Austwick: Village History and Limestone Landscape

Austwick lies in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and combines impressive limestone landscapes with a remarkable local history. Old stone houses opposite a small village green, listed buildings and glacial erratics give the village a variety of different faces. When planning a trip, you can therefore choose between culture, landscape and longer walking experiences without having to limit yourself to just one way of exploring.

Village history around the village green

There are many listed buildings in the parish of Austwick; some of them date from the 17th century. One of the notable buildings is Austwick Hall, a Grade II listed house. It is a 17th-century house with 19th-century alterations. The old stone houses opposite a small village green give the village a distinctive historic setting.

The Church of the Epiphany is also part of Austwick’s architectural history. The former Grade II listed lecture hall now serves as the parish church. The church was built for Charles Ingleby in 1839; an apsidal chancel was added in 1883. For visitors interested in church and local history, these details add to the picture of a village whose past can be read in several individual buildings.

Limestone, erratics and traces of the historic landscape

The landscape around Austwick offers more than an attractive backdrop. The Neolithic long barrow known as Dudderhouse Hill long cairn is surrounded by limestone pavement, steep slopes, short cliffs and scree slopes. To the west of Austwick are old agricultural terraces known as lynchets. A path from Thwaite Lane also leads to the foot of the limestone scree slopes of Robin Proctor’s Scar.

The Norber Erratics near Austwick are particularly impressive. They lie on a limestone plateau and comprise literally hundreds of large Silurian shale blocks. During the last Ice Age, around 12,000 years ago, these blocks were transported there by a glacier from the western slopes of Crummackdale. The Norber Erratics are classic examples of glacial erratics and make the geological history of the landscape tangible.

Routes for different day plans

A circular walking route through Austwick, to the Norber Erratics, through Crummackdale and to Feizor starts and ends at The Green in Austwick. This makes it possible to incorporate the route into your travel plans as a continuous exploration of the village and landscape. The first section of the Austwick Amble senior race covers the first 4 miles through the limestone landscape of Crummackdale.

The Austwick Amble senior race follows an approximately 8-mile or 13-kilometre loop and includes a total ascent of 1,200 feet or 370 metres. These figures provide clear guidance for planning an active day. If you are travelling with different interests, you can either focus on local history and individual landscape features or choose a more extensively described loop.

Local history and discovering together

The Austwick Field and Local History Society meets from September until the following May on the third Wednesday evening of each month from 7:30 p.m. at Austwick Parish Hall. The regular meetings emphasise that local history in Austwick can be understood not only through buildings and landscape features, but also remains alive through a shared interest in the village’s past.

When looking for a holiday apartment, you can therefore first consider which experiences should define your trip. For a culturally focused itinerary, the historic houses, the Church of the Epiphany and local history take centre stage. Those focusing on the landscape will find a range of specific points of interest in the Norber Erratics, Crummackdale, Dudderhouse Hill long cairn and Robin Proctor’s Scar. Families can explore these different perspectives together and shape the rhythm of their days between discovering the village and experiencing the landscape.

For your further search, you can also open these destinations: Rillington, Bolton Abbey, Redmire, Oswaldkirk, South Milford, Sand Hutton, Redcar and Grassington.

To the main travel overview: North Yorkshire.