Deep in the Yorkshire Dales there is a barn dedicated to James Herriot. It has been renovated by the Millenium Trust, a small charity that aims to preserve the history and character of the Dales. The charity is actively supported by Rosie Page, daughter of Alf Wight (James Herriot). I went in search of it and found it a few days ago….

The Barn is near a little hamlet in Arkengarthdale called Whaw, a rather odd name but then it’s near a village called ‘booze’ so funny names are the norm around here. Parking in Whaw is a bit tricky so I decided to park near the CB Inn further down the dale towards Reeth and then walk to Whaw from there. There are some car parking spaces opposite the inn [What3words startles.flops.protest] – or you can park in the inn car park if you want to pop In before or after your walk.

Leaving the Inn, I walked in the direction of Whaw for about 50m and found a footpath through a gate on the right hand side with a path that leads downhill towards Arkle Beck river. This path is called ‘The Wham’ – more odd names!

There is a gate at the bottom of the path and, immediately after that, a gate on the left which took me along a stone pathway across the meadow. I passed a house on the right to emerge onto a road called Stang Lane. On the other side of this road is a sort of lay-by area with a signpost for the footpath towards Whaw. [you could park here and start the walk here if you want a slightly shorter walk].

I followed the footpath and shortly I came to a narrow footbridge across Arkle Beck which I crossed stopping briefly to watch the water gushing down the valley. The pathway turns left and follows the river, weaving through small gaps and gateways in the stone walls. Next I passed a house called ‘Yealand House’ on my right after which the path went through an enchanting little wooded area. It emerged onto lush pasture again and I kept following it along the river with the constant sound of the river keeping me company. I then passed a desolate house called Wood House perched on the hillside. It reminded me of the description Alf used for a remote hillside farm which he called ‘a grey smudge’ on the hillside. Did anyone actually live in this desolate ‘grey smudge’ I wondered? But there but there was no sign of life so I just stood for a minute wondering what it would be like living here on a blustery winters night. And how a vet would get here in years past – not easy.

I pressed on along the footpath and through the fields until it went diagonally across a field and ahead of me emerged a barn. Not just any barn this time, it was Whaw barn. Bingo! – I had found it. There is a descriptive board on the barn explaining all about it together with an excerpt from the book that Rosie must have chosen carefully. It describes the scene when James and Helen had just met and he was tending one of her calves in a barn just like this. It is a beautiful passage that places you inside a barn just like this one with an animal being tended to and you can sense the very beginning of the romance between James and Helen.

I’m afraid at this point the closed wooden door was too much for me to to resist after reading that display board. I carefully opened it and found myself in a scene right out of the pages of a James Herriot story. A few cattle, some hay in the racks and a bucket of hot water would have completed the scene perfectly.

I stood there imagining scenes of calving , TB testing and desperate attempts at replacing a uterus with an anxious farmer looking on. Just then a startled bird flew out of a gap in the roof, the cattle and farmer vanished and I was back in 2022. It was time to walk back along the river. This time instead of the anticipation I felt earlier I now had the warm satisfaction of yet another magical Herriot discovery in the Yorkshire Dales. I ended this little adventure in the bar in the CB Inn and it felt good. Yes, this had been a very good day.

To find out more about the Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust click the link below;

https://www.ydmt.org/what-we-do