Roecliffe and the River Ure

Sunday, 30th May
8.5 km (5.3 miles)

Perhaps a stroll rather than a ramble or a hike this was, nevertheless, a delightful walk which begins in the beautiful village of Roecliffe near Boroughbridge (GR SE 376659). The walk takes a pathway by the side of the church and within a couple of minutes you are on the banks of the River Ure.
The walk was taken from Paul Hannon's "Ripon and Lower Wensleydale" and his directions are certainly easy to follow as the majority of the walk simply follows the riverbank.
Spring is drawing to a close and the meadows and woodland are reaching maturity with the path through some of the woods being thigh-high in greenery.  I only mention this because it rained pretty well throughout this walk and my trousers were absolutely soaked from wading through the vegetation. However, it wasn't cold and the trousers soon dried out.  Sadly, the same can't be said for my boots which, despite being treated, let in water at an alarming rate.  It's the first time in many a year I had to wring my socks out at the end of the walk.  Sorry, but Hi-Tec aren't getting my business again and I really do need a pair of dry boots pretty soon!

Anyway, enough ranting ! the route takes you through Cherry Island Wood before emerging at Westwick Lock.  This is one of a number of locks on the River Ure that enable it to be navigated by quite large craft. Shortly after lock the view shown on the picture to the right suddenly (and I mean suddenly) emerges. This is Newby Hall, one of Yorkshire's famous stately homes.  Sadly, the weather meant that few people were around, even on a Bank Holiday Monday.

Shortly after passing the Hall the route cuts away from the river and joins a narrow back road for approximately a mile before heading off towards Roecliffe Grange Fam and back into the middle of the village with it's very inviting pub !

Usual selection of photographs from this link.  I wasn't able to find any information about the cross that appears in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, although the church is meant to date from Pre-Norman times.

Kirkby Lonsdale

Wednesday, 25th May 2011

13.1 km (8.1 miles) - 3 hrs

OL2 - Yorkshire Dales (Southern and Western Area)

I've neglected this blog for a couple of weeks as I've been too busy to keep it up to date.  That doesn't mean I (and Gill) haven't been out walking though.
Firstly, on Sunday 22nd May we did the Leeds WellWalk in aid of Diabetes UK.  This turned out to be (a) a little disappointing in the numbers who turned up for it, only about twenty or thirty people and (b) two circuits of the same walk.  This is always a little disappointing as one never really wants to go over the same ground twice unless it can't be helped.  In this case it couldn't and Gill (in particular) set off at a cracking pace which meant we completed the two circuits and covered approximately 9.54K in 1hr 30mins - not bad for a couple of old 'uns.

On Wednesday, 25th I had a rugby meeting at Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC, so took the opportunity to pack in 13 k on the hills above the town. The route came from my old friend Walkingworld.com which, after some deliberation I have subscribed to for another year.  I think this walk justified the subscription !
Setting off from the car park next to "Devil's Bridge" the route took me out to High Casterton before cutting back and striking up the fell to Fellfoot Road.  This track, high above the valley take an almost straight and un-deviating route across the side of the fell before it drops back down towards Casterton.

A feature of the walk are a number of sheepfolds alongside Fellfoot Road. Each of these sheepfolds was rebuilt and a scuplture by sculptor Andy Goldsworthy placed inside each one. Sadly, I'm no conniseur of sculpture, so wouldn't want to comment on the merits or otherwise of the pieces. However, they added interest to the walk.

After the end of Fellfoot Road the walk descends to Casterton and what (on a Wednesday afternoon) seemed to be games day at the local school. The final stretch circles the school before heading off past the golf club and back to Devil's Bridge. To finish the walk off I then took the riverbank along to the Radical Steps - 86 (or 87 - depends on your view and I didn't count them) steps almost vertically up the riverbank. This leads to Ruskin's View, named after the critic of the same name and painted by Turner.  Ruskin is reputed to have call the view "the finest in England, and therefore the world". Finally a stroll through Kirkby Lonsdale brought me back to the bridge once more.
An excellent walk - well worth the travelling (well I had to do it anyway) and the chance to visit some scenery I wouldn't normally have encountered !

