Yorkshire Dales has a new celebrity fan '“ Clare Balding

PATELEY Bridge and the Yorkshire Dales have won a new celebrity fan.
TV Preseneter Clare Balding pictured walking over the bridge at Pateley Bridge High Street..19th April 2017 ..Picture by Simon HulmeTV Preseneter Clare Balding pictured walking over the bridge at Pateley Bridge High Street..19th April 2017 ..Picture by Simon Hulme
TV Preseneter Clare Balding pictured walking over the bridge at Pateley Bridge High Street..19th April 2017 ..Picture by Simon Hulme

Broadcaster Clare Balding set off from North Yorkshire market town on the Nidderdale Way for her long-running BBC Radio 4 series, Ramblings.

She was accompanied by her wife Alice Arnold, her BBC producer Lucy Lunt and Frances Atkins, chef and co-owner of the Yorke Arms in Ramsgill-in-Nidderdale.

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On hand to send her off from the high street was Keith Tordoff, the chairman of Nidderdale Chamber of Trade.

TV Preseneter Clare Balding unveils the Nidderdale Way Plaque, Pateley Bridge High Street..19th April 2017 ..Picture by Simon HulmeTV Preseneter Clare Balding unveils the Nidderdale Way Plaque, Pateley Bridge High Street..19th April 2017 ..Picture by Simon Hulme
TV Preseneter Clare Balding unveils the Nidderdale Way Plaque, Pateley Bridge High Street..19th April 2017 ..Picture by Simon Hulme

Mr Tordoff said: “She is a lovely person, very down-to-earth. She said she’d loved what she’d seen of Pateley Bridge. She was obviously very interested in the town.”

Ms Balding stayed in Pateley Bridge’s Talbot Hotel and dined at Olleys Restaurant. She enjoyed a Michelin-starred packed lunch, including Dales produce and prepared by the Yorke Arms.

The broadcaster’s visit has also served to highlight a new era for the Nidderdale Way and, potentially, visitor numbers.

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First launched in 1983, the 53-mile circular footpath which is situated within the heart of the stunning Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is being given a new promotional push.

Those accompanying Ms Balding also included Sir Thomas Ingilby and wife, Lady Emma, the Rev Mike Poole and his wife, Julia Wyatt, and the Rev Darryl Hall, Steve Spellman from Sypeland Outdoors.