 Gargrave lies on the busy A65
trunk road, four miles north west of Skipton. One of the largest
villages in the Craven District of North Yorkshire, it sits
astride the river Aire, only seven miles from its source at
Malham.
Robert Story, the Gargrave
schoolmaster-poet, described the village in the 1820's
as:
| "situated in the very centre of a district remarkable
for its romantic beauty. A bridge, rather elegant and somewhat
large for the stream it bestrides, connects the two parts of he
village which would otherwise be separated by the river. On the
south side of the river stands the church, the square and tall
steeple of which is seen above the trees that surround the quiet
burial ground. Along the north side the principal part of the
village extends; some of the cottages with clean whitewashed
fronts, some covered with ivy or other evergreens and some again
with flowering shrubs. A branch of the Queens highway passes
through this part of the village, and thus, whilst it detracts
something from the seclusion, is the means of making its charms
more widely known" |
|
Some things have changed, the
road traffic is busier and there has been considerable building
since the war, yet much of Story's village is still there to be
seen and enjoyed.
 Situated at
the head of the Aire gap, the railway, the roads and the canal,
all converge on the village before going their separate ways, the
railway to Lancaster and Carlisle, the canal to Burnley and
beyond, and the road to the Lake District and the north. The
river wanders away from them all to its source at Malham through
the picturesque countryside of the Yorkshire Dales National
Park.
Gargrave is
probably unique in that there is public access to the river on
its way through the village from five "village greens", a feature
which makes it popular with resident and tourist alike. Therer
are many picturesque walks around the village, the famous Pennine
Way passes through the very centre of the village.
With it pubs,
shops, cafes, tourist accommodation, picturesque byways and a
touch of history, the village is well worth a visit at any time
of year and is an excellent centre for touring the Yorkshire
Dales. |
