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Snaizeholme - Wikipedia
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Snaizeholme

Snaizeholme is a small side valley of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (YDNP), North Yorkshire, England. The valley is noted for its red squirrel reserve, the only place within the North Yorkshire part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park where red squirrels are known to live, and a tree re-wilding project.

Snaizeholme
Snaizeholme Beck, looking southwards up the valley
Floor elevation878 feet (267.7 m)[1]
Length3 miles (4.8 km) North/south
Area1,390 acres (561 ha)
Geology
TypeGlacial
Geography
CountryEngland
State/ProvinceYorkshire and the Humber
Coordinates54°15′43″N 2°16′08″W / 54.262°N 2.269°W / 54.262; -2.269 
RiverSnaizeholme Beck

Along with Ribblehead further to the west, the upper slopes of Snaizeholme are known to be one of the wettest places within the YDNP. Rainfall on Snaizeholme Fell (at 1,900 feet (579 m) is a mean average of 77 inches (1,957 mm) per year.

History

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It is thought that during the Anglian stage of glaciation, ice pushing south from the main Wensleydale stem, created the bowl shaped nature of the upper valley.[2] The amphitheatre nature of the valley is consistent with an ice-stream pushing southwards towards Grove Head and into Wharfedale.[3] The settlement of the Norse people in Wensleydale lent their language to the name of the valley; Sneis meaning twig led to the name being translated as the water-meadow with twigs.[4] It was first recorded in 1280 as Snaysum or Snaysome, when the vaccary (a name for the cattle farms in upland regions of the Pennines) was listed as £6 per year (equivalent to £7,000 in 2023).[5][6] In the seventeenth century, a survey listed the valley as being either Snaisholme or Snailsholme, which was in the township of Hawes with a population of nine, eight house, 30 outhouses and 268 acres (108 ha) of meadow lands.[7] A directory from 1893 shows that most people (if not all) in the dale were farmers and their families.[8]

The valley is in a rough north/south direction, extending to 3 miles (4.8 km) in length, and covering an area of 1,390 acres (561 ha).[9] Snaizeholme Beck drains the valley northwards into Widdale Beck, both tributaries of the River Ure. Snaizeholme Beck flows for 4.2 miles (6.7 km) and drains an area of 2,790 acres (1,131 ha).[10] The beck is fed by 21 streams, all of which total a complete length of 26 miles (42 km),[11] and between 1970 and 2020, the average flow out of the beck into Widdale Beck is 7.1 cubic feet per second (0.2 m3/s).[12] The valley extends from a low of 878 feet (267.7 m) to the top of Snaizeholme Fell which is 1,793 feet (547 m).[13][14]

The valley was originally part of the Forest of Wensleydale; however, farming practices have left most of the valley without tree cover.[15][11] In 2021, the woodland trust proposed a scheme which would involve planting birch, rowan, oak, willow and Scots Pine trees across 550 acres (220 ha) of land within Snaizeholme valley. At that time, less than 5% of the Yorkshire Dales had woodland cover, with only 1% consisting of ancient woodland, the type most beneficial to wildlife.[16] The proposal was to encourage the squirrel habitat, but also to attract otters, kingfishers, herons and grey wagtails into the valley.[17] The trees will enable carbon to be captured, and will slow the flow of water, therefore reducing the risk of flooding.[18]

The planting of the first 100,000 saplings began in spring 2023, with a further £8 million needed to be raised to see the project through to a successful conclusion.[11][19] Besides the planting of trees, the project aims to restore 279 acres (113 ha) of blanket bog peatland, 247 acres (100 ha) of limestone pavement, and 191 acres (77 ha) of the open valley bottom.[20] The geography of the dale has been assessed as 13% woodland, 86% grassland, and 1% bog or heath.[21] The land is mostly carboniferous limestone, with shales and coal measures deeper down, and an isolated pocket of millstone grit to the south-east of the dale where it rises up to the peaks.[22][23]

