Wether Fell

Wether Fell (archaically Wetherfell),[2] also known as Drumaldrace (the name of its summit), is a mountain in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, in North Yorkshire, England. Wether Fell is mountain that divides Wensleydale in the north and Upper Wharfedale in the south. Its summit is 614 metres (2,014 ft). A Roman Road, the Cam High Road, passes along the southern edge of the summit reaching 1,900 feet (580 m).

Wether Fell
Drumaldrace
Green fields in the foreground with a mountain range in the background scattered with snow
Hawes and Wether Fell
Highest point
Elevation614 m (2,014 ft)
Coordinates54°16′37″N 2°11′28″W[1]
Geography
Wether Fell is located in Yorkshire Dales
Wether Fell
Wether Fell
Location in the Yorkshire Dales
LocationWensleydale, North Yorkshire
CountryEngland
OS gridSD876869[1]

History

In the Yorkshire Dales landscape character assessment, Wether Fell is noted as being prominent within the landscape alongside Penhill and Addlebrough,[3] and as forming a ridge dividing Raydale from Wensleydale.[4] In their 1953 book Yorkshire Village, Marie Hartley and Joan Ingliby describe the view of Wether Fell from the north across Hawes as looking like "...the limbs and loins of a beast stretched full length filling the horizon."[5] The geology of the fell is mostly limestone with some small outcrops of millstone grit.[6]

Cam High Road, an old Roman Road between Ingleton and Bainbridge, goes over Wether Fell, quite close to the summit at Drumaldrace,[7][8][9] reaching 580 metres (1,900 ft) at its highest point.[10] This was the route taken by the Richmond to Lancaster Turnpike between 1751 and 1795, before the turnpike was diverted through Hawes, and then over Widdale to the Ribble Valley.[11] Several cairns are also to be found on the slopes of Wether Fell, some which date back as far as the Bronze Age.[12][13]

An ancient right was exercised by the people Bainbridge - the right to graze geese on Wether Fell.[14]

The northern edge of Wether Fell is recognised as a good place for hang gliding and paragliding when the weather conditions are right.[15][16] Water falling on the slopes of Wether Fell flows into just two main river systems: to the north and east, it flows into the River Ure (via the River Bain to the east), and to the south, it exits through the River Wharfe.[17] Sloping to the north of the hill away from the summit are several old quarries, part of the Burtersett quarrying industry.[18] The Wether Fell stone flags, typically used for footpaths through fields around Hawes, Hardraw, Gayle and Sedbusk. These flags were quarried from around a point about 1,150 feet (350 m) high.[19] Coal was also mined from at least three locations on the steep western slope of Wether Fell, with the most notable being Storth Colliery.[20][21] The seam was known as Simonstone Coal, and stretched for 4 miles (6.4 km) towards Burtersett.[22]

The name of Wether Fell's highest peak is Drumaldrace. The origins of this are uncertain, but it is thought to be a combination of Drum (a wooded ridge), and Alban/Aldrace, a personal name.[23]

See also

References
  1. "Wether Fell, Richmondshire". getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  2. Speight, Harry (1900). Upper Wharfedale. Being a complete account of the history, antiquities and scenery of the picturesque valley of the Wharfe, from Otley to Langstrothdale. London: Elliott Stock. p. 22. OCLC 7225949.
  3. "LCA 18 Wensleydale" (PDF). yorkshiredales.org.uk. p. 2. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  4. Dales 1999, p. 19.
  5. Hartley, Marie; Ingilby, Joan (1953). Yorkshire Village. Dent. p. 79. OCLC 1221995109.
  6. Dales 1999, p. 1.
  7. Villey, Francis (1952). "The Roman Road south west of Bainbridge". The Bradford Antiquary. Bradford: The Bradford Historical and Antiquarian Society. 7: 46. ISSN 0955-2553.
  8. "Roman Road (Cam High Road)". www.outofoblivion.org.uk. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  9. Dales 1999, p. 10.
  10. Mitchell 1999, p. 14.
  11. Wright, Geoffrey Norman (1977). The Yorkshire Dales. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 112. ISBN 0-7153-7454-0.
  12. Historic England. "Cairn on Green Scar, 470m SE of New Bridge (1014350)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  13. "LCA 10 Yoredale Uplands" (PDF). yorkshiredales.org.uk. 2020. p. 7. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  14. Mitchell 1999, p. 101.
  15. "Why Yorkshire has become a paragliding hotspot". The Yorkshire Post. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  16. "Glider pilots remain in hospital". The Northern Echo. 29 May 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  17. Lennie 2005, p. 21.
  18. "View map: SD88 - B/ (includes: Bainbridge; Buckden; Hawes; Horton in Ribblesdale) - Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain, 1945-1969". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 23 August 2022. See gridref 877875 and 880878
  19. Lennie 2005, p. 22.
  20. Lennie 2005, p. 25.
  21. "Storth Colliery". www.heritagegateway.org.uk. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  22. "Storth and Bank Gill Collieries". nmrs.org.uk. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  23. Lennie 2005, p. 19.

Sources
  • "About the Dales LCA" (PDF). yorkshiredales.org.uk. 1999. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  • Lennie, Stuart (2005). The roof of Wensleydale: a portrait of Wensleydale's two thousand foot fells. Kirkby Stephen: Hayloft. ISBN 1-904524-30-3.
  • Mitchell, W. R. (1999). The story of the Yorkshire Dales. Chichester, West Sussex: Phillimore. ISBN 1860770886.
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