The Real Herriot Way

"I wonder.  Where might James Herriot stay in Hawes?"

During our visit to Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales, I came across a Bed & Breakfast called Herriot’s, which of course I had to photograph.  After returning home, I studied its website.  One feature that drew my attention was “The Herriot Way.”  An Internet search revealed lots of articles on this fifty-two mile walk named after James Herriot.  You can select from a wide variety of guidebooks and maps to navigate the trail.  You can stay in a B&B like Herriot’s, where the staff will pick you up at the end of the day and transport you back the next morning to continue the circuit.  Or you can carry your belongings with you, and stop at other B&Bs, motels, or Youth Hostels along the way.  You can even contract with a company like The Sherpa Van Project, who will make all the arrangements for you in advance.  Just tell them how far you want to walk each day, and they’ll book accommodations for you along the way, and transport your baggage from place to place.

If all this sounds a little plush and easy, at least by Alf Wight’s (the real James Herriot) standards, it did to me as well.  So I decided to do a little more research.  In James Herriot’s Yorkshire, he writes about the time his son Jimmy asked him to go youth hostelling with him over a long weekend.  “It seemed a little effete to spend the night under a solid roof, but I allowed myself to be persuaded and we set off from Leyburn one Friday afternoon.”  On Friday they hiked from Leyburn to the Aysgarth Youth Hostel, where they spent the night.  They spent Saturday night in Keld, and Sunday night in Grinton.  (For some reason I had trouble mapping Grinton, but it’s relatively close to Framington).  Then on Monday they returned to Leyburn.  Despite his reservations, Wight (Herriot) enjoyed his walk, as well as the experience of staying in those Youth Hostels with his son.

The Real Herriot Way, or as close as I could map it.
(Click to enlarge).

Google Maps came up with an estimated distance of fifty-three miles for their walk.  The program is designed to follow roads, not walking trails, and had a little trouble navigating between (J) Keld, (K) Gunnerside, and (L) Crackpot Hall, so the distance is probably off a little.  Still, it gave me an idea of how far James Herriot traveled with his son: roughly thirteen miles each day.  Phew!  Even thinking about that makes me tired!

Remember, this is something they did on a weekend.  Then Alf went back to work!

While the official, advertised Herriot Way is similar in length, it contains a notable difference.  The walk begins at Aysgarth, or at least one of the legs begins there, depending upon where you start the circuit and in what direction you walk it.  But it excludes Leyburn, Wensley, West Witton, and West Burton, while including Hawes as a major stopover.  I find this an intriguing alteration, as Leyburn held “a thousand happy associations” for Herriot.  Alf spent a lot of time working there with Frank Bingley, whom he immortalized as Ewan Ross in his James Herriot books.  He also loved the landscape surrounding the town.  Contrast this with the town of Hawes, which he never mentioned in James Herriot’s Yorkshire, his guide to all the places he loved the most in his adopted homeland.  It would be interesting to learn why The Herriot Way seems to follow the walk he described in his book so closely, yet also differs in such a fundamental way.  Perhaps it has to do with practical issues, such as the availability of accommodations and right-of-way for footpaths.  Whatever the reason, the advertised version gets people out walking, breathing in the fresh country air, and taking in some of the scenic vistas that Herriot loved so much.  And whether they’re walking the official Herriot Way, or the real circuit he described in his book, they’re remembering James Herriot, his stories, and keeping his name alive. 

Someday, I’d love to return to the Yorkshire Dales.  I think I side with his son Jim on the accommodation issue: staying warm, dry, and comfortable under a roof sounds better to me than camping, especially if I've been walking all day.  On the small matter of the walk itself, I'm torn.  I'd like to walk the Leyburn portion, but I'm not sure if I've got a fifty-two mile walk in me, let alone tacking on any additional mileage.  I guess I'd better get in training, huh?  Who knows?  If I began a walking regimen now, maybe I could complete such a long circuit in...how long?  Maybe in around seven to ten days?

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

Herriot’s in Hawes

The Herriot Way Route

The Sherpa Van Project

A Final Taste of Yorkshire

Hawes, home to the Wensleydale Cheese Factory

As we enjoyed all the samples on offer in the Wensleydale Cheese Factory, I initially found it intriguing that two of the three cheeses we brought home with us were Cheddars.  Only one, a blend of Wensleydale and Apricot, represented the creamery's signature variety.   The Wikipedia page on Wensleydale cheese describes its flavor as “wild honey balanced with a fresh acidity.”  I don’t remember reacting to that acidity at the factory, but once I got home, and had a little of it with my breakfast, it somehow tasted off to me. 