The road into the Snaizeholme stretches up from Widdale, but peters out in the middle of the valley, so the dale is only accessible by vehicle from the north.[14] On the high ground of the eastern side of the dale is the Cam Road, an old Roman Road that was once part of the Richmond to Lancaster Turnpike, and now forms part of the route of the route of the Pennine Way.[24] The road through the valley was traditionally another route used by drovers out of Hawes and they would get to Cam Road between Dodd Fell (to the east) and Snaizeholme Fell, (to the west).[25] Even though the River Ure was part of the long border between the old county divisions of the West and North Ridings, Snaizeholme has always been in the either the North Riding or North Yorkshire.[26][27] Historically it was in the wapentake of Hang West in the parish of Aysgarth; it is now in the parish of Hawes.[28]

The annual ultramarathon The Fellsman, runs through the dale.[29][30]

Rainfall

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The dale is noted as being one of the wettest places within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, averaging between 69.7 inches (1,771 mm) and 79 inches (2,000 mm) of rainfall per year.[31][11] The mean average calculated between 1968 and 2012 was 77 inches (1,957 mm).[32] Most of the water that falls on the western and northern side of Dodd Fell, drains down to the River Ure through Snaizeholme.[33] An extreme rainfall event in May 1959 sent floods down the valley into the River Ure, which trapped a man up to his waist in floodwater and washed away sheep and lambs.[34][35] Flooding also occurred on 31 January 1995, when Low Houses recorded rainfall of 5.39 inches (136.8 mm) in 24 hours.[36] In the floods of February 2020, the gauge at the lower end of the valley recorded a rainfall of 100 millimetres (3.9 in) in 48 hours, which was 80% of the long-term average.[37]

Annual rainfall statistics for three weather stations in Snaizeholme
Year Low House rainfall[a] Mirk Pot Farm rainfall[b] Top Snaizeholme rainfall[c] Ref
1968 1,633 millimetres (64.3 in) 1,782 millimetres (70.2 in) 2,093 millimetres (82.4 in) [38]
1973 1,161 millimetres (45.7 in) 1,352 millimetres (53.2 in) 1,589 millimetres (62.6 in) [39]
1978 1,471 millimetres (57.9 in) 1,538 millimetres (60.6 in) (no data) [40]
1983 1,551 millimetres (61.1 in) (data spoiled) 2,015 millimetres (79.3 in) [41]
1988 1,985 millimetres (78.1 in) (no data) 2,085 millimetres (82.1 in) [42]
1993 1,823 millimetres (71.8 in) (no data) (no data) [43]
1995 1,500 millimetres (59 in) (no data) (no data) [44]
  1. ^ Located at gridref SD832878, and at a height of 899 feet (274 m)
  2. ^ Located at gridref SD828870, and at a height of 1,024 feet (312 m)
  3. ^ Located at gridref SD830834, and at a height of 1,900 feet (579 m)

Red squirrel reserve

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Red Squirrel in Snaizeholme

The reserve for red squirrels at Snaizeholme (SD828863) is one of 17 dotted around Northern England,[45][46] and is the only location within North Yorkshire part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park where squirrels are known to exist. The Cumbrian part of the YDNP is also home to red squirrels.[47][48] The squirrels first arrived in the dale c. 2002 (probably from Cumbria) as a result of a couple buying Mirk Pot Farm in 1967 and starting a Christmas tree plantation and other forestry schemes which enabled a good habitat for the squirrels.[49] The conservation and reserve status has been so successful, that red squirrels have been spotted in gardens in Hawes, the nearest town, and Bainbridge further down the valley.[50] The creation of new woodland, including deciduous trees, has also benefitted other wildlife, with bird species increased from thirty types to seventy, and water voles and pine martens spotted in the valley.[51]

Access to the reserve is either a 10-mile (16 km) circular walk from Hawes, or being dropped off at the bottom of the wooded plantation by the Little White Bus (a small but dedicated bus service that serves the local community.[52]

