Sea Fever translated into Dales Fever

With apologies to John Masefield, here’s my take on missing the Yorkshire Dales, just as he missed the swelling seas in Sea Fever. If I’m not allowed to go walking there at the moment, a few pictorial memories will have to do

DALES FEVER

I must go up to the Dales again, to the lonely hills and sky.

And all I ask is a packed lunch, and a map to steer me by:

and drystone walls and the wind’s song and the curlews shrieking

and a soft mist on the moor’s face, and the grey dawn breaking.

I must go up to the Dales again, for the rippling of the brook

is a glad sound and a clear sound I cannot overlook.

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds fleeting,

and the springy turf and a distant view and the young lambs bleating.

I must go up to the Dales again, to the vagrant hiker’s life:

to the hare’s way and the kite’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

and quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long day’s over.

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and living in North Yorkshire, where I walk as often as I can, write, volunteer, and travel as often as I can.

58 thoughts on “Sea Fever translated into Dales Fever”

  3. The landscape is beautiful! And I love those cheeky cows peeping over the wall. What you did to the Masefield poem is very clever. I am not a connoisseur of English poetry by any means but I do know the beginning lines of that poem.

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  4. Heard this before, we read it at one of our badminton zooms. Love it. Hope you’re okay x

    On Sat, 27 Feb 2021 at 08:38, From Pyrenees to Pennines wrote:

    > margaret21 posted: ” With apologies to John Masefield, here’s my take on > missing the Yorkshire Dales, just as he missed the swelling seas in Sea > Fever. If I’m not allowed to go walking there at the moment, a few > pictorial memories will have to do DALES FEVER I mus” >

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  5. Such a lovely landscape! We’re not short of sheep or goats, even in town, but it’s not the same as those wide open spaces. I feel like that about the sea, Margaret, and to a lesser extent the Moors- though I’ve left them far behind. 🙂 🙂 Nicely done!

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      1. We visit Swaledale annually, in the past always just a day trip from Newcastle but last year as part of a short stay in Leyburn. My father in law was evacuated to Grinton and fell in love with the landscape, so when he died we scattered his ashes, at his request, on Grinton Moor. Since then we’ve gone back every year around his anniversary in August, and we meet up with the daughters of the couple who gave him a home there. Their house is now part of the Bridge Inn in Grinton so we all get together there for lunch 🙂

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  12. This is amazing Margaret. I love it! And the photos. Can you not visit the Dales then? I am not at all certain how close to home we are supposed to stay this time round. We headed out to a couple of local gardens (20 minutes drive) this week in the sunny weather. It was soooo nice to have somewhere different to walk and very quiet too. Although the add-on walk we did almost led to disaster along a very muddy lane…

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    1. We’re supposed to remains ‘local’, and as the Dales are already being overrun, despite the pleas of locals, by those who most certainly aren’t local it doesn’t seem fair. We have plenty of nice countryside round and about so even though it’s getting over-familiar, we’ll stay put. If we do have a legitimate reason to go elsewhere (a hospital appointment for instance) we’ll combine it with a walk too.

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      1. One reason why I am still avoiding my favourite beach. I imagine everyone ‘local’ within 50 miles will be heading there in the sun.

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  16. The poem is very well amended Margaret and makes a lovely tribute to the dales, and the photos make it abundantly clear why you must go up to the dales again, and I hope you will be able to before too long.

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  19. Well one can certainly see why you love and miss it Margaret – your images are wonderful. Definitely makes on yearn for its beauty! A clever use of Muir’s verse as well

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  21. Fabulous, another virtual trip and this time showing the magnificent English landscape complete with inquisitive cows. Sigh. I think you are tempting all of us to head to the Dales this summer. 🤞🏻

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