The London Explorer goes to the Yorkshire Dales: Part 1

We’ve just taken our walking holiday in the Yorkshire Dales exactly 12 months later than planned (if you’re reading this in 2051:…coronavirus). The weather was superb for walking, up hill and literally down dale. As well as beautiful scenery there’s history in the Dales too. In this first blog on my North Yorkshire travels we discover a famous Londoners connection to the rustic beauty of the Dales.

JMW Turner in the Yorkshire Dales

London artist Turner made numerous trips to the Dales. Turner became famous for his dramatic landscapes and seascapes. He sought out scenery at home and abroad, inspiration for his great paintings and their ‘sublime’ themes of man enveloped by the elements and natural forces.

Once the Napoleonic wars were over Turner was able to travel to the continent in search of new scenery to sketch, on land and at sea. From the early 1800s he also returned to Yorkshire on numerous occasions, continuing to find inspiration in his own English arcadia.

The estate of Bolton Abbey and the ruins of Bardon Tower in Wharfdale provided one such landscape. West Burton Falls in Wensleydale provided another.

The River Wharfe with a distant view of Barden Tower. 1808. Below 2021.

Bolton Abbey. 1809. Below 2021.

                                                                                                                      West Burton Falls. 1816. Below 2021.

More Dales from the West Burton walk.

Read ‘The London Explorer Goes to the Yorkshire Dales: Part 2’ for more Dales tales with obscure London connections.