The Yorkshire Dales like any other great wilderness in England supports a wide diversity of plants and animals in its various habitats of grassland, heath, limestone pavements, woodland and bog.
Spotting birds and wild animals gives most of us pleasure on a walk. We enjoy the sight of wild flowers even though we cannot always name them. Pink and white cowslips grace grass verges in May and thousands of wild flowers in the limestone strewn meadows greet another spring. Pale yellow primroses appear on sunny banks, clumps of sweet smelling wild violets perfume the air, and delicate nodding white heads of wood anemones emerge beside the bluebells in woodland and shady places.
The heather on the moors creates a stunning display of pinks and reds as far as the eye can see in late summer. Nature's garden is a continuously unfolding performance until the deep sleep of winter overtakes them.
Even then, many animals continue to go about their daily lives leaving evidence of their activities in the tracks they leave in the snow. It's impossible to walk in the Dales without seeing a colourful pheasant, rabbits and various other birds even in the winter. One of the joys of walking in the Dales is being able to see things at close range, to stop and stare, to make sense of the clues left by wild animals and history.
Certain scenes and images are unforgettable. Spotting a sparrowhawk eating its kill by the roadside, lambs silhouetted against the sky, frost creating ghostly white images of the landscape.
We should take our children to walk in the Yorkshire Dales and other wild places to instil a love for nature and a knowledge of the beautiful world that exists outside their indoor life of television and computers.
It's called the Great Outdoors for a very good reason.
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