IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Arkengarthdale, RICHMOND, DL11 6RP

In the 18th and 19th centuries, when lime was extensively used on acid clay soil to improve cultivation, lime kilns were widespread. Beehive shaped, with a hole in the top, kilns were usually built on the sides of steep hills and against cliff faces, to make the loading of limestone and coal easier. Alternating layers of limestone and coal were burnt to produce the lime. This kiln dates from the early 19th century.

Drystone walls are built without mortar, and their stability – they can stand for 200 years – is due to the skill of the craftsmen who place rough boulders and angular stones together. Many drystone walls were constructed as part of the enclosure of open grazing. They were especially useful in areas too exposed for hedgerows to survive and where stones were readily available. Most drystone walls are wider at the base than at the crown, and are often capped with coping stones. A typical wall has two outer layers of large, flattish stones enclosing an inner ‘heart’ of smaller, rounder stones. Often it is reinforced with ‘through bands’ of even larger, flat stones which can also be used as stiles. The very dryness of a wall makes it more likely to endure wind and frost and to act as shelter for livestock as well as a boundary. The tree appears to be hanging on to life as well.

Above Green Bank.

A well preserved limekiln at the roadside at Seal Houses above Whaw in Arkengarthdale.

Whaw is the last community near the head of Arkengarthdale.

The valley is criss-crossed with drystone walls. Drystone walls are built without mortar, and their stability – they can stand for 200 years – is due to the skill of the craftsmen who place rough boulders and angular stones together. Many drystone walls were constructed as part of the enclosure of open grazing. They were especially useful in areas too exposed for hedgerows to survive and where stones were readily available. Most drystone walls are wider at the base than at the crown, and are often capped with coping stones. A typical wall has two outer layers of large, flattish stones enclosing an inner ‘heart’ of smaller, rounder stones. Often it is reinforced with ‘through bands’ of even larger, flat stones which can also be used as stiles. The very dryness of a wall makes it more likely to endure wind and frost and to act as shelter for livestock as well as a boundary.

Mixture of bedrock and glacial action has left behind scars along the valley side. The bedrock varies from Five Yard Limestone near the top of the scars to Argillaceous Bioclastic limestones, sandstones, mudstones, siltstones and rare coals. This area has been worked by man in the 18th & 19th centuries for building stone and lime for the land.

Seats with a view.