The Pennines: Backbone of England - Hardcover

Shaw, Helen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1910723959 ISBN 13: 9781910723951

Publisher: Merlin Unwin Books, 2019

Synopsis

Photographer Helen Shaw takes you on a fascinating journey celebrating the Pennines, that magnificent range of hills and moors which make up the backbone of England.

The book covers the length of the Pennines, from south to north. It will enhance anyone's pleasure in this sometimes over-looked area by recommending the best viewpoints, walks or longer hikes, beautiful villages, bleak and dramatic hill-tops, caves, astonishing features, tourist attractions and lonely crags, breathtaking waterfalls and countless rivers which run to the west and east of the Pennines watershed.

This book will make anyone who lives in or near the Pennines proud of this English range which has so affected the landscape and lives of its residents. And it will entice many tourists to explore this area further.
This book will make anyone who lives in or near the Pennines proud of this English range which has so affected the landscape and lives of its residents. And it will entice many tourists to explore this area further.

About this title

About the Author

Photographer and writer Helen Shaw lives and works in the beautiful countryside north of Slaidburn in Lancashire.

She's the author of two books, The Forest of Bowland and Land's End to John O'Groats, both of which are illustrated with Helen's stunning photographs.

Helen was a semi-finalist in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and the Queen chose one of her local landscapes as her 80th birthday present.

A keen walker and outdoor enthusiast, Helen, spent many days and weeks walking the Pennines in all seasons and weathers to produce the images in this book.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Just east of the National Park boundary, remote Nidderdale, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), is less well known than some of the more popular spots within the Yorkshire Dales, but nevertheless has many beautiful sights, not least the outstanding How Stean Gorge, at the top of the Dale. Here the River Nidd has cut through the limestone to form a deep ravine. Unfortunately there is a charge to pay to enter: there is also an activity centre on site with canyoning, abseiling and Via Ferrata, so you are not likely to have the place to yourself! You may do better to walk the Nidderdale Way and experience the river's steep valley upstream.

At the foot of Nidderdale, Pateley Bridge is a small market town with steep streets leading down to the river bridge, and home of, reputedly, the oldest sweet shop in England, established 1827. The town also won the Great British High Street Award in 2016 in the village category, so it is clearly worth a visit!

On the very eastern edge of the Dales can be found one of the largest and best preserved medieval abbeys in the country. The stunning World Heritage Site of Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132, and became fabulously wealthy from wool production, lead mining, and much else. The abbey owned vast areas of land in Nidderdale and Malhamdale and even further afield. Alongside the beautiful ruins is Studley Royal Park, a magnificent water garden designed by John and William Aislabie in the mid-18th century. From the gardens you glimpse the towers of nearby Ripon Cathedral; mostly constructed in the 12th century, it stands on the site of a 7th century church, and the town of Ripon itself has been occupied for over 1300 years.

To the south of Nidderdale is the north of England's answer to Bath, the elegant spa town of Harrogate. Site of the very popular Great Yorkshire Show for three days each July, the town has been welcoming visitors ever since the first mineral spring was discovered in 1571 though it reached its heights as a spa town in the Georgian and Victorian periods, and much of its charming architecture reflects this. Today it is a wealthy, handsome town with the Royal Pump Room Museum, Turkish Baths, wonderful and quirky shops, the famous Betty's Tea Rooms (now nearly 100 years old) and the Grade II listed Valley Gardens just some of its many attractions. The Pump Room was built in 1842 and at its height entertained 15,000 people every summer.

Edition details

• Publisher: Merlin Unwin Books
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1910723959
• ISBN 13: 9781910723951
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192