Hubberholme and Langstrothdale

Literary pilgrims visit Hubberholme to see The George Inn, where J B Priestley could often be found enjoying the local ale, and the churchyard, the last resting place for his ashes as he requested. He chose an idyllic spot. Set at the foot of Langstrothdale, Hubberholme is a cluster of old farmhouses and cottages surrounding the church. Norman in origin, St Michael’s was once flooded so badly that fish were seen swimming in the nave. One vicar of Hubberholme is said to have carelessly baptised a child Amorous instead of Ambrose, a mistake that, once entered in the parish register, couldn’t be altered.

Hubberholme church’s best treasures are made of wood. The rood loft above the screen is one of only two surviving in Yorkshire (the other is at Flamborough, far away on the east coast). Once holding figures of Christ on the Cross, St Mary and St John, it dates from 1558, when such examples of Popery were fast going out of fashion. It still retains some of its colouring of red, gold and black. Master-carver Robert Thompson provided almost all the remaining furniture in 1934 – look for his mouse trademark.

Yockenthwaite’s name, said to have been derived from an ancient Irish name, Eogan, conjures up images of the ancient past. Norse settlers were here more than 1,000 years ago and even earlier settlers have left their mark – a Bronze Age stone circle a little further up the valley. The hamlet now consists of a few farm buildings beside the bridge over the Wharfe at the end of Langstrothdale Chase, a Norman hunting ground which used to have its own forest laws and punishments. You walk along a typical Dales limestone terrace to reach Cray, on the road over from Bishopdale joining Wharfedale to Wensleydale. Here is another huddle of farmhouses, around The White Lion Inn. You then follow the Cray Gill downstream past a series of small cascades. For a more spectacular waterfall, head a little way up the road from the inn to Cray High Bridge.

Back in Hubberholme, The George Inn was once the vicarage. Each New Year’s Day, an ancient auction there begins with the lighting of a candle, before the auctioneer asks for bids for the year’s tenancy of the ‘Poor Pasture’, a 16-acre (6.5ha) field behind the inn. All bids have to be completed before the candle burns out. A merry time is had by all and the proceeds go to help the older people of the village.

Enter the farmyard beside the church and turn left immediately through a gate signed ‘Dales Way’. Take the lower path, signed ‘Yockenthwaite’, alongside the churchyard. Walk beside the river for 1.25 miles (2km); the clear Dales Way path is never far from the river. Approaching Yockenthwaite, go up steps to a little gate and left to a gate and signpost.

Follow the track towards a bridge but, before reaching it, go sharp right up a farm track, which swings back left to a sign to Cray and Hubberholme.

Go up to another signpost, then follow the obvious track slanting right and up. Part-way up the hill, go right at a footpath sign through a gate

Follow the near-level path to a signpost, then bear left and up a rough section to another signpost. Turn right and follow the obvious path, descending along a beautiful natural terrace until the path goes left and up to enter a wood by a footbridge over a miniature gorge.

Walk through the wood then continue, level again, to reach a small side valley above a house. A signpost above the house points towards Cray. Go up slightly, over rocks, then along another green terrace path for about a mile (1.6km) to a footbridge. Cross this, then ascend slightly to a barn; bear right to a gate then follow a marked path across meadow land. Go past a house to a junction of tracks on the edge of Cray.

Go sharp right, down to a footpath sign to Stubbing Bridge. Descend between stone walls and through a gate and onto the grassy hillside. Pass another footpath sign and continue downhill to meet the stream.

Follow the streamside path past waterfalls and pools, crossing a stone bridge over a side-stream. Cross a stile and continue past a barn to reach the road. Turn right to return to the parking area in Hubberholme