My Yorkshire: GB kayaker, Giggleswick School teacher and Dalesman on his favourite places and people

What’s your first Yorkshire memory?

Coming over the Pennines when I was in my very early teens, to go to a canoeing event somewhere near Blubberhouses, and catching sight of places like Ingleborough and Skipton. The moors all looked very bleak, and rather like another country. I was actually born over there, in Lancashire, but the very difference in the actual landscape impressed me – there was almost a physical movement to the land. I also believe that at one point I caught a fleeting glimpse of the dome of Giggleswick Chapel – l didn’t guess for a second at what the coming years were to bring.

What’s your favourite part of the county – and why?

It’s the view, and the view from just about any hill-top or peak, anywhere. Get up there and look what is around you, and you’ll never fail to be impressed by the landscape, and its character. If I must narrow it down, then it’ll be Simon’s Seat, that chunk of millstone grit on the eastern side of Wharfedale. It’s very popular with walkers, so a day when you are up there by yourself is very, very special.

Do you have a favourite walk – or view?

From our home in Settle, around Embsay Reservoir, a glorious five-mile loop. The great thing is that you hardly ever see another soul up there, unless they are out on the water, and a member of the local sailing club.

Which Yorkshire sportsperson, past or present, would you like to take for lunch?

Rob Jebb, a force of nature in his own right. A totally outstanding athlete, and (in my opinion) up there with the Brownlee boys, and then some. Nothing defeats him and if you are lucky enough to be competing in the same fell race as him, then I can promise you that the only view that you will get of him is his back – some way in the distance.

Which Yorkshire stage or screen star, or past or present, would you like to take for dinner?

Alan Bennett, who I have admired ever since my mother used to play me the audio tapes of him reading the Winnie the Pooh stories. Not so long ago mum and I were having an afternoon tea up at the little shop in Clapham, and Mr Bennett walked in, took a seat, and ordered his tea. Mum had her back to him, and hadn’t a clue that he was there.

If you had to name your Yorkshire ‘hidden gem’, what would it be?

Hell Gill Force, a superb waterfall which, if you didn’t know it was there, would totally elude you. It’s in the upper Eden valley, and is unique to the UK, in that it is what is called a “slot canyon”. There are several of them elsewhere in the world, but only this example in Britain.

If you could own, or have access to, one thing in Yorkshire for a single day, what would that object or place be?

One of our great rivers – people don’t realise that access to the water, for someone in a canoe, is very limited, there are fishermen’s rights to be respected, those in boats, so many restrictions. So, a day when I could paddle down the Ribble, preferably after two days of good steady rain, now that would truly be something special.

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

An unrivalled combination of landscape, cultures, sporting events, a competitive spirit, the people – dry wit and candidness – and the fact that, when you are out in the county, you do truly feel connected to it in a very strange and personal way. There’s also, when you get out into the true countryside, still a lot of wearing of flat caps, and leaning reflectively on gates. People think that’s a cliché, but it still does happen.

Do you follow sport in the county, and if so, what?

One of the finest sporting exemplars in my neck of the woods is the North Ribblesdale Rugby Club – some determined players, great supporters, keen parents out to give their lads a push, a really happy “feel” to it all. A punchy club side that lives up to what genuine sportsmanship should be.

Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub?

Jules and I have so many happy memories of The Fountains Inn in Linton, all of which are deeply personal. Suffice it to say that it has a superb setting, lovely staff and first-rate food. Even thinking about the next time we’ve booked a table there brings a happy smile to our faces.

Do you have a favourite food shop?

The Courtyard Dairy Shop is just down the road from Settle, and all the staff have a ludicrous knowledge of where their products come from.

How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you’ve known it?

We both love the annual village and area shows, with their family atmosphere and the continuity of customs and events, but it’s sad to see a slow decline in the smaller villages of the institutions that have been traditionally helped along by volunteers – the village halls, the Scouts, the WI, things like that. Transport (or the lack of it) to and from places doesn’t help, does it?

Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire?

We had a very dear teaching friend called Phil Andrew, who died not so long ago, and the man was incredible, interested in everything and everybody. He was a fine teacher, a singer, a cook and chef, a loyal friend, a radio ham, a first-rate organ player, so versatile and multi-talented. People like Phil are very rare. And my wife, Jules never ceases to amaze me – she never follows the crowd, always makes good decisions, is creative and….well, we’ve been together for ten years now, and she never stops surprising me. In the nicest possible way, of course!

Has Yorkshire influenced your work?

It is my work, 100 per cent. I love exploring places that are completely off the beaten path, getting to know all the nooks and crannies. People who never “go south of the river” and who refuse to find out what is around the next corner or over the next hill worry me a bit. Our fabric is unique.

Name your favourite Yorkshire book/author/artist/CD/performer.

Dame Thora Hird. I know that she was a Lancashire lass, but in the way that she played her characters she was the very embodiment of Yorkshire pragmatism and stoicism, of good humour, practicality and no-nonsense integrity. Last of the Summer Wine was just superb.

If a stranger to Yorkshire only had time to visit one place, it would be?

The chapel on the hillside at Giggleswick school. It’s a very strange building, partly very beautiful, and – to a small degree – slightly grotesque. That huge gothic dome, and the interior with all those wooden pews and the stunning stained glass. What moves me very deeply are the memorial boards to the young men from the school who went off to fight in the two World Wars, and who never ever returned. When you think about all that unfulfilled potential, surrendered before its prime, it’s very sobering, and most affecting.