Yorke's Folly, Pateley Bridge

Yorke's Folly, also known locally as Two Stoops, stands high on Guise Cliff above Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale. The folly consists of two tall stone pillars, the surviving remains of what was originally a set of three arch-like structures built in the late 18th century by John Yorke of nearby Bewerley Hall. Local tradition holds that they were commissioned partly to provide work for unemployed labourers during a period of hardship, giving the site its alternative name of the Yorke's Folly Poverty Stones.

The third pillar collapsed in a gale in 1893, leaving the two survivors that give the folly its distinctive silhouette on the skyline above the town. Built to resemble a ruined Gothic window, the folly was designed as an eye-catcher to be seen from the Yorke family estate below.

The site is reached on foot by a steady climb from Pateley Bridge or Bewerley, and rewards walkers with wide views across Nidderdale, the River Nidd and the surrounding moors. It sits within the Nidderdale National Landscape and forms a popular stop on the Nidderdale Way long-distance path. Access is free and the site is open at all times.