My wife liked the taste though, so I let her enjoy it while I got on with the Cheddars.  I particularly enjoyed the smoked Cheddar—it had a nice, strong flavor that mixed well with the eggs, toast, and fruit I eat each morning.  While my wife found she disliked the smoked Cheddar, she helped me out more with the softer, Abbot’s Choice variety.  I tried the Wensleydale a second morning, but still couldn’t find the sweetness in it that my wife appreciated. 

For a time, I wondered if we had simply waited too long to eat it.  We brought back many treats from England, after all.  As we had good things awaiting our return, including leftover Stilton, the new cheeses sat in our fridge awhile before we got around to them.  By the time we unwrapped them and cut through the wax casing, all three were past their expiration dates.  The two Cheddars supported this argument, as I often had to cut a little mold off them as I sliced off a little for my breakfast.  But the Wensleydale & Apricot never developed a hint of mold.

Despite the fact that we were enjoying the latter stages of summer, one night my wife dug out Wallace & Grommit’s Cheesy Cook Book and announced that we were going to bake a cake.  Using the last of our Wensleydale & Apricot cheese, we proceeded to make “Wallace’s Crumbly Apricot & Apple Cake.”  While I peeled and sliced the apples, she did the rest.  In short order, the cake was in the oven, which was happily pouring more heat to our already hot house.

I always find it difficult to describe a unique taste to someone else.  Our new cake, which we sliced into the following night, was a combination of flavors and textures.  Perhaps it was the baking process, or the addition of the sugar and the apples, but the cheese in it no longer tasted off.  The cake had a substance that I often find lacking in cakes.  It wasn’t too dense, nor was it too light and airy.  It was moist, but not too moist.  No one flavor dominated: it wasn’t too sweet, too cheesy, or two apple-y (if that’s a word).  In short, the cake was different, a unique combination of flavors.  Usually, I accompany cake with ice cream to balance out the tastes and textures.  But when I set the fork on my empty plate, I decided I needed nothing more. 

My wife, on the other hand, marched out to the store the following day and brought home some vanilla ice cream.  That night, she presented me a slice of cake and some ice cream drizzled with a little Caramel sauce.  Oh, yes: her instincts had steered her right once again!

I’m not sure if I can get any variety of Wensleydale Cheese in San Diego.  That’s something we’ll have to investigate.  I’d like more of Wallace’s “Crumbly Apricot & Apple Cake,” and I'd like to try some of the other recipes in the book.  But even if I can’t find any more Wensleydale cheese until I return to England, I’m glad we brought those cheeses back, and I’m also glad she insisted we bake that cake.  For it was wonderful to return to England, albeit through the medium of taste, and visit Yorkshire one more time. 

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries

Our Visit to Wallace & Grommit’s Cheese Shop

Our Visit to Wallace & Grommit’s Cheese Shop

Recommendations from two master chefs

Despite how much we enjoyed touring the shops and seeing what the local vendors offered for sale, we had not stopped in the English village of Hawes because it was market day.  That was merely a bonus.  So after we saw all that was on offer, we climbed a flight of stairs, walked up the slope of a park, and entered the Wensleyday Creamery, where Wallace’s beloved Wensleydale Cheese is made.

We could have eaten lunch in their cafeteria, but we had packed a lunch that morning, having planned to picnic later in Askrigg.  We could have paid a few pounds and toured their factory, but the line seemed long, and the air a little warm and dense from the people walking down the glass-lined hallways.  (Besides, we’d already seen the cheese-making process at the Tillamook factory in Oregon).  So we divided our time there in two areas: 1) the gift shop, and 2) the tasting room.

The gift shop was filled with all kinds of goodies, from prepackages foods, to candy and souvenirs.  We particularly liked the foot-high figurines from the Wallace & Grommit movies and shorts.  I was tempted to take both characters home with me, as well as the skiing Cooker from "A Grand Day Out."  In the end, reason prevailed, and after purchasing a few smaller items, my wife pulled me into the tasting room.

There, we found plates stacked high with little rectangles of cheese, all cut by an employee who continually pulled out large rounds of cheese from a refrigerator to replenish the plates.  Three tables had been set in a U-pattern, so he didn't have to squeeze through the crowd as he replaced each plate before it was even close to being empty.  Shoppers hovered around the tables, moving back and forth as their taste buds directed, their eyes pressing closed at times as they savored the rich flavors and textures.  We joined the line as it flowed past Wensleydale cheese made in an astonishing mix of flavors, from Smoked to Blue to varieties mixed with Ginger or fruits.  They also offered other types of cheese, including Cheddar and Double Gloucester. 

