The Chevin is the ridge on the south side of

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated at source in North Yorkshire and then flows into West Yorkshire and forms the upper valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (downstream, from west to east) includ ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England, overlooking the market town of

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

, and often known as Otley Chevin.

Etymology

The name is Brythonic in origin, the earliest attestation of the name in English is an eleventh-century copy of a charter from 972 which gives the spelling as ''Scefinc'', with another charter of around 1030 records it as ''on Scefinge''.Harry Parkin, ''Your City's Place-Names: Leeds'', English Place-Name Society City-Names Series, 3 (Nottingham: English Place-Name Society, 2017). These early spellings suggest that an originally Celtic term (related to the Modern Welsh "is y cefn", meaning below the ridge) was borrowed into English, as the initial ''s-'' likely indicates the name was preceded by a word unfamiliar to speakers of

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

. As such, the word ''Chevin'' simply means "back", "ridge" or "ridge of high land", and shares its etymology with many other hills across western Europe, such as The Cheviot in Northumberland,

Cefn Cribwr Cefn Cribwr is a village and community in Bridgend County Borough in south Wales. The village is located about 5 miles (8 km) from the centre of Bridgend town, and in-between Bridgend and Pyle. Description The village is situated on a rid ...

and Cefn Bryn in

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

and the

Cévennes The Cévennes ( , ; ) is a cultural region and range of mountains in south-central France, on the south-east edge of the Massif Central. It covers parts of the '' départements'' of Ardèche, Gard, Hérault and Lozère. Rich in geographical, ...

in France. One of the steep hillsides of the Chevin is called the ''Great Dib'', first attested in 1290 as ''Dibe''. Since ''dib'' is a

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

word for 'pool', this name probably originally referred to a pool at the foot of the slope.

History and features

The Chevin is largely covered in attractive old woodland and heathland. It is a part of the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

Millstone Grit Millstone Grit is any of a number of coarse-grained sandstones of Carboniferous age which occur in the British Isles. The name derives from its use in earlier times as a source of millstones for use principally in watermills. Geologists refer to ...

group. A

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

ran along the top of the Chevin, part of the road that linked

Eboracum Eboracum () was a castra, fort and later a coloniae, city in the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the ...

(

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

), Calcaria (

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Leeds and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point o ...

) and Olicana (

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...

), perhaps on the same route as the modern road, Yorkgate, or perhaps about to the south. The highest point of the Chevin is often thought to be ''Surprise View'', however it is in fact Beacon Hill next to Yorkgate quarry which reaches at and used to be the site of a trig point. Surprise View is the more visited summit of the Chevin and offers extensive views of

and

, and has an adjacent car park. It is the site of a cross erected every

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

since 1969. Parts of the Chevin, known as the Danefield Estate, belonged to landowner Walter Fawkes and his descendants. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

these areas were donated to Otley Urban District Council as a memorial to those from the Wharfe Valley who had lost their lives during the war.

Recreation

Several outcrops of rock are distributed across the upper slopes of the Chevin and are popular for

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locom ...

and

bouldering Bouldering is a form of rock climbing that is performed on small rock formations or Climbing wall, artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or Climbing harness, harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers ...

. The Chevin also has a number of footpaths and bridlepaths, and is popular with walkers, runners and riders. It is crossed by the Leeds link to the Dales Way, and the Ebor Way. There is also an

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

course in the forest park, with maps available from the local tourist office. Chevin Forest

parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of 5K run, events for runners, walkers and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across five continents. Parkrun was founded by Paul Sinto ...

takes place at 9am every Saturday morning - it is a free, weekly, timed, 5 km run, organised by local volunteers. As a recreational area, the Chevin is divided in two by the East Chevin Road.

The Chevin in art

The famous painting '' Snow Storm: Hannibal and His Army Crossing the Alps'' by J. M. W. Turner which hangs in the Tate Gallery, is reputed to have been inspired by a view of the Chevin with a stormy background sky. Turner used to stay with his friend Walter Fawkes at Farnley Hall on the opposite side of the valley to the Chevin. Recalling a day in the autumn of 1810 Fawkes' son, Hawkesworth, remembered a storm that inspired one of Turner's major paintings: :"Hawkey! Hawkey! Come here! Come here! Look at this thunder-storm. Isn't it grand? isn't it wonderful? – isn't it sublime?" All this time he was making notes of its form and colour on the back of a letter. I proposed some better drawing-block, but he said it did very well. He was absorbed – he was entranced. There was the storm rolling and sweeping and shafting out its lightning over the Yorkshire hills. Presently the storm passed and he finished. "There Hawkey," said he, "In two years you will see this again, and call it Hannibal Crossing the Alps." (seen on Google Book Search) Otley indie rock band The Chevin take their name from the hill.

References

External links

Chevin Forest Park
Leeds City Council's website
Chevin Forest website

Chevin Forest Park Local Nature Reserve Management Plan 2007–2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chevin Hills of West Yorkshire Environment of West Yorkshire Wharfedale Otley