Oughtershaw is a hamlet in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. It lies on a road it shares with other small villages; Deepdale, Yockenthwaite and Hubberholme, which traverses the watershed between Upper Wharfedale\Langstrothdale and Wensleydale over Fleet Moss into Gayle.[1] The hamlet lies at 1,180 feet (360 m) above sea level.[2] The name is first recorded in 1241 as Huctredsdale, and stems from Uhtred's copse, a personal name.[3] It has had many spellings down the years, being known variously as Ughtershaw, Ughtirshey, Owghtershawe, and Outershaw in the 19th century.[4][5]
View of Oughtershaw
Contrary to popular belief the river running past Oughtershaw is not the Wharfe; it is Oughtershaw Beck, which runs down to Beckermonds and then merges with Greenfield Beck to source the River Wharfe at the Langstrothdale chase.[6]
Oughtershaw is one of the hamlets on the Dales Way a long-distance walk that starts in the West Yorkshire town of Ilkley and travels 79 miles (127 km) to Windermere, in Cumbria.[7]
Oughtershaw. A piece of bleakest Yorkshire, but smiling in the sunshine through its bare miles of tufted grass. The air had the sharp sweetness which is found only on the top-most Pennines.[8] — James Herriot
^Donkin, Kevin (2015). "Walk 31 Cam Fell"(PDF). egwt.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com. p. 1. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
^Speight, Harry (1897). Romantic Richmondshire: Being a complete account of the history, antiquities and scenery of the picturesque valleys of the Swale and Yore. London: E Stock. p. 21. OCLC252008733.
^Chrystal, Paul (2017). The Place Names of Yorkshire; Cities, Towns, Villages, Rivers and Dales, some Pubs too, in Praise of Yorkshire Ales (1 ed.). Catrine: Stenlake. p. 63. ISBN9781840337532.