Spofforth & Kirk Deighton

Wednesday, 28th December
10.6 km

Our last walk of 2011 and a gentle stroll along the banks of the River Crimple, or Crimple Beck as is it more popularly known.
The end of 2011 has been a bit of a disappointment in terms of walks - we just haven't seemed to find the necessary time to get out and about in the countryside, other things seem to keep getting in the way.  However, the final calculation sees me having walked 297 miles during the year, still short of that magical 300 miles mark; perhaps next year !?
The walk started in Spofforth.  Appropriate in some ways as the first walk we did in 2011 (on 1st Jan no less) also started in Spofforth.  From the village centre we headed away to the A661, the main Wetherby to Harrogate Road and, just before crossing the bridge, escaped to a marked way that runs along the side of Crimple Beck.  I must say that this was the time of year to be doing this walk as the path, although clearly marked, must be horrendously overgrown during the summer months.
The path crosses the beck after a kilometre or so and then keeps to the right hand side of the river until another stone bridge crosses back to the left hand side before cutting away up the side of a field and, eventually, turing into a metalled track that leads into Kirk Deighton.
Here we took a short detour to collect a Cache that is placed on the side of the old, and now abandoned A1. It's amazing how soon nature has reclaimed the road now that the A1 has been re-routed around Wetherby.
Back into Kirk Deighton and we headed away from the village (fast becoming a suburb of Wetherby itself) with a reasonably stiff climb into the teeth of an increasingly strong wind before crossing and then dropping on to the Harland Way.

This is, in fact, a cycle route maintained by Sustrans which follows the old railway line from Wetherby to Spofforth.  It really is easy walking on a well maintained and compact surface and the 4k was achieved in no time at all.  The route finally ends at a housing estate which leads back to the main road and into the village centre.

A relatively easy end to 2011 but good to get out into the countryside after the excesses of Christmas. a New Year's Resolution ??  Well, I'm not one for making them as it's far too easy to break them, but, I/we will try and get out into the countryside as often as possible (although there are a number of 6 Nations weekends which will take us away from Yorkshire) and I will also make an effort to keep this blog as up to date as possible, although it may be about journeys on trains and cars to Twickenham and the like !!

If you are reading this then I wish you all the very best for 2012 --- oh, well I suppose I do need to resolve that I will break that 300 mile mark next year !!