Cowside
{{Short description|Valley in North Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox valley
| name = Cowside
| photo = Cowside Beck from Monk's Road - geograph.org.uk - 2944087.jpg
| photo_caption = Cowside Beck from Monk's Road
| map = North Yorkshire
| map_caption = Location within North Yorkshire
| location = Arncliffe
| country = England
| region = North Yorkshire
| label_position =
| coordinates = {{coord|54.126|-2.143|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline, title}}
| elevation ={{convert|290–270|m|order=flip}} (south west to north east)
| elevation_m =
| elevation_ft =
| elevation_ref = {{cite journal |last1=Pentecost |first1=Allan |last2=Whitton |first2=Brian A. |last3=Carter |first3=Christopher F. |title=Ecology and morphology of the freshwater red alga Chroothece in the British Isles |journal=Algological Studies |date=23 December 2013 |volume=143 |issue=1 |page=53 |doi=10.1127/1864-1318/2013/0137}}
| length = {{convert|8|mi}}
| length_mi =
| length_km =
| length_orientation = South east–north west
| length_note ={{sfn|Gilbert et al|2005|p=4}}
| width =
| width_mi =
| width_km =
| width_orientation =
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| area =
| area_mi2 =
| area_km2 =
| depth =
| depth_ft =
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| type = Valley
| age =
| border =
| topo =
| traversed =
| river = Cowside Beck
}}
Cowside is a side dale of Littondale in North Yorkshire, England. The valley, which faces in a north east direction, carries the waters of Cowside Beck to the River Skirfare at Arncliffe, draining an area of {{convert|23|km2|order=flip}}, and flowing for {{convert|12|km|order=flip}}. Cowside is one of the few 'V'-shaped valleys in the Yorkshire Dales (as opposed to a 'U'-shaped valley) which had ice run across the valley, but not down it. The only settlement in the valley is Darnbrook, a very small hamlet at the foot of Darnbrook Fell. Cowside is a common name in the Craven area of the Yorkshire Dales, and it is not to be confused with the Cowside in Upper Wharfedale near Buckden, nor the Cowside Beck near Stainforth.
Most of the valley is in the civil parish of Arncliffe, but the upper part of the valley, including the hamlet of Darnbrook, is in the civil parish of Malham Moor.
Description
The Cowside valley was carved out by glacial action, but the ice flow ran across the valley southwards (transverse) rather than down the valley. This action created the deep incised V-shape.{{sfn|Goldie|2020|p=474}} The Devensian ice moved from the north-west to the south-east across Cowside Valley, but some ice may have been pushed up the valley (north-eastwards) towards Arncliffe.{{sfn|Trudgill|1985|p=208}} Evidence of human habitation in the area is evident from the Bronze Age. The remains of small pounds to keep cattle in can be found in the valley above Cowside Beck.{{sfn|Lee|2015|p=51}} One such settlement is at Dew Bottoms ({{Ordnance Survey coordinates|SD912692|SD912692}}), which shows distinct outlines in the ground of huts, both circular and rectangular, and crude boulder walls for pens.{{cite book |last1=Wright |first1=Geoffrey Norman |title=The Yorkshire Dales |date=1986 |publisher=David & Charles |location=Newton Abbot |isbn=0-7153-8702-2 |page=35}}{{NHLE|desc=Settlement at Dew Bottoms |num=1004157 |grade=|access-date=3 March 2024 }} In the latter half of the 12th century, William de Percy [II] granted the rights of the pasture land between Malham Tarn and Arncliffe to the monks of Fountains Abbey.{{cite book |editor1-last=Farrar |editor1-first=William |editor2-last=Clay |editor2-first=Charles Travis |title=Early Yorkshire Charters. Volume 11, The Percy Fee |date=2013 |orig-date=1963 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-1-108-05834-6 |pages=35–36}}
