Walking in Wensleydale - Part 4 - Leyburn to Redmire and back

Following my 9 mile round walk on Friday from Aysgarth to Castle Bolton and back, on Saturday I ventured from Leyburn to Preston under Scar and then up and along Redmire Scar and Redmire Moor (pretty bleak) before dropping down to Redmire for lunch. The return to Leyburn would be considerably easier walking – essentially along the valley bottom to Wensley and then back to base; a total of some 13 miles.

 

I left Leyburn along the Leyburn Shawl. This is a two mile limestone escarpment which was first laid out as a walk in 1842. Its name possibly derives from a shawl dropped by Mary Queen of Scots when she was trying to escape from Bolton Castle. During a two hour escape from Bolton Castle, Mary Queen of Scots is said to have dropped her shawl near here. The dropped shawl betrayed her whereabouts and she was captured. An alternative derivation is from the word “shieling” which means a shepherd’s hut – I know which I prefer to believe.

A view of Wensley Church - I would be walking past it later in the day.

I decided to concentrate my photography today on plant and animal life on the route. I had mixed success in my quest – I still do not properly understand how to take close up photos of plants and keep them in focus.

Here are a few of my more successful attempts.

 

 

Apart from the fauna and flora, there were also some places of interest

Redmire Quarry - as seen from Redmire Scar

 

On the way from Redmire to Wensley

Bolton Hall - built by the 6^th Marquis of Winchester in 1678. The Marquis was a supporter of William III and Mary and was rewarded for his support after the Glorious Revolution when he was created the first Duke of Bolton.

Wensley village

In Anglo-Saxon times Wensley was called Woden's Ley from the pagan god and is thought to have been the site of a pagan shrine

A Christian church was built in Wensley in the later Anglo-Saxon period after the people had converted to Christianity. It was later replaced by a new church (Holy Trinity) in 1245. Until 1868 Wensley's church served as the parish church for nearby Leyburn. Memorials to the Scrope family of Bolton Castle can be seen in the church.

Then back to base across the Old Glebe Field