All Hail Yorkshire Sunday the 1st of August is Yorkshire Day. A day to celebrate the largest and most beautiful county of England. If you are thinking of coming to God's Own County, say on the weekend of 14th August, here are a few places in the Dales you might like to try. http://www.yorkshirenet.co.uk/ This is a Yorkshire portal, with loads of information on places to stay, things to do etc. I reckon that you could base yourself in somehwere like Grassington if you fancied a weekend in the Dales. The pretty village is full of nice pubs such as the Foresters and the Black Horse, there are loads of cafes and restaurants, plenty of guesthouses and B&B's, and more fancy art shops than you can shake your wallet at. This is the scenery just north of Grassington on a rainy but very warm day in early June this year, this is Bastow Wood/Grass Wood. For walkers, this is a dream area, you are on the Dales Way so you could walk north to Kettlewell along the high moors with their many exposed rocks and escarpments then get the bus back (I'm slightly hazy about N Yorks bus timetables, they used to run a bus on alternate Thursdays in even numbered years, but I'm not sure if the service is still this frequent.) Westwards you are within striking distance of Malham where you can walk the short distance to Malham Cove, the Tarn and the wonderful limestone pavements, not to mention Eastwards you could take the car up to Grimwith Reservoir and go for an easy walk around the edge, lots of waterfowl to see and maybe some sailing on a weekend. A short car ride southwards and you could visit Bolton Abbey, good parking, lovely easy walking along the river Wharfe, or take one of the track up through the ancient woodland and along the Strid, or if you are feeling more adventurous, go north to the Valley Of Desolation, Brden Fell and Simon's Seat. Most excellent lunches are to had at The Priest's House Restaurant which is located at Barden Tower north of Bolton Abbey. I would have included some more pictures but bloggr is playing up, I'll adjust the post on Sunday.