Westwards

3 October 2004
Leaders - Olwyn and Keith Bolger
 JOURNAL 
 2005 
 North Craven 
 Heritage Trust 

The route was along ancient tracks that served some of the oldest settlements in the district. These were the old "lodges" or small farms that were established above the wetness of the valley floor. They run along a contour line and are well served by springs. Their names indicate their ancient origin, a mixture of Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian: Wham, Rome, Little Bank and Swainstead. Our first stop was at Swawbeck, where Roger Moss gave the group a brief talk about his house, the old, thick walls of an earlier house and barn still evident and king posts in the roof structure. His research has led him to suggest that Swawbeck was originally Cockett Hall, one of the early "lodges".

We turned left by Storth Gill and left again into the lane leading to a high pasture, the footpath not visible as such but marked on the map and newly signposted by North Yorkshire County Council. Walking alongside the wall at the top of the field, we came to the gate that is the indicated right of way down to the ford at the lower end of Cockett Lane. We turned right here, keeping first of all to the left hand side of the beck, then crossing it to reach the new wooden gate and new wooden bridge leading to the path up the lane which is the boundary between Rathmell and Giggleswick. We turned left over the next new stile and passed Ackworth barn on our left. This is a traditional Yorkshire barn in good repair and used.

Our goal was Coney Garth, a mysterious place with burial mounds marked on the map and remains of rectangular enclosures visible below in the grass, alleged to be traces of the "garths" or yards where long ago newly-introduced rabbits were kept. Beyond and to the right of the holly-covered outcrop of rocks we dropped down to a path through a wood and fields towards Little Bank. We took the lane above the house to admire the many interesting features of Lumb, an uninhabited farmhouse with a lintel dated 1702. For example, it has a tiny window that gives light to people sitting in the inglenook. We returned to our starting point at Giggleswick Station reasonably dry.

[ A photograph of the fireplace in Lumb Farm is to be found in the 1999 Journal].

SwarbeckHouse.jpg
Swarbeck House



SwarbeckHouse.jpg
Swarbeck House