At the eastern end of the beck, where it spills into Littondale, the north-west facing stones are home to dryas octopetala, a now rare plant that exists at is southernmost in England at Cowside.{{sfn|Lee|2015|p=138}} The underlying stone of the valley floor is Cove Limestone (Holkerian), but at the valley sides and tops, it consists of Gordale Limestone, with the surrounding hills of Darnbrook Fell and Fountains Fell belonging to the Yoredale Series, though the uppermost part of Fountains Fell is Millstone Grit.{{sfn|Trudgill|1985|p=206}}{{sfn|Goldie|2020|p=458}} It is thought that much of the water from the high ground on the south side of the valley disappears in the limestone to enter the Wharfe catchment further downstream, or even under Gordale Scar into the Aire catchment.{{sfn|Gilbert et al|2005|p=8}}{{cite web |title=BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units - Result Details |url=https://webapps.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=CVLS |website=webapps.bgs.ac.uk |access-date=5 March 2024}} Rainfall over the catchment is an average of {{convert|1,500|mm|order=flip}} annually, and the mean annual temperature is {{convert|7.7|°C}}.{{cite journal |last1=Pentecost |first1=Allan |last2=Whitton |first2=Brian A. |last3=Carter |first3=Christopher F. |title=Ecology and morphology of the freshwater red alga Chroothece in the British Isles |journal=Algological Studies |date=23 December 2013 |volume=143 |issue=1 |page=62 |doi=10.1127/1864-1318/2013/0137}}
Cowside beck is known to be home to trout, bullheads, wandering snail (lymnaea peregra), the river limpet (ancylus fluviatilis) and gammarus pulex.{{sfn|Lee|2015|p=238}}{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=Jonathan |last2=Greenwood |first2=Paul J. |title=Environmental Constraints on Mate Choice in Gammarus pulex (Amphipoda) |journal=Crustaceana |date=January 1986 |volume=50 |issue=1 |page=47 |publisher=Brill |doi=10.1163/156854085X00062 |issn=0011-216X}}{{sfn|Gilbert et al|2005|p=25}} The valley and Cowside Beck are within the Malham-Arncliffe SSSI, a {{convert|12,191|acre|adj=on}} upland protected area. The becks of Malham Tarn outflow, Gordale and Cowside Beck, are noted as being of "high water quality which provide a range of aquatic conditions and associated flora and fauna."{{cite web |title=Malham-Arncliffe |url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1002913.pdf |website=designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk |access-date=4 March 2024}}
In normal flow, Cowside Beck discharges water into the River Skirfare at a rate of {{convert|0.25|m/s}}.{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=Jonathan |last2=Greenwood |first2=Paul J. |title=Environmental Constraints on Mate Choice in Gammarus pulex (Amphipoda) |journal=Crustaceana |date=January 1986 |volume=50 |issue=1 |page=46 |publisher=Brill |doi=10.1163/156854085X00062 |issn=0011-216X}} The beck has an average width of {{convert|3.4|m|order=flip}}, and an average depth of {{convert|15.3|cm|order=flip|0}}.{{cite thesis|last=Chadwick|first=Daniel David Adrian|title=Invasion of the signal crayfish, 'Pacifastacus leniusculus', in England : implications for the conservation of the white-clawed crayfish, 'Austropotamobius pallipes'|date=2019|publisher=Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University College London|location=London|page=89|oclc=1167140802}} Cowside is surrounded by the hills of Parson's Pulpit ({{convert|538|m|order=flip}}) to the south, Knowle Fell ({{convert|593|m|order=flip}}) and Fountains Fell ({{convert|668|m|order=flip}}) to the west, and Darnbrook Fell ({{convert|624|m|order=flip}}) to the north.{{sfn|Trudgill|1985|p=202}} All of these feed water into Cowside Beck through Darnbrook Beck, Fountains Fell Tarn, and Thoragill Beck among others.{{cite journal|last1=Woof|first1=C|last2=Jackson|first2=E|title=Some aspects of the water chemistry in the area around Malham Tarn, North Yorkshire |date=1988 |issue=1 |volume=7 |journal=Fields Studies Journal|location=Shrewsbury|publisher=FSC|issn=0428-304X|pages=161, 173}} Cowside Beck flows for {{convert|12|km|order=flip}} and drains an area of {{convert|23|km2|order=flip}}.{{cite web |title=Cowside Beck from Source to River Skirfare {{!}} Catchment Data Explorer {{!}} Catchment Data Explorer |url=https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB104027064150 |website=environment.data.gov.uk |access-date=3 March 2024}} At the northern end of the dale, the beck meanders before it flows into Arncliffe and the River Skirfare.{{sfn|Goldie|2020|p=475}}
