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A little bit of lovely thatched vernacular from Stewkley in Buckinghamshire. C17th timber framed and infilled with header bond.
“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
Waterfall
I can hear it clearly now: the rushing of the water is over to my right beyond a dip beside the road. I skirt along a small track and head down towards the waterfall. My first view of the Harmby Falls is sublime: cascading sheets of white water. I stand for several moments, lulled into a dream state. I can't help but think that despite the anarchic bent of every gushing molecule, the body of water holds the same shape as it crashes over the roots and rocks.
I walk closer to the fall, mesmerised by the sight and sound, until I see the graffiti, and my spirits crash.
It's such an eyesore against the harmony of the falls. But then I think that some of the marks might stem from fear, or they might be a call for help, or even a final epitaph. After a short while, the falls begin to do their thing again – a snaking charmer, pulling me back into the presence of nature. The beauty and togetherness of the whole is overpowering all in its path. The angry cursive is absorbed by the sweeping concord of the subtle and the intangible.
Later in the afternoon, I travel between two Yorkshire towns: Leyburn – a thriving market town, and Middleham – once the childhood home of Richard III.
And whilst I’m walking, two miles away to my south, the waters of Harmby are falling and shaping my thinking. And from the places I visit and the buildings I see, a pattern emerges.
For, between the cascading waters and the foliate walls,
the bower-strewn lanes and the market stalls,
the rubbled limestone and the ashlar quoins,
the polite manholes and raw Gothic forms,
the dancing Jacobean and the castle parapet,
the cumin curry house and the full English set,
the over-informative and the self-deprecative,
the human and the animal,
the animated past and the joy of the here and now,
from the kissing gates to adapted states,
I can't help but feel the universe is trying to tell me something.
Standing over a parapet that nurtured a king who split communities in his time and united them in ours, I start to see the answers all around me, hidden in plain sight. These places edge forward through time like glaciers, grinding down the monstrous and rounding off the sharpness. I am walking through a landscape that, through time's filtration, harbours the strongest components of the human spirit – an "inescapable network of mutuality.”
Just as the waterfall shapes its uniform path through every unique molecule, our places are enriched by each individual presence. We are part of a larger whole, moving together, evolving, sometimes faltering, but ultimately shaping our shared world. When we take the time to look around us, the beauty in our differences becomes apparent – an immeasurable latent harmony prevailing over discord.
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Leyburn and Middleham, Wensleydale, Yorkshire.
Leyburn is a delightful market town with a gritty, agricultural feel. I visited over a few days but market day (Friday) is best - where the open square is bustling with activity. A short walk from the town centre is a divine promontory that overlooks the valley. Known as the Leyburn Shawl Fields they have seen human activity since pre-historic times. Lots of seats to take lunch and take in the view.
Middleham is such a beautiful town with a village feel - behind Coverham Lane is Middleham Castle (English Heritage) former home to Richard III and, for that reason, is known as the Windsor of the north. Middleham is a significant site for horse training and stables. Whilst I ate my full English (being eagerly watched by the cafe dog) I watched the horses trot by - up and down Coverham Lane.
My Route
I took the public footpaths from Harmby Falls (there is limited parking there) over the River Ure and into the town. There is a short walk along a main road before it takes you into the town via the magical portal of St. Mary and Alkeda. From Middleham I caught the bus into Leyburn.
From Harmby Falls to Leyburn via Middleham - Pure Scroll (No Words)
Harmby Falls
Switch the sound up for a bit of ASMR
The Route To Middleham
St. Mary and St. Alkeda, Middleham - Collegiate Church of Richard III
Through the portal into Middleham
Windows with a wonk..
Middleham Castle (open to the public)
Members can view Middleham Castle in glorious VR (viewable on any device):
Andy Marshall
Leyburn
Leyburn Library (we all need a library like this)
Leyburn Shawl Fields
I lodged over near Harmby at the CAMC and took on a bit of luxury with the side awning.
The side awning slides into a groove on the van
Outdoor Cooking - Aubergine Curry
Andy Marshall
Olivia Sung
'Libraries are about freedom. Freedom to read, freedom of ideas, freedom of communication. They are about education, about entertainment, about making safe spaces and about access to information.' Chris Riddell
Emily Monaco
'People who cannot understand each other cannot exchange ideas, cannot communicate...Fiction builds empathy. Fiction is something you build up from twenty-six letters and a handful of punctuation marks, and you, and you alone, using your imagination, create a world, and people it and look out through other eyes. You're being someone else, and when you return to your own world, you're going to be slightly changed.' Chris Riddell
Emily Monaco
Birdsong at first light at Harmby, Yorkshire Dales.
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Photographs and words by Andy Marshall (unless otherwise stated). Most photographs are taken with Iphone 14 Pro and DJI Mini 3 Pro.
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