Saying “No” to such rich, flavorful cheese was hard to do, so in the end we bought three small rounds: a smoked Cheddar, a mature Cheddar, and a Wensleydale with Apricots.  We also picked up a book of recipes recommended by Wallace & Grommit.  I’m not sure if we really needed to eat anything else that day, for we left with our stomachs full, and our taste buds rejoicing.  Knowing that we would take the cheese with us, to enjoy back in San Diego, was a bonus.

According to Wikipedia, filmmaker Nick Park selected Wensleydale as one of Wallace’s favorite cheeses because he thought the name would be interesting to animate.  Later, his company, Aardman Animations, forged links with Wensleydale Creamery.  Thanks to the affiliation, the struggling Creamery regained its commercial feet, and helped make it the tourist attraction it is today.  This reminded people in England of the unique and pleasing flavor of a cheese made only in that part of Yorkshire.  This is what really good Fiction does.  It reminds us of all that’s good, important, and worth preserving.  In so doing, it makes everything new. 

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries

A Surprising Discovery

Catching a Glimpse of Norman Clegg’s House

Related Internet Links

Wensleydale Creamery

Wikipedia on Wensleydale Cheese

On Not Slaughtering A Cow

As mentioned in yesterday's post, recent travel has left me with depleted mental focus and resolve.  While I got some productive work in on my dragon novel this morning, I had to drag myself back to the keyboard this afternoon, and my mind offered up more objections than ideas.  So again, I returned to Yorkshire.  This entry may seem slight to some, but it's what I could write today.  I hope you'll enjoy it.

No cattle in sight.

According to Herriot County, a booklet in the Discovery Guides Heritage Series, the Yorkshire Dales town of Hawes served as Darrowby Cattle Mart in the TV series “All Creatures Great and Small.”  We had planned to visit Hawes, for an entirely different reason, on our first drive through the Dales.  But the road system through the Dales can be confusing to those weaned on the larger and more descriptive traffic signs in the United States, and before we realized it, we had missed the turn.  So it was that we found ourselves visiting Hawes on our return visit to the Yorkshire Dales.

It was a good day to visit, as the town was holding its weekly market day.  Unlike our aborted visit to Leyburn, Hawes offered numerous places to park, many of them for free.  We found a nice place along the road, just outside of town, where I snapped the photograph in yesterday’s post.  Then we walked in and merged with the crowd.

It was easy to see that we weren’t locals.  While many wore T-shirts and shorts, we wore slacks and heavy jackets.  Nor were we tempted by the little white ice cream stand, again unlike many of the locals.  But we soon found ourselves touring the stalls, and seeking out bargains at the temporary stands.  While my wife found several purses she liked, none won her over completely.  I considered a leather wallet, which would better fit British paper currency than my smaller one made for US bills, but decided against it, based upon how little I would use it. 

A close up, so you can better see the white ice cream stand.

Two books called to me.  The first, Tree and Leaf by J.R.R. Tolkien, contained an essay called “On Fairy-Stories” which I’ve long wanted to read.  The second All I Ever Wrote, was a collection of skits by Ronnie Barker.  In the end, concerns about packing space and weight won out.  I could always borrow Tree and Leaf from the library back home.  As for the latter, the only TV series I ever saw the famous British comedian in was “Open All Hours,” which was written by Roy Clarke.  I had no doubt I would enjoy reading his sketches, but as with the Tolkien book, that bedeviling question arose: Did I really need it? 

(I hate you, wretched question!  When will you stop plaguing me?  I ask that, and then I look around at my office, with my double-stuffed bookcases, and boxes and files piled on the floor, and I am forced to concede to the question’s wisdom.  Still, like Paul, just because I suffer from a thorn in my flesh, does not mean I must enjoy the experience!)

We saw no cattle for sale that day, which was for the best, as the management where we were staying would likely have objected had we slaughtered an animal on their front lawn.  Nor could we eat so much meat before we left England.  Besides, I just didn’t feel in a slaughtering-mood.  So we purchased a carton of strawberries instead.  They might still leave red stains on the fingers, but eating them involved less work, and was far kinder to the cows. 

I have a feeling, if I lived on a farm in the Yorkshire Dales, that I might not eat a lot of meat.

Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries

Hijacked By Cows in the Yorkshire Dales: Part 1

Related Internet Links

On Fairy-Stories by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ronnie Barker