Askrigg is a small village and civil parish in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is part of the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. The village and its parish are positioned in Upper Wensleydale, 12 miles west of the main town, Leyburn, and 5 miles east of Hawes, the home of Wensleydale cheese.
The name Askrigg is of Old Norse origin meaning the ridge where ash trees grew, denoting the existence of Viking settlers and their farming. The oldest settlement probably dates back to the Iron Age.
Aysgarth, home to Aysgarth falls (which featured in the movie Robin Hood prince of thieves) a triple flight waterfall (upper falls) and two other’s namely middle falls and lower falls which can be assessed from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Information Centre. The river stretches out along the valley and dramatically drops 30 metres.
Bainbridge is a small village about 4 miles from Hawes it has a large green with ancient stocks at its centre. It is a beautiful village with charming residences dotted around in the dapple shade of the large trees (the remnants of the great forest that used to cover Wensleydale). Bainbridge is overlooked by the unexcavated roman fort of Virosidvm that was built on a large drumlin at Nearby Brough Hill and is also home to the river Bain, the shortest river in England at only 3 miles long.
Gayle is a hamlet sited a mile south of Hawes in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire. Gayle was originally a farming settlement but the population grew during the late 1700s to around 350 with employment in local quarries, coal-mining in Sleddale and in a water-driven cotton mill on Gayle Beck. The population of the village later contracted.
Gayle Mill, constructed in 1776, is now a Grade II* listed building, a scheduled monument and came third in the BBC's 2004 Restoration contest. Originally a cotton-spinning mill it was converted to a sawmill in 1878. It is the oldest structurally unaltered cotton mill in existence, and its Thomson Double-Vortex turbine built by Williamson's of Kendal in 1878 is believed to be the world's oldest surviving water turbine still in its original situation. The mill has recently undergone restoration.
Gayle has a Methodist Church, constructed in 1833. A breakaway Methodist sect, associated with the Sandemanians in Scotland, was previously associated with the village, but only their graveyard remains. Gayle relies primarily on farming and tourism, with the area boasting campsites and bed-and-breakfasts, as well as being a popular location for holiday homes.
The village of Hardraw in the North Yorkshire Dales is a tiny village around half a mile away from the bustling market town of Hawes and lays on the route of the Pennine way.
Hardraw is famous for its waterfall (Hardraw Force) which is the highest single drop waterfall in England (at 100ft) and was the scene of a great flood on 12th July, 1899. Access is through Green Dragon pub in centre of Hardraw (there is a small charge for entry). Hardraw plays host to an annual brass band competition which takes advantage of the super acoustics of the gorge and is presented by the Yorkshire and Humberside Brass Band Association on the second Sunday in September.