References

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  1. ^ "27047 - Snaizeholme Beck at Low Houses". nrfa.ceh.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2023. Catchment Info tab
  2. ^ Waltham, Tony (2007). The Yorkshire Dales : landscape and geology. Ramsbury: Crowood. p. 71. ISBN 9781861269720.
  3. ^ Clayton, Keith M. (1966). "The origin of the landforms of the Malham area". Fields Studies Journal. 2 (3). Shrewsbury: FSC: 368. ISSN 0428-304X.
  4. ^ Gunn, Peter (1984). The Yorkshire Dales : landscape with figures. London: Century Pub. p. 64. ISBN 0712603700.
  5. ^ Smith, A. H. (1979) [1928]. The Place Names of the North Riding of Yorkshire. English Place Name Society. p. 267. OCLC 19714705.
  6. ^ Brown, William, ed. (1892). Yorkshire inquisitions of the reigns of Henry III and Edward I. Worksop: Yorkshire Archaeological Society. p. 225. OCLC 48697846.
  7. ^ Willan, Thomas Stuart; Crossley, Ely Wilkinson, eds. (2013). Three Seventeenth-Century Yorkshire Surveys. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 109. 119. ISBN 978-1-108-05961-9.
  8. ^ Kelly's Directory of N & E Ridings of Yorkshire, 1893. London: Kellys Directories. 1893. p. 101. OCLC 1131686665.
  9. ^ Scholes, Ron (2011). Yorkshire Dales. Ashbourne: Horizon Press. p. 108. ISBN 9781843065081.
  10. ^ "Snaizeholme Beck from Source to Widdale Beck | Catchment Data Explorer | Catchment Data Explorer". environment.data.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d Wood, Alexandra (17 April 2023). "Huge native woodland takes root near trail". The Yorkshire Post. p. 7. ISSN 0963-1496.
  12. ^ "Trends data". nrfa.ceh.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Snaizeholme Fell". getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  14. ^ a b Lennie 2005, p. 46.
  15. ^ Mitchell, W. R. (1999). The story of the Yorkshire Dales. Chichester: Phillimore. p. 16. ISBN 9781860770883.
  16. ^ Halpin, Danny (16 April 2023). "Conservationists set to begin creating England's largest native woodland". The Independent. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  17. ^ Rudgard, Olivia (26 May 2021). "Reforesting sows seeds of red squirrel revival". The Daily Telegraph. No. 51, 639. p. 8. ISSN 0307-1235.
  18. ^ "Yorkshire Dales tree plan to recreate long-lost forest". BBC News. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  19. ^ "The Times view on reforesting the Yorkshire Dales: Green Land". The Times. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  20. ^ Gleeson, Janet (21 April 2023). "Planting uderway for huge woodland in Wensleydale". Darlington & Stockton Times. No. 2023–16. p. 6. ISSN 2516-5348.
  21. ^ Marsh & Hannaford 2008, p. 56.
  22. ^ Dakyns, J. R.; Goodchild, J. G.; Fox-Strangways, C. (1890). The geology of the country around Ingleborough, with parts of Wensleydale and Wharfedale (Explanation of quarter-sheet 97 S.W., new series, sheet 50). London: HMSO. p. 69. OCLC 941029534.
  23. ^ Marsh & Hannaford 2008, p. 62.
  24. ^ "OL2" (Map). Yorkshire Dales – Southern & Western Area. 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2016. ISBN 978-0-319-26331-0.
  25. ^ Bonser, Kenneth J. (1970). The drovers : who they were and how they went : an epic of the English countryside. London: Macmillan. p. 164. ISBN 0333103017.
  26. ^ "View map: Great Britain. Ordnance Survey, 34/88 – A (includes: Bainbridge; Buckden; Hawes; Horton in Ribblesdale) – Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain, 1945–1969". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  27. ^ Rhea, Nicholas (22 July 2014). "River was the Ridings border". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  28. ^ "Snaizeholme :: Survey of English Place-Names". epns.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  29. ^ "Route Overview – The Fellsman". fellsman.org.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  30. ^ Butcher, Ellis (1 May 2013). "I ran the roof of the Yorkshire Dales and won! Sedbergh man's joy at race win". The Westmorland Gazette. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  31. ^ Marsh & Hannaford 2008, p. 54.
