Hawes and Hardraw

For many people, Hawes means two things - Wensleydale cheese and motorcyclists. The bikers use the town as a base at summer weekends and bank holidays, enjoying a friendly drink in the pubs and spectacular rides on the surrounding roads. However, it is the Wensleydale Creamery that attracts other visitors. Just above the car park in Gayle Lane, the Creamery offers tours and tastings, as well as the chance to buy a traditional Wensleydale.

Cheese has been made in Wensleydale since French monks brought the skill here in 1150. After centuries of farm production, a factory was started in Hawes in 1897. It was saved from closure in the 1930s by local man Kit Calvert, and again in 1992, when the local managers bought the creamery from Dairy Crest. It is now a thriving business and a vital part of the Hawes economy.

The walk gives you the chance - which you should take - to visit the famous Hardraw Force, a 90ft (27m) waterfall in a deep and narrow valley. There is a modest entrance charge, payable in the Green Dragon pub in Hardraw village, and a short, pleasant walk to the fall. Despite appearances, what you see isn't entirely natural. On 12 July 1889 an unprecedented deluge on the hill above caused a wall of water to descend Hardraw Beck and through the valley, destroying buildings in the village and washing away bridges. It also devastated the waterfall, reducing it to a mudslide. After seeing to the clearing up in the village and the welfare of his tenants, the local landowner, Lord Wharncliffe, arranged for his workmen to reconstruct the lip of the fall, pinning together the blocks of shattered stone. This he did so successfully that today's visitors have no idea of the disaster that happened more than a century ago.

On the way to and from Hardraw Force you will pass the circular bandstand for the annual Hardraw Scar Brass Band Contest, usually held in September. It was founded in 1881, and is reputed to be the second oldest brass band competition in the world. Bands from throughout the North of England - and beyond - compete in the championship, cheered on by supporters who crowd the valley floor and hillsides of this natural amphitheatre.

From the tiny village of Sedbusk, near the end of the walk, came the area's first-known rope maker, John Brenkley, who died in 1725. The tradition is continued today in Hawes by W R Outhwaite and Son in their Hawes Ropeworks. Visitors can see work in progress on ropes of all types, including ropes for bells, barriers and banisters, as well as dog leads and braids.

While you're there

To find out more about life in the Dales, visit the Dales Countryside Museum in the Station Yard at Hawes. Here you can walk through a Time Tunnel that takes you back through 10,000 years of Dales' history, and see how life has changed over the centuries. Also included in the admission charge is a trip 'down' a lead mine, a visit to an old doctor's surgery, and the nostalgia of a kitchen in the Dales from the last century.

Where to eat and drink

There is plenty of choice in Hawes with its pubs, cafés and tea rooms, as well as a fish and chip shop. The Green Dragon at Hardraw offers meals and snacks, while more upmarket is the Simonstone Hall Hotel, on the walk between Hardraw and Sedbusk.

What to look for

Redshank and widgeon are among the birds that you may see on the walk, especially around the pond by the New Bridge near Appersett (the second one you cross here). The wading redshank, with its long legs, has a characteristic alarm call and nests in grass, laying four eggs during the breeding season from April to July. Look out for the characteristic white bar across its wings. Widgeon, members of the duck family, graze on wet meadowland, often in huge flocks. The male has a rusty-red head with an orange crown, while the female is plainer, though of a distinctive dull orange colour.