Hawes is a market town in North Yorkshire and
is at the heart of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales. Market day is on a
Tuesday and dates back to 1307. We spent the second day of our trip in Hawes.
Just a short walk up the road from Hawes is the little hamlet of Gayle, where there is a water-powered mill, Gayle Mill,
built in 1784. Unfortunately, the mill was closed when we visited, but it’s a
lovely place to wander round and the start of a walk to Aysgill Force which
will be in the next post.
Hawes is a major producer of Wensleydale
cheese and home of the Wensleydale Creamery. The admission cost into the
factory was reduced because, due to Covid, there weren’t any cheese-making demonstrations or tasting allowed to take place. Instead, we watched a video
that showed how Wensleydale is made in a relatively simple process and got to
look inside the factory. There is a café and restaurant on site, so we stopped
here for a tea and scone and made sure to buy some Wensleydale cheese to take
home. The weather had come out lovely, and so we were able to sit outside
surrounded by the views of the Dales.
