“A host, of golden daffodils.... beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze”
Farndale in North Yorkshire is one of the few places you can see wild daffodils growing. In spring, the banks of the River Dove and surrounding hillsides are a golden mass of daffodils. They are smaller and more delicate than their big butch cultivated varieties. Tradition says they were planted by the monks of nearby Rievaulx Abbey and they are known locally as Lenten Lilies.
The area is a Local Nature Reserve and the daffodils are protected with strict by-laws which prohibit picking the flowers or uprooting the bulbs.
There is a lovely and very easy walk along the River Dove from Low Mill to Church Houses and back, a distance of about three and a half miles. Depending on the year, the daffodils are in flower from Mid March until the end of April.
There is car parking at Low Mill (grid reference SE 673 952) where there is a National Trust mobile information point during the daffodil season. There are refreshments at Daffy Cafe at High Mill or the Feversham Arms Inn at Church Houses, which also has accommodation.
For those using sat nav, the post code for Low Mill Car park is YO62 7UX
Farndale in North Yorkshire is one of the few places you can see wild daffodils growing. In spring, the banks of the River Dove and surrounding hillsides are a golden mass of daffodils. They are smaller and more delicate than their big butch cultivated varieties. Tradition says they were planted by the monks of nearby Rievaulx Abbey and they are known locally as Lenten Lilies.
The area is a Local Nature Reserve and the daffodils are protected with strict by-laws which prohibit picking the flowers or uprooting the bulbs.
There is a lovely and very easy walk along the River Dove from Low Mill to Church Houses and back, a distance of about three and a half miles. Depending on the year, the daffodils are in flower from Mid March until the end of April.
There is car parking at Low Mill (grid reference SE 673 952) where there is a National Trust mobile information point during the daffodil season. There are refreshments at Daffy Cafe at High Mill or the Feversham Arms Inn at Church Houses, which also has accommodation.
For those using sat nav, the post code for Low Mill Car park is YO62 7UX