Having been in lockdown for many weeks any my wife, being 80 and just starting to go out and slightly nervous, we decided after lunch one Sunday to have a little run up the Dales.

Fortunately all the visitors were coming back down. We went up to Arncliffe, back down through Hawkswick and had a nice ice cream by a bunk barn near Skirfare bridge.

We then went to Grass Woods, topside. There is a very good information board at the top entrance. We then followed the path up to the stile which leads you back through the fields to Grassington.

We noticed how quiet it was apart from a farmer cutting his meadow, a couple of birds singing and two grey squirrels down by the river.

I remarked that we have more wildlife in our back garden. We have lots of different birds which we feed, a wasps' nest which doesn't bother us and we don't bother it, field mice, frogs and squirrels.

In the mornings we wake up to the dawn chorus. We also have a nice, plump wood pigeon. It would make a good pigeon pie but it is safe as I am a vegetarian.

My wife, being born and brought up in Grassington, used to walk Grass Woods a lot with her mother. In fact, many years ago her mother found a fly orchid in the woods which was featured at the time in the Craven Herald.

Perhaps someone can tell us what has happened to the wildlife in the wood, or were we just there at the wrong time?

David Scholey

Hall Croft

Skipton