If you don’t find stone walls particularly interesting, then Yorkshire isn’t for you. If miles of intricate stone work that curves, rises up and over hills and down dales isn’t your thing, then book a holiday in Montana. I don’t recall seeing any stone walls there.

But here in Yorkshire, the art of stonewalling is truly an…art.

Driving into the Dales on the B6265 from the Durham area is especially nerve-wracking because you have to concentrate 120% on the narrow roadway…and yet, in some part of your peripheral vision, you catch a glimpse of a view of stone walls that will take your breath away…but you can only glance, for a nano-second to your right before you have to bring your focus back to driving.

Later on, after we were settled in Grassington, we had many walks to choose from. Only then do you notice the amazing life that grows in the cracks of the limestone slabs that make up the endless and curious walls.  I began to notice that a wide variety of life has taken root (so to speak) in the niches and cracks.

It’s mostly limestone and that is a difficult rock to make walls with. It weathers in odd ways, unlike sandstone, which is a layered sedimentary rock, already to break up into neat brick-like chunks that make walls so easy to construct.

I had to move my rented KIA into the back parking lot, behind our B&B. It was while I walked back to the front door, to enter the lounge and find my bottle of Old Black Sheep ale to enjoy on our own private shaded balcony, (made of course with limestone), that I took notice of some of the life that found a way to grow in the cracks of the rock.

A small and humble sample of what I photographed in the forty yards back to the front B&B entrance:

[I didn’t have a plant identifier book handy so I can’t name these for you.]

My apologizes. The WiFi that I’m using will not upload any of the other photos that I had intended to use in this post. Maybe next time.

[All photos are mine.}