Above is Ruskin's View (can't say I disagree with the first part of his statement).  Other photos of the day are available from the link

Farnley and Lindley Wood

Sunday, 8th May 2011

6.5 miles (10.5 Km) - 2h 07m

OS 297 - Lower Wharfedale and Washburn Valley

Circumstances meant that we needed to do a walk close to home, so a chance to do some further exploration of the Washburn Valley and a chance to circumnavigate another of the four reservoirs presented itself.

We parked just outside the church at Farnley (GR SE213480) - only about four or five miles from our home and set off along a track to the wonderfully named Haddockstones farm.  The well marked path tracks across the side of the valley and affords magnificent views both down the valley and across to Otley.

Soon the busy road from Otley to Blubberhouses is encountered for only a short stretch before a path cuts across Farnley Moor and eventually meets a metalled track that drops down the valley to Dob Park Bridge (GR SE196508).

This is a wonderful 17th century packhorse bridge across the River Washburn and had the added attraction of a cache which we found quite easily.

From this point the route is extremely simple and follows the path down the side of the river before arriving at the viaduct (GR SE202498).

Crossing the viaduct the path is regained and goes through delightful woodland, hugging the side of the reservoir.

The final stretch saw a stiff pull up the hill and back to the starting point. Suprisingly, the walk only took us a couple of hours but went really quickly.  Again, there was a strong breeze that hid the fact that the temperature was nearly 20 degrees !!

Photos from the link.

For anyone who is reading this blog, Gill and I will be doing the Leeds WellWalk on Sunday, 22nd May.  This is a 10k circuit around Temple Newsam.  We do need sponsorship so please visit our "giving website".  All contributions are very gratefully received and will help Diabetes UK continue its valuable work.

Timble & Swinsty

Friday, 29th April & Monday 2nd May

5.7 miles (9.3 Km) 

OS Explorer 297 - Lower Wharfedale & Washburn Valley

For many years, particularly when the children were young, a group of us used to go away to various locations for weekends.  Central to these was a whole day's walk on the Saturday, always followed by a fancy dress party in the evening.  I think we did enough by emphasising the party (and party games!) to fool the youngsters in to walking further than they thought they could ! 

My role on these weekends was to plan Saturday's walk and I became infamous for the phrase "It's only around the next corner" when being asked where the finish was!  Anyway, with four Bank Holidays in quick succession we decided that it would be good to get together again and walk - sadly, this time there was no promise of a fancy dress party and, consequently, no children !!  In their defence it has to be said that the youngest "child" is now in their twenties !

This is the sole reason that the walk appears twice - I did it on the Friday (to escaps the Royal Weddding) but also to ensure I knew the route.  It's O.K. getting lost on your own but leading a party of fifteen astray does nothing for one's credibility.

I seem to have become a resident of Timble over the past couple of weeks and this walk also starts there (GR SE180529).  Leaving the hamlet the track drops quickly to Swinsty Hall and then follows well maintained pathways through Swinsty Moor Plantation to the car park (GR SE186537).

After crossing the embankment the route once again follows the Yorkshire Water maintained footpaths which hug the side of the reservoir.

Here, on both days, we did a bit of Cache-Finding and congratulations go to Dave Sumpner who found the cache on the second day.

Finally, the walk leaves the surrounds of the reservoir and drops down Swinsty Embankment to pick up the River Washburn.  This was, probably, a surging torrent until the reservoirs - there are four in total, reduced it to a mere trickle !! 

The final section provides a bit of sting in the tail as the path turns at the bottom of Timble Gill (GR SE188517) and provides a stiffish climb back to the village.  

Monday provided a pleasant stop at the Yew Tree Inn in Otley.  

A good walk on both days with a stiff breeze that made us forget how warm the sun has been.  It was great to see Marilyn & John, Phil & Gill, Dave & Sally, Pete & Norma, Steve and (not forgetting) our daughter Charlotte !  Here's to the next one !

As usual a set of photos from the link