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The weather reports are conflicting; the forecasters don’t seem to know what’s going on. So, we chanced it while the fair skies stayed just that, hoped for more of the same, and pointed the Polo north west to Ribblehead, and its mighty 24-arched viaduct.

Feats of engineering: VW Polo BlueMotion and Ribblehead Viaduct

Set in the Blea Moor, and dating from 1875, it was built over a five-year period by a workforce of thousands (200 of whom died during the construction). The longest on the scenic 72-mile Settle to Carlisle railway at 402 metres, it is 32 metres high, and its curvature is so that passengers riding on the train can that goes over it, can see it, too, stretching out in front of them.

It’s just one of 17 major viaducts spanning the ravines and 14 tunnels that make up the last great mainline to be built in the UK, and it very nearly didn’t survive to be as impressive as it is. In the 1980s British Rail attempted to close the line, deliberately diverting traffic away, stating the viaduct was unsafe, and at £6m, too expensive to repair.

Ribblehead train station now a Settle to Carlisle line visitor centre

But, traffic increased as a result, and the structure was saved from a certain crumbling death. Now maintained and restored, only a single track runs across it, preventing two trains from crossing it at the same time. Standing proud at the base of Whernside mountain, it looks a mighty sight when you approach it, even though it appears to be small.

Mighty scale of Ribblehead Viaduct is impressive from any angle

Up close, the scale is arguably more impressive, but although its curvature might be good for train travelers above, on the ground, it prevents you from seeing it end to end, distorting your perspective. Stopping for pictures and surrounded by sheep at the base of the arches, the fair skies cam over dark and mysterious, and we though for a moment that our luck had finally run out.

Spared any wet stuff, we moved to the front of the structure, and snapped some more from the rock ledges some distance away. Being so long, it’s hard to get a good picture of the viaduct, as even cameras with a wide or fish eye lens still don’t quite get it all in their viewfinders. The best pictures of the Grade II listed and listed Ancient Monument are undoubtedly from the road, with a touch of zoom, with a dark and moody sky.

Thankfully, that’s just what we got this afternoon. Deciding we’d had enough of a playtime, the heavens finally opened and we had to jump in the car and head for home, past the Brimham Rocks, which due to the torrential downpour, we had to leave for another time.

‘More cheese, Gromit?’

The Wensleydale Creamery was our first stop today. The official home of Wensleydale cheese, dairy products have been made in Wensleydale since 1150, when Cistercian monks first settled there and established a monastery, four miles from Hawes. Passing down the recipe to local farmer’s wives, this small town is now home to the Wensleydale Creamery, where all cheese branding the Wensleydale mark is produced.

The creamery’s story is one of struggle and rejuvenation. Facing closure in the 1930s, it was rescued by local townsman Kit Calvert, purchased by the Milk Marketing Board in 1966, closed by Dairy Crest in 1992 (production of cheese was moved to neighbouring Lancashire), and reopened after a management buy-out the same year. A visitor centre was opened in 1994.

Arriving in time for lunch in the creamery’s restaurant (where cheese appears in many dishes on the menu), we placed our orders and ate our food before taking a tour of the on-sit museum and viewing gallery. The ‘Cheese Experience’ tour can take up to 90 minutes on cheese-producing days, but with the cheese having been made a few hours previously, we only saw it being pitched. Cheese isn’t made every day at the creamery, so it’s worth checking if production is timed for the day of your visit.

Passing through the museum first, you can learn all about the history of Wensleydale Cheese and its production through the centuries. Walk through the original farmhouse dairy, taking in the pressure room and maturing room, and then learn about the traditional cheese-making process. The specialist cheese shop completes your visit, where there are shelves of traditional Yorkshire products on offer, and of course all of the cheeses made at the creamery itself.

If you like cheese, then this is the place for you. A visit is recommended, and it’s no surprise that over 200,000 people are attracted to the creamery each year. But, you no longer have to go Wensleydale to buy its cheeses. Now sold in most major supermarkets, you can buy a taste of Yorkshire locally. Just look for the green and beige logo, with the cow’s head on it. And enjoy it the traditional Yorkshire way; with a cup of tea, and a slice of fruit cake.

With the sun still shining, we drove the 1.5 miles further north, to the hamlet of Hardraw, to see the natural wonder of Hardraw Force. Reputedly England’s largest single drop waterfall at 100 feet, access is through the historic Green Dragon Inn. Paying a small fee for entry is worth it, though, and the sound of the cascading water can be heard from several feet away.

The mighty waterfall at Hardraw is certainly a force of nature

Set in a wooded ravine, on Hardraw Beck, Hardraw Force is arguably more impressive than what we saw yesterday. It does have something in common with the wider falls at Aysgarth, though; it too has appeared in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Maid Marian caught Robin Hood bathing at Hardraw Force, behind the gushing water, and although access behind the falls is now prohibited, it takes nothing away from the sheer spectacle of what nature has created.

We stayed for a while, taking dreamy, blurry pictures of the water, before heading home. Little did we know it, but unwittingly, we’d visited another of the All Creatures Great and Small locations; Hardraw’s parish church doubled as Darrowby Church in the series.