core.  In recent times it has been shifting away from Canada towards Siberia.  This is the north to which a magnetic compass points.  The correction needed to find True North varies.  

What has this to do with Langton Matravers?

Well, on Wednesday, when measured in that small village 2 degrees to the west of the zero meridian line, the paths to the three Norths coincided for the first time in recorded history.

This phenomena is making its way up the UK over the next few years.

It will reach Hebden Bridge in August 2024, then the North Pennines in January 2025 before leaving England at Berwick on Tweed in the July, heading for the north east of Scotland.

Click on Daily Mail for a good explanatory article and video of the phenomenon.

Green Space, Dark Skies

You might recall that when Stan, Bryan and I went to Wasdale to climb Kirkfell (BB2226 : Enjoy the Marbles), marquees were being erected on the showfield.  We were told that it was for TV's Countryfile to go up Scafell Pike.  I confess that I forgot all about it until earlier this week, a few days after the program had been shown.

It turns out that the visit was part of the Green Space, Dark Skies event in which large groups of people of all sorts and sizes would visit Scafell Pike, Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), Ben Nevis and Slieve Donard, the highest tops of each of the four countries making the United Kingdom.  Each team had learnt a series of movements across the terrain and, at dusk, would carry a lantern that was controlled by the organiser to turn on and off, changing colour as required.  The result being four choreographed light shows.

The Countryfile program showed how this was all being organised and concluded with a 15 minutes film featuring the film, entitled Above The Earth Below The Stars. You can watch the complete programme by clicking on Countryfile.  If you just want to watch the film, described by Matt Baker as "15 minutes of incredible creative visuals", fast forward to 42:42.

Comments :

Robin: Ye Old Naked Lady, according to a Langcliffe local, is something of an enigma. The stylized sign high on the front elevation dated 1666 remains. It bears a passing similarity to the style of the motif on Ye Old Naked Man Café in Settle Market Square, recording a date of 1663.

It is a fine house standing at the gateway to Langcliffe and became a notorious ale-house frequented by the navvies building the Settle to Carlisle Railway and by the workers in the Hauffmann Kilns in the 1860s. Working in fierce temperatures and lime dust in the kilns built up a thirst to match that of the itinerant railway navvies. Violent brawling kept the local police busy and the place was eventually closed down, date unknown, but presumably in that decade.

What happened in the intervening previous 200 years is also not known. Following the closure of the ale-house, beer was served from a hatch in the wall of a house in New Lane close to where the stone cenotaph and fountain now stand.

Alan S: What an interesting article in the Daily Mail. Years ago when I did a marine navigation course with one Captain Caunce, Master Mariner retired, he alluded to this.  I didn't really understand at the time and forgot all about it, until now!

Ian S: We had a lovely walk in this area, searching for a wild swimming spot! We spent an exciting hour watching the Salmon leap CV lose to Stainforth Force.

Don: Yes it is a nice area.  Last time we went to the kilns we went via Stainforth Falls.  Not so sure about wild swimming though.  Actually I am so sure- don’t want to do it!

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STATISTICS

BB2230 : In Search Of The Naked Lady

Date:

Thursday 3rd November 2022

Features:

Settle, Stainforth, Langcliffe

Distance in miles:

8.0

Height climbed in feet:

1,218

GPX track:

BB2230 GPX

Comitibus:

Don, Robin (+Holly), Tony

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