11th April 2010 - 8 milesMap : OL21 - South Pennines
A sudden change in my diary meant I had to meet RFU Council Member, Paul Jackson in the morning. So I changed my destination and went to the Yorkshire Water website. Yorkshire Water, after years of posting signs saying "Private Property" have now opened up areas around reservoirs and other land to walkers etc. and now positively encourage people to wander through their land.
The valleys of West Yorkshire are renowned for their steep sides and so it is with this walk which started at the Car Park next to Ryburn reservoir (GR : 127025). Beware, the turning down to Ryburn is easily missed off the A58 just out side Ripponden and you could, as I did, end up in another car park altogether before realising your mistake !! The other thing about those valleys is that to get any height you go upwards and quickly !! The first couple of kilometres of this walk take you from 170 mtrs up to nearly 400 mtrs. Oh !! those calves and lungs were really screaming by the time I got to the top !
The middle section of the walk along Blackwood Edge Path is absolutely parallel to the M62 and whilst you hear it before you see it, it is a constant companion throughout this section. The other point to be made is that the South Pennines are NOT the Yorkshire Dales and, whilst the path is reasonably clear, it is not the wide black ribbon that one expects in the Dales at this time of the year.
Eventually the walk drops down to the vicinity of Green Withens Reservoir at which point you say good bye to the monotonous roar of the motorway and head around Flint Hill and Warm Withens Hill. Again, the path is reasonably clear, although I did go "off route" at one point. Eventually you drop down to the road that drops to Baitings Reservoir and go further down the valley to a permissive path that runs along the North bank of the reservoir and back to the car park.
A glorious day - we seem to have left winter behind us at last, temperatures were around 12 degrees and my cheek bones and forehead are glowing. Probably, not warm enough for shorts just yet. Good walking through unusually untrod ground, although the mountain bikers had been there before me and had left their usual deep ruts through the peat! I shan't complain - I don't want to get a reputation as a grumpy old man !
I would probably grade this walk as reasonably difficult. Certainly the first part is a good long uphill pull and because the paths are not widely used it is tough on the ankles treading through tussocky grass and peat bog. As always though - whilst the body may be complaining the spirit is soaring.
No walk next week as I put my body through another kind of torture with the Aireborough RUFC "Gentlemans" Tour !! I will leave you to your imagination as to what that entails.
Usual photographs of the walk here.
5th April 2010 - 6 Miles
Map : OS Pathfinder 662 (Bolton Abbey & Blubberhouses) or OS Explorer 297 (Lower Wharfedale & Washburn Valley)
With Gill away visiting Hannah in Florida it's a couple of weeks of solo walking for me. Easter Monday and it was what my mother would call "wild and woolly". A strong wind, dark clouds and a hint of rain, although it didn't! This is another Paul Hannon walk taken from his book "Ilkley Moor", although technically I was on on the other side of the valley.
The walk starts from Ling Park Plantation (GR SE 107504). Take the Middleton road out of Ilkley and just keep going up ! You're already some 240 metres at this point but don't worry - the high point of the walk is at 409 metres.
The route describes a figure of eight climbing, eventually, to Round Hill. The first part of the walk is on tracks and, although it was wet underfoot, is quite easy going. Eventually you arrive at the bottom of Loftshaw Gill which was extremely wet and, at this point head away up a line of shooting butts towards the summit of the walk. This is a long and steady uphill drag taking you from about 240 metres to the eventual summit at 409 metres. As with all walks of this nature the uphill might be long and strenuous, but the reward was some fantastic views far and wide when you get there !
I did make the cairn at the top of Round Hill and then set off almost due East for Gawk Hall Gate. This was into the teeth of a gale with pretty slippy underfoot conditions.
At Gawk Hall Gate I encountered a marker post reading Ripon - 13, Ilkley -3 and the guide book points out that this was a crossroads on an old "badger" route. This is not the furry animal but a nickname given to corn dealers who, presumably, used it to criss cross the County. Again, the views were spectacular, looking across to Menwith Hill and it's famous "golf balls" and beyond to Harrogate.
The walk back across Gawk Hall Ridge was extremely boggy and the path seems to be ever widening as walkers and mountain bikers seek out a dry route ! Eventually the route leads back to the foot of Loftshaw Gill and this time heads out over Long Ridge to Moor End Farm. Although the map mentions Cup and Ring marked rocks sadly I did not encounter any of them. Anyway, the pathway across the ridge eventually meets the Langbar to Beamsley road and the route back to the parking space is easily achieved.
Another fairly strenuous six miles. Very, very muddy in places (I actually slipped and fell at one point), but that's due to the amount of rain that has fallen over the past few weeks. It's great to know that you can get a real "wilderness" feel on a walk that is only about seven miles from where I live.
Usual attempts at pictures are available here
Friday, 2nd April - 6 Miles
Good Friday and my 55th birthday. Gill and I set of reasonably early and drove the 28 miles up into Nidderdale for this walk that came from Jack Keighley. The book "Walks in the Yorkshire Dales" is an updated version of the one that I have but this walk entitled "The Caves and Gorges of Nidderdale" is included in it. I also had the Ordnance Survey Explorer 26 - Nidderdale with me, The day was less than promising with low cloud and mist when we set off but the countryside that we walked through soon let us forget that, although considering it is the beginning of April is was still pretty nippy. We parked near the small village of Lofthouse (GR 098734).
First on the intinerary was a visit to How Steen Gorge. Again, I have to admit that whilst I'm a born and bred Yorkshireman I've never visited this beauty spot before. It's a pretty hefty £5.50 per. person entrance fee and, if I'm honest, not worth it !! Why do we seem to charge so much for simple pleasures in this country ? Surely one of the pleasures of walking it that it costs nothing - or, are my Yorkshire instincts getting the better of me! Anyway, we paid up and tried to spend as long as possible in the gorge !
The walk proper can only be described as a pretty strenuous six miles. In particular the pull from How Steen up to the village of Middlesmoor and the stretch at the half way point by Manchester Hole really got the lungs and calves screaming for some respite ! Of course the pay back was some pretty stunning views along Nidderdale. Sadly, these probably don't come out too well in the photos as the weather was not conducive to photography.
After passing through Middlesmoor the walk hugs the side of the valley, pretty high up, until you drop down to the floor of the valley at Limley Farm. Just past the farm are the entrances to a couple of caves - I couldn't resist going down into Manchester Hole (GR: 101763), although the flowers laid at the entrance suggest that a full descent may be more dangerous than messing about in the entrance as I did. After the steep climb just after the pothole the return journey to Lofthouse is via. the Nidderdale Way, although it was a little muddy after the rain we've had recently. The final section takes you past Lofthouse and Middlesmoore Cricket ground - surely one of the smallest cricket grounds I've ever seen. I think that batsmen will certainly have the advantage, even though there is a pretty steep slope on one side of the wicket !
Despite the overcast and murky conditions this was a fantastic morning out in the countryside and well worth the drive! That's the first six miles of the month as Gill and I try to walk a "Marathon a Month" !
Photos of the walk are available from this link