One of the caves in the valley, Robinson's Pot, has a strange access point being located in a grate underneath the kitchen window of Darnbrook Farm.{{cite web |title=Robinsons' Pot |url=https://cncc.org.uk/cave/robinsons-pot |website=cncc.org.uk |access-date=3 March 2024}}{{sfn|Lee|2015|p=249}}{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Clive |title=Potholers step back in time on Malham estate |url=https://www.cravenherald.co.uk/nostalgia/nostalgia_history/13495370.potholers-step-back-in-time-on-malham-estate/ |access-date=3 March 2024 |work=Craven Herald |date=23 July 2015}} The farmhouse and farm are a National Trust tenancy which is about {{convert|3|mi}} south west of Arncliffe.{{cite news |last1=Burn |first1=Chris |title=Wild about fells |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=5 August 2023 |location=The Yorkshire Post Magazine |page=17|issn=0963-1496}} It was first discovered in the 19th century, and re-surveyed in 1975. In 2002, the original species list found in the cave system had dwindled, something which the surveyors put down to the strong smell of sheep dip in the cave system, believing that sheep dip had leached into the water systems underground.{{sfn|Gilbert et al|2005|p=28}} Other caves include Yew Cogar (on the south side), Darnbrook Pot, Loop Cave, and Thoragill Cave.{{sfn|Gilbert et al|2005|p=5}} The valley floor near Falcon Cave is about {{convert|270|m|order=flip}} above sea level, but the top of the valley at Dew Bottoms, is {{convert|434.7|m|order=flip}}.{{cite web |title=Dew Bottoms, Craven - area information, map, walks and more |url=https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/local/dew-bottoms-craven/?v=2021 |website=getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk |access-date=3 March 2024}}
Darnbrook itself, is a three-building hamlet where the watercourse coming off Darnbrook Fell (and from Fountains Fell Tarn) meets Cowside Beck.{{cite web |title=Darnbrook Cottage : Yorkshire Dales National Park |url=https://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/places/darnbrook_cottage/ |website=yorkshiredales.org.uk |access-date=4 March 2024}} Eastwards from here is the Cowside Gorge, a {{convert|600|m|order=flip}} long limestone gorge with steep walls on either side.{{cite web |title=Yorkshire Dales Catchments |url=https://cag.bcra.org.uk/styled-4/downloads/files/YDalesCatchments.pdf |website=cag.bra.org.uk |access-date=4 March 2024 |page=59}}{{sfn|Gilbert et al|2005|p=33}} On the south side of the gorge is Yew Cogar Scar, where the limestone is in layers interspersed with other stones, providing a horizontal strata look to the edges.{{cite book |last1=Jennett |first1=Sean |title=Deserts of England |date=1973 |publisher=Chivers |location=Bath |isbn=0855947756 |page=95}} Darnbrook is mentioned in William Wordsworth's poem, The White Doe of Rylstone as Dernbrook.{{cite book |last1=Wordsworth |first1=William |editor1-last=Smith |editor1-first=Nowell C. |title=The poems of William Wordsworth volume II |date=1908 |publisher=Methuen |location=London |page=510|quote=Why tell of mossy rock, or tree, By lurking Dernbrook’s pathless side, Haunts of a strengthening amity, That calmed her, cheared, and fortified?|oclc=1050744515}}{{cite book |last1=Bogg |first1=Edmund |title=Higher Wharfeland: the dale of romance, from Ormscliffe to Cam Fell |date=1904 |publisher=Sampson |location=London |page=332|oclc=1045964098}} Cowside has also been a filming location for the 21st century version of All Creatures Great and Small.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Stephanie |title=All Creatures Great and Small locations used for the most beautiful Yorkshire scenes from Helen's farm to Skeldale House and the real Drovers |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/all-creatures-great-and-small-the-most-beautiful-yorkshire-filming-locations-3603250?page=1 |access-date=6 March 2024 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=9 March 2022}}
