What’s in a name?

You may of noticed our new range of hampers are sporting some rather unusual names.

Inspired by our local surroundings here in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, we’ve named our hampers after the local villages and hamlets, close to us here at the Creamery in Hawes.

Askrigg

5 miles east of Hawes is the pretty Dales village of Askrigg, filled with picturesque eighteenth and nineteenth century houses. One particular property was famously featured in the 70s & 80s TV series All Creatures Great & Small as Skelldale House, home of the fictional Dales vet James Herriot, whilst the King’s Arms became the setting for the Drover’s Inn.

Famously featured in the 70s & 80s TV series All Creatures Great & Small

The village was once celebrated for its clock makers, and there are examples of their impressive work on display in our Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes.

Bainbridge

Located near England’s shortest river, the Bain, the village of Bainbridge is one of the longest established settlements in the Yorkshire Dales.

Originally called Virosidum, it was an important centre during Roman times with roads branching off to the south and south-west, with the former continuing for around eight miles, past the slopes of Stake Fell and to the ridges which separates Wharfedale and Wensleydale.

The remains of a Roman Fort can be seen at Brough Hill, just across the river from the village, with its foundations covering more than two acres, and while the stones that once stood on the site have long since been removed, the outline of the fort is very visible.

Several streams around Bainbridge feed into the River Bain and flow onto Semerwater, the second largest natural lake in North Yorkshire.

Burtersett

Burtersett is a peaceful village, set on a hillside with a road that winds down towards Semerwater.

The name ‘sett’ means high pasture and the village is full of quaint houses and a small green where the annual show takes place. The village has strong links to dairy farming and in turn cheesemaking, given its proximity to several traditional dales farms both past and present.

In the nineteenth century the village expanded, and stone quarries appeared on the hillside under the summit of Yorburgh and Wether Fell.  After the opening of the railway in the 18th century, some fifteen thousand tons of stone flags were sent from Hawes station every month having been carted down by wagon and horses from the village.

Aysgarth

A small village in Upper Wensleydale, Aysgarth is famed for its many waterfalls, which are at their most dramatic after heavy rain fall.

The most famous of the dozen or so in the area is the spectacular Aysgarth Falls which cascade down the river Ure, flowing through the centre of Wensleydale towards Wensley and Leyburn.

The iconic falls have featured in many tv series and films over recent times, but perhaps most famously alongside the neighbouring Hardraw Force in the 90s Hollywood movie Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.

Hardraw

Hardraw is a pretty hamlet which takes its name from the nearby Hardraw Force waterfall.

The Pennine Way runs past the village making it a focal point for walkers. Amongst its many traditional dales houses and buildings is Hardraw Church, dedicated in honour of St Mary and St John, which was rebuilt by the Earl of Wharncliffe in1879 and doubles as Darrowby Church in the television series All Creatures Great & Small

Hawes

Hawes is our hometown here is Wensleydale and a picturesque market town with a long history of dairying.

Filled with independent shops and places to eat along its traditional cobbled marketplace, which can be traced back to 1307, its name is derived from the Old Norse word hals, meaning “neck” or “pass between mountains”, which is evident from the impressive fells that surround it.

Hawes is our hometown here is Wensleydale and a picturesque market town with a long history of dairying.

1897 saw the first Creamery built in the town, and the original building can still be seen from the bridge over the river.  Our current site and home to our world-famous original Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese is a short walk from the high street and features our Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese Experience along with a restaurant, coffee shop, cheese and gift shop too.

Wensleydale

Wensleydale is the dale or upper valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines.

One of only a few Yorkshire Dales not named after its principal river, it instead takes its name from the village of Wensley, once its main market town.

The valley is most famous for its cheese and farming heritage

With the majority of the dale within the Yorkshire Dales National Park boarder, part of lower Wensleydale, below East Witton, is included within the neighbouring Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The valley is most famous for its cheese and farming heritage, and is filled with small family farms alongside picturesque stone walls and traditional barns dotted around the landscape.