  32. ^ Wheeler, Dennis (July 2013). "Regional weather and climates of the British Isles – Part 4: North East England and Yorkshire". Weather. 68 (7): 186. doi:10.1002/wea.2081.
  33. ^ Lennie 2005, p. 44.
  34. ^ "RIVER KENT AND SOUTH LAKES: A CHRONOLOGY OF FLASH FLOODING" (PDF). jbatrust.org. p. 69. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  35. ^ Lennie 2005, p. 65.
  36. ^ Marsh, T. J. (1996). Hydrological data United Kingdom : 1995 yearbook : an account of rainfall, river flows, groundwater levels and river water quality January to December 1995. Wallingford: Institute of Hydrology. p. 23. ISBN 0-948540-78-8.
  37. ^ "Flood Investigation Report February 2020" (PDF). northyorks.gov.uk. p. 23. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  38. ^ "British rainfall 1968". British Rainfall. 108. London: HMSO: 10. 1974. ISBN 0-11-400279-7. OCLC 655832175.
  39. ^ Monthly and annual totals for rainfall 1973. London: HMSO. 1981. p. 5. ISBN 0-86180-047-8.
  40. ^ Monthly and annual totals for rainfall 1978. London: HMSO. 1983. p. 5. ISBN 0-86180-143-1.
  41. ^ Monthly and annual totals for rainfall 1983. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1985. p. 4. ISBN 0-86180-205-5.
  42. ^ Rainfall 1988. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1989. p. 16. ISBN 0-86180-259-4.
  43. ^ Marsh, T. J. (1994). Hydrological data 1993 yearbook. Wallingford: Natural Environment Research Council. p. 101. ISBN 0-948-540-66-4.
  44. ^ Marsh, T. J. (1996). Hydrological data United Kingdom : 1995 yearbook : an account of rainfall, river flows, groundwater levels and river water quality January to December 1995. Wallingford: Institute of Hydrology. p. 103. ISBN 0-948540-78-8.
  45. ^ "Go nuts for red squirrels in the Yorkshire Dales National Park" (PDF). yorkshiredales.org.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  46. ^ "Snaizeholme Red Squirrel Trail". yorkshiredales.org.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  47. ^ Greenbank, Tony (19 January 2019). "Red squirrels and the people ensuring they keep a foothold in Yorkshire". infoweb.newsbank.com. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  48. ^ "Red Squirrel". yorkshiredales.org.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  49. ^ Charlton, Peter, ed. (21 January 2012). "Hugh Kemp – Forester (obituary)". The Yorkshire Post. p. 12. ISSN 0963-1496.
  50. ^ Mitchinson, James (3 January 2022). "Red squirrel refuge reopens after Storm Arwen toppled trees". The Yorkshire Post. p. 6. ISSN 0963-1496.
  51. ^ Mead, Harry (19 September 2008). "The story of an exposed hill farm's transformation into a wildlife sanctuary". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  52. ^ Somerville, Christopher (5 September 2009). "Christopher Somerville Goes On The Trail Of Yorkshire's Red Squirrels". The Financial Times. p. 35. ISSN 0307-1766.

Sources

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  • Lennie, Stuart (2005). The roof of Wensleydale: a portrait of Wensleydale's two thousand foot fells. Kirkby Stephen: Hayloft. ISBN 1-904524-30-3.
  • Marsh, Terry; Hannaford, Jamie, eds. (2008). UK hydrometric register : a catalogue of river flow gauging stations and observation wells and boreholes in the United Kingdom together with summary hydrometric and spatial statistics. Wallingford: Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. ISBN 978-0-9557672-2-7.
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