A single road crosses the valley on the northern side, leaving Arncliffe south-westwards and taking the watershed between the Wharfe and Aire catchments to the head of Malham Tarn.{{cite web |title=Bike ride: Littondale, Yorkshire |url=https://www.countryfile.com/go-outdoors/days-out/bike-ride-littondale-yorkshire |website=countryfile.com |access-date=3 March 2024}}{{cite map|title =Yorkshire Dales - Northern & Central Area |map =OL30 |year =2016 |scale =1:25,000 |series =Explorer |publisher =Ordnance Survey |isbn =978-0-319-26335-8 }} A track is located on the south ridge of the valley, and this is known as the Monk's Road. It was supposedly a path that the monks took to travel between their estates in the area.{{cite book |last1=Kelsall |first1=Dennis |title=The Yorkshire Dales: south and west: Wharfedale, Littondale, Malhamdale, Dentdale and Ribblesdale |date=2017 |publisher=Cicerone |location=Milnthorpe |isbn=9781852848859 |page=97}}{{cite book |last1=Wright |first1=Geoffrey |title=Roads and trackways of the Yorkshire Dales |date=1985 |publisher=Moorland Publishing |location=Ashbourne |isbn=0861901231 |page=47}}
There is a Cowside Beck near to Stainforth in the Ribblesdale valley; this beck feeds water over Catrigg Force, and into the River Ribble.{{cite journal|last1=Brumhead |first1=Derek|last2=Calloway|first2=Margaret|title=The North Craven Fault: geological structures of Cowside Beck (Black Hill) Yorkshire |journal=Field Studies Journal |date=1974 |publisher=Field Studies Council |location=Settle |volume=4|issue=1|issn=0428-304X }} Another Cowside, also in the parish of Arncliffe, relates to an 18th century farmhouse in Langstrothdale near Beckermonds.{{cite web |title=Cowside, Langstrothdale, Upper Wharfedale, North Yorkshire|url=https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/globalassets/3.-images-and-documents-to-keep/history-sheets/cowside-history-sheet.pdf |website=landmarktrust.org.uk |access-date=4 March 2024}}{{cite web |title=Cowside Ho :: Survey of English Place-Names |url=https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/532881dbb47fc40c81000669-Cowside+Ho |website=epns.nottingham.ac.uk |access-date=6 March 2024}} The name Cowside is first recorded in 1571 as Cowesyde, and literally means cow hill side.{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=A. H. |title=The place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire volume 6, East and west Staincliffe and Ewcross wapentakes |date=1961 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |page=140|oclc=310652595}}
References
{{reflist}}
= Sources =
- {{cite book |last1=Gilbert |first1=O. S.|last2=Goldie|first2=Helen|last3=Hodgson|first3=David |last4=Marker|first4=Margaret|last5=Norris|first5=Adrian|last6=Pentecost|first6=Allan|last7=Proctor|first7=Michael C. F.|last8=Richardson|first8=Douglas T.|title=The ecology of Cowside Beck: a tributary of the river Skirfare in the Malham area of Yorkshire |date=2005 |publisher=Field Studies Council |location=Settle |isbn=9781851532186|ref={{harvid|Gilbert et al|2005}} }}
- {{cite book |last1=Goldie |first1=Helen |editor1-last=Goudie |editor1-first=Andrew Shaw |editor2-last=Migoń |editor2-first=Piotr |title=Landscapes and landforms of England and Wales |date=2020 |publisher=Springer |location=Cham |isbn=9783030389574 |chapter=26: Yorkshire Dales}}
- {{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=John Anthony |title=Yorkshire Dales |date=2015 |publisher=William Collins |location=London |isbn=9780007503698}}
- {{cite journal|last1=Trudgill|first1=S. C.|title=Field observations and limestone weathering in the Malham District, North Yorkshire |date=1985 |issue=2 |volume=6 |journal=Fields Studies Journal|location=Shrewsbury|publisher=FSC|issn=0428-304X}}
External links
{{Yorkshire Dales}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diGpnPyd8gE Drone flight above Cowside], hosted on YouTube