Gargrave

Sunday, 9th January

15.7 km (9.76 miles) 3:25 hours

A good long walk, although it has to be said that no gradients were involved ! The walk started in Skipton, my home town, and the outward stretch could not be more straightfoward.  Find the canal and follow it ! As with all canals it follows the countours and, whilst the walking is level, it does not take the most direct route. 

 The going underfoot was variable with some quite muddy stretches as we left Skipton and approached Gargrave.

Lunch was taken in the palatial surroundings of the bus shelter in the middle of Gargrave which proved quite popular as we were joined by another couple - we left them to tip the waiter!

The route back more or less follows the line of the railway line and is obviously not a welltrodden route with few footprints to follow.

At the end we had the dubious pleasure of crossing the busy A59 before regaining the canal bank and making our way back to the start point.  A pleasant afternoon with some lovely sunshine and a bit of heat in the sun (why is it that 5 degrees should feel warm ?!).  Not a strenuous afternoon but good exercise !

Some photographs from this link