Aysgarth: The Yorkshire village seen everywhere from Wuthering Heights to Robin Hood Prince of Thieves

Some villages are well-known for specific things, others are sometimes quite unremarkable in that respect.

Some have something that is so intrinsic to it, it is almost overwhelming and you only have to mention the village and immediately you think of it.

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The Yorkshire Dales village of Aysgarth, in Wensleydale, is one of those. I am referring to, of course, Aysgarth Falls.

A scene and location so spectacular is has captured the minds of literature, television and film gold.

The parish church at Aysgarth in Wensleydale.The parish church at Aysgarth in Wensleydale.
The parish church at Aysgarth in Wensleydale.

Aysgarth Falls are a set of waterfalls that in summer can be an idyllic picture of a serene summer in the countryside, yet in winter or wet weather are a reminder about the sheer power of nature as they turn into a torrent.

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Ironically, this is the time that they are at their best to be witnessed.

They are on the River Ure over a mile long stretch of the river where thousands of gallons of water flow over limestone steps and have been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Aysgarth Falls, are known to have been of interest and inspiration for at least 200 years with the Victorian writer, philosopher and historian John Ruskin; the Romantic painter J M W Turner and the Romantic poet, William Wordsworth all having been moved by the beauty of the area.

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Aysgarth Falls in Wensleydale.Aysgarth Falls in Wensleydale.
Aysgarth Falls in Wensleydale.

They, of course, date back a couple of million years before that and the waterfalls were formed by meltwater from the Ice Age.

More recently, they were featured in the 1992 film adaptation of Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights” novel, and, in 2005, in the television series, “Seven Natural Wonders” as one of the wonders of the North.

Much more well-known perhaps, is that Aysgarth Falls were used as a filming location for the 1990’s film, now a classic, “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”, starring Kevin Costner.

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The fight scene between Robin and Little John was filmed at Aysgarth Falls while the scene where Marian sees Robin bathing was filmed at Hardraw Force, about eight miles away near Hawes.

The Old Youth Hostel, Aysgarth, North Yorkshire, is now a unique library with over 125,000 books on over a mile of shelving filling over 20 rooms of the old hostel. Picture By Yorkshire Post Photographer,  James Hardisty.The Old Youth Hostel, Aysgarth, North Yorkshire, is now a unique library with over 125,000 books on over a mile of shelving filling over 20 rooms of the old hostel. Picture By Yorkshire Post Photographer,  James Hardisty.
The Old Youth Hostel, Aysgarth, North Yorkshire, is now a unique library with over 125,000 books on over a mile of shelving filling over 20 rooms of the old hostel. Picture By Yorkshire Post Photographer, James Hardisty.

The village itself is small and close-knit, despite its tourist popularity, and at the helm of it is Aysgarth and District Parish Council. The village is also under the remit of North Yorkshire Council and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

It was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and a burial relating to the Bronze Age has been discovered in the village suggesting there was village life way before anything like what we know now.

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For centuries Aysgarth passed through the hands of different families and noblemen. It was under the remit of Cnut, son of Karli at the end of the Norman Conquest, then Count Alan of Brittany and then to the Burgh family of Hackforth before following the path to the manor of Thoralby, which is a small village just south of Aysgarth.

Aysgarth wasn’t an estate village though, it has its history and heritage in farming and working the land.

Like many Dales villages it is characterised by a patchwork of green fields that are split by expertly crafted jigsaws of drystone walls.

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However, unlike some Dales villages it has retained the services that are essential in allowing for village life to thrive.

The village has a privately owned petrol station that has a shop and also has a post office service. There is a GP surgery, bus services and schemes such as Wheels 2 Work (a not for profit charity) which has a fleet of mopeds for loan.

Unfortunately, the train station is no longer operating and classed as disused. It was part of the Hawes Branch of the North Eastern Railway from its opening in 1877 until closure in April 1954.

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Over the years there have been plans and discussions to see about reopening it.

In 2019, David Smith, a railway enthusiast, had his plan to re-lay track at the defunct station to shunt diesel and steam locomotives mainly for his private enjoyment approved.

At the time it was said his project would increase the chance of reinstating the Wensleydale Railway from Northallerton to Garsdale, starting with the stretch from Redmire to Aysgarth.

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Aysgarth also has a church and a hotel, both of which have pretty interesting back stories themselves.

St Andrew’s Church has been a draw for parishioners for more than a thousand years and is rich in wood carvings, stone sculptures and stained glass windows.

Little remains of the medieval St Andrew’s and due to the poor condition it had got into, the church was pretty much rebuilt in 1866 and has some fine Victorian features.

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Now, it might look, on the face of it, a local church for a small village but it has a large parish covering as well as Aysgarth – Carperby, Thoralby, Thornton Rust, Newbiggin in Bishopdale and West Burton as well as farms in Bishopdale and Walden.

So over the years, it will have seen its fair share of weddings and funerals. It is reported that there are more than a thousand gravestones in the churchyard - apparently making it one of the biggest in the country.

Aysgarth Falls Hotel, known as the Palmer Flat Hotel until 2011, has been welcoming people for a fairly long time too as the hotel site itself is said to date back as far as the Crusades .

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The name Palmer Flatt goes back to a theory that it is reputed to stand on the site of a medieval hospice where pilgrims returning from the Holy Land in poor health were treated. They often carried palm leaves back with them as mementoes and so became known as ‘ Palmers’.

The current building dates to the 18th century and in 1854 it was described as “a wayside hostelry of truly rural appearance, but possessing excellent accommodation and liquors, for the numerous parties of visitors to the Falls, by whom it is much frequented in the summer months”.

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