Cauldron Falls, the swirling Wensleydale waterfall drawn by Turner on his tour of Yorkshire
But the Wensleydale area of the Yorkshire Dales is also known for its Masham ales, rolling hills, and, of course, its waterfalls.
Its scenery has been described as a ‘feast for the eyes’ by tourism chiefs, with the rather impressive Aysgarth Falls and England’s largest singe drop waterfall, Hardraw Force, among the sites that appeal to both locals and visitors.
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Hide AdThe West Burton waterfall, pictured here, is also one of its beauty spots. The fall sits a short walk from the village of West Burton, along with the remains of a mill.
It has also become known as Cauldron Falls because of the swirling plunge pool into which the water plummets.
Renowned painter Turner visited the fall in July 1816 as part of his tour of Yorkshire, to sketch views for Whitaker’s A General History of the County of York series. Visitors can follow in his footsteps with a Turner trail around the area today.
Turner made a pencil sketch of the waterfall at West Burton and it is thought he was intending to complete a finished watercolour painting of the subject.
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Hide AdThe summer of 1816 was a particularly wet one, and it is said that Turner had to battle through downpours to complete his sketches - though the rain likely added to the beauty of the torrents he was drawing.
Much of his work from Yorkshire features water in some form, with drawings of castles, churches and historic houses often done from a vantage point along a nearby river.
He also focused on water as a subject in its own right including, of course, in his work picturing he waterfalls of the Dales. It is said that he visited at least 11 in total.
Today, the site of the West Burton waterfall is almost unchanged and easily recognisable from Turner’s drawing. One of the area’s most easy to access waterfalls, it is popular with tourists in the area.