The first of our crab apples are standing tall this springtime on the path from River View holiday cottage towards Pateley Bridge. We released the saplings from their plastic wrappers now they have reached their first birthday. In amongst the honeysuckle, the hawthorn and blackthorn and the wild roses, they are shooting up quickly. It was a few hours' work unwrapping the young hedgerow, but it looks a lot healthier in the fresh air. Grass growing inside the plastic was smot

After the seemingly endless months of snow, a blazing hot early May bank holiday seemed a heaven sent reward ay River View Pateley. Children stripped down to swimming costumes and took to our river, and even their shocked screams in the freezing cold water were the sounds of pure delight. Meanwhile, on the bank, we did battle with a hoard of dandelions. They were the stubborn survivors of extended snows so vicious that half the planted perennials did not last the winter. It

​​ We've pinched this title from a Nick Harkaway novel that this morning's walk reminded us of. Fog came down on the moors above River View Pateley, and white swallowed the sky, the vistas and anything more than 50 feet away. The space that was left held its own eerie beauty. Hearing the calls of birds in the heather contrasted with the sharp flutter of their wings was its own reward. It also gave time to notice the details, like the tiny water droplets in the trees and the g

What better way to celebrate the end of winter than a walk through Spring Wood? The General and I took a stroll there the other day, past the first lambs of the year. Primroses are starting to push through the dense mossy green of the wells at the side of the road. Gone were the bitter winds that day and everything felt on the edge of transformation, ready to bounce back to life. VISIT RIVER VIEW #WalkingnearRiverView #DalesTourism #EarlySpring