A Good Start !

Miles this Week	24.9
Miles this Month	24.9
Miles this Year	72.7

January finished with snow and ice, February has begun and, whilst it is still cold and icy, the skies have been blue. During the first week of February we've managed to get out four times, including a stroll in Cardiff, which we were visiting for the opening 6 Nations Championship match of the season and which, thankfully, England managed to pull of an unexpected victory!!
Sadly, we have not matched England's unexpected victory and at only 72.7 miles to date we are, approximately 40 miles off-target for our 1000 mile challenge. However, the year is still in it's infancy and the weather has not been kind, plus, there is a small matter of the 6 Nations to contend with and, although we do try and get some walking in prior to the matches, it is not always possible.

Feb 2nd - Otley Chevin - 7.15 miles.

This picture probably sums it up !!  Very, very icy. After a reasonably fine weekend people had obviously been out and packed the snow down which had then frozen overnight. In fact there was one section down Mitton Lane which was almost impassable; in fact we met a couple who had just taken 1/2 hour to climb approximately 800 metres!!

Otley Chevin is familiar territory to us having lived close to it for 28 years. In fact we parked at "the end of the street" where we used to live. The first part of the walk was fairly easy going. The fields slope away to the South East and had seen plenty of bright sunshine which had melted the snow. It was not until we crested the Chevin and started on the North facing slopes that the problem of ice appeared.

The section through Danefield, shielded by trees was also fairly ice free but when we once again reached the section of the Chevin beyond Surprise View our problems began again and both of us experienced the effects of gravity on at least one occasion! Still, it is a truism that in this country if you let the weather put you off, you'll never get out of the house.

Feb 4th - Baildon to Ilkley - 8.4 miles

A linear walk making use of the local train service that runs from Ilkley to Bradford. Again, we were extremely lucky with the weather with bright blue skies throughout, although the temperature rarely got above freezing. Once again, ice was the problem once we got up onto Hawksworth Moor where established paths had seen footfall which had melted and subsequently frozen to solid ice. The other problem was that footpaths were slightly indistinct on the more snowy areas.

Having said that this was a magnificent walk, high above the Wharfe Valley with long range views available throughout and whilst the going was fairly slow (it took us nearly 4 hours against an anticipated 3 1/4) we were neither in a rush, nor unable to appreciate the views offered to us.

Arriving in Ilkley we managed a well earned cup of coffee and a sandwich before catching the train back home.

February 6th - Cardiff - 5.2 miles

The arrival of the 6 Nations Championship and an opportunity to walk "abroad". For the first time in it's history the game in Wales was held on a Friday evening which gave us the opportunity to walk from the centre of Cardiff down to Cardiff Bay.  Thanks to Millenium funding Cardiff Bay has been transformed with the magnificent Millenium Centre now dominating the waterfront and shops, bars and cafes replacing what were once wharves.

Again, we were incredibly lucky with the weather which remained cold but rewarded us with bright blue skies with hardly a cloud in sight.

The game ...... for the first time in a very long time England managed a win !! They dominated the second half denying the Welsh of both possession and territory.  Many thanks also to the members of the WRU Committee who's hospitality over two evenings was superb.

Feb 8th - Kettlewell - 4.1 miles

A short "sunday stroll" in Upper Wharfedale.  The most remarkable thing about the walk was the drive to get there. Coming past Keighley the skies suddenly clouded over and we found ourselves driving through thick, freezing fog.  In fact in the space of about 2 miles the temperature went from +3 to -2.5!!  Almost as quickly once we had got past Grassington the reverse happened and, as you can see from the photograph below we were, once again, greeted with cloudless skies.

This is a very straighforward route starting from the National Parks Car Park in Kettlewell and follows a well marked footpath which follows the River Wharfe as far as the footbridge over the river at Starbotton.

Once in the village another well marked footpath climbs out of Starbotton and then follows the side of the valley until it descends back into Kettlewell. A short but beautiful walk, with both of us discarding hats, gloves and outer layers as the temperature rose to 5 degrees !

If January was disappointing then we have had a good start to February, not least with the weather. However, once again it looks as though other commitments are going to get in the way of our walking for the next couple of weeks at least and, no doubt, we will find ourselves going into March having fallen further behind our schedule !