Greenhow

Saturday, 25th September

13.9 km (8.9 miles) - Time 2.51 hours

Map :OS Explorer 26 - Nidderdale

With the start of the U18 Inter-County matches and my duties as a selector imminent Gill and I decided to have a Saturday off rugby and get some walking in instead. 

We parked just off the B6265 Grassington to Pateley Bridge Road at Toft Gate (GR SE128644) and our route took us downhill to Coldstonesfold Farm before climbing back up to the road and dropped us into Greenhow (GR  SE113642).

From Greenhow you enter an area that is scarred with the remains of old Lead Mines. The spoil heaps dominate the gill as do the remains of old smelting mills before we escaped onto the Nidderdale Way and tracked Ashfold Side Beck all the way down to Corn Close (GR SE148665).  The walk down the beck side was accompanied by large numbers of Grouse and Pheasant who seem to have escaped the shooters who dominate these parts during August at least.  The bottom of the valley took us through an extensive caravan park, shrouded in trees which hugs the beck side until we emerged at Corn Close and its impressive water wheel.

The final stretch of the walk took us back along the other side of the beck to Mosscar Bottom (GR SE138661) before a long uphill stretch back to Coldstonesfold Farm and a final climb back to the car park.

The weather stayed glorious throughout the walk, although there was a stiff wind, particularly at the start and finish which was some 330 metres above sea level.  The end of the walk with its almost relentless uphill trudge was strenuous but we were only about 15 miles from home so the journey (which actually went via the rugby club) allowed us time to recover.  
Another wonderful day in the country which left us thanking the fact that we have such spectacular scenery and walks just a stone's throw from out front door

Some pictures available from this link - although some of the photos are a bit "washed out" due to the brightness of the September sun!

Grisedale

Monday, 30th August
11.8 Km (7.5 miles) - Time : 3:45
Map - OL19 - Howgill Fells

Round Ing - Grisedale, North Yorkshire

 

 

A couple of weeks since we've been walking due to holidays abroad but a glorious sunny Bank Holiday Monday was too good to miss and this was a walk back into my family history.  Round Ing - a lonely and secluded farm at the top of Grisedale is where my maternal grandmother was born.  Indeed when she and my grandfather moved to the village of Langcliffe they called their house Grisedale a name, I believe, it is still known by.

The walk started just below Garsdale Station  (SD 788918). This is a good 1 1/2 drive from home but just getting out of the car felt special and, with bright blue sky, we knew we were in for a good day's walking. 

The path from the bottom of the steep incline up to the station is easily found and within minutes we were in the seclusion of Grisedale itself.  Grisedale shot to some prominence thanks to a television documentary "The Dale That Died".  It was once home to some fourteen families but during the fifties and sixties they all moved away and gave up farming in these remote surroundings.  Apparently, the Dale has now seen something of a recovery and many of the old farms now have residents but, as we found, Round Ing, right at the end of the Dale is beyond any kind of repair and is simply a fallen down ruin with no vehicular access at all.

The first part of the route was a simple stroll up the dale.  Whilst the footpaths are indistinct, the waymarks are, in the main, well maintained and show the way up the dale - some of it accompanied by the beck that runs down the dale until we reached Round Ing (SD 764941).

After lunch in bright sunshine our route took us down the side of the valley and then up and over Grisedale Common. This was the high point of the route at some 450m. We then dropped off the top of the common towards Lunds, where we saw a deserted chapel, with gravestones from the late 19th century and headed down the valley past the delightful Ure Force Rigg before taking a (enforced!) break at the Moorcock Inn.

The last section proved a bonus as a new (not marked on the map, anyway!) bridleway allowed us to walk alongside the Settle-Carlisle railway and underneath Dandrymire Viaduct bringing us out just below the station and a couple of metres from the car.

Fantastic weather always adds to a walk and throughout we had bright sunshine with hardly a cloud in the sky.  The fact that we took in some of my family history was a bonus.  How my Great-Grandparents survived and brought up children in such remote surroundings (and in the early part of the twentieth century when cars/land rovers weren't around) amazes me. Sad that the farm is now now in such disrepair that it will never be a habitation again but it is good to see that the Dale is not Dead but remains a tranquil and remote spot.

Link to some photos. 

Marske Beck

Sunday, 8th August

13K (8.3 Miles) - Time : 2.57 hrs

Map : Ordnance Survey OL30 (Northern and Central Dales)

Oh, the joys of high summer - high temperatures, high level walking and high spirits.  This was another Jack Keighley walk, although it was extended from the 5 1/4 miles in the guide book and, although it was a long drive to get there it was well worth it.

After some 50 miles of motoring the walks starts just outside the hamlet of Marske (GR 102004) between Leyburn and Richmond. A hop over the bridge and a stile offers itself alongside the beck which take you through a wooded area to emerge, eventually, onto a path that takes you through Clints Wood.  This is seemingly, run of the mill countryside until you emerge from the wood into the glory of the Dales with a steep sided valley and views of the limestone Clints Scar above. 

A short while further on and you descend to the valley bottom and the chane to visit Orgate Force .  Whilst not the most spectacular of falls compared to some it is, nevertheless, a delight. Although a word of caution after rainfall (which we have had in abundance over the last few days) - the rocks and paths can be slippery as I found out to my expense when trying to find the perfect angle for a photograph.  Had it been published it would have been of the trees with the sky above !! Slightly sore back and grazed knuckles are the result og concentrating too much of what I wanted to see, rather then where I was putting my feet.

After the delights of Orgate the next setion is a slog along a rough track, heading for Telfit Farm.  If this section is a slog, the next is sheer delight as you round the brow of the hill and take a path which hugs the contours above the beck itself.  For a brief section the walk was in perfect tranquility - peace and calm with hardly a cloud in the sky. 

Luchtime was taken just above Helwith (GR 074029). One is always tempted to envy the folks who live in these isolated farmhouses but (as I always remind Gill and myself) what must it be like in the depths of winter?  At this point Keighley's walk turns it back on the beck to climb back over the moor.  I, however, carried on alongside the beck and past Prys House (complete with dead, rotting sheep) and then cut back up past Low Greenas and High Greenas.  This gave out onto fantastic heather covered moorland eventually joining back with the published route.

The last section of the walk is a straightforward descent from the moor down a steep, rocky path and then through pasture until you rejoin the outer route just past Pillmire Bridge and back to the car.

On a personal note, I did this walk on my own as Gill is in Florida to witness Hannah (my eldest daughter) getting married to Alex.  I wish both of them the most deep felt and sincere congratulations. I hope the future brings them both happiness and fulfilment.  Times will not always be easy but I hope the love and affection they have for each other will see them through difficult times and, believe me, they are soon forgotten and it is the good times that are remembered.  They both have my love.  By the way the "proper" wedding is next year !!

As I write this, slightly sore from my fall, I think back on a wonderful day, in glorious scenery with fantastic weather - my heart is soaring !

Usual bunch of photographs here (apart from the falling down shot!) 

Castle Howard and Farndale

Friday 30^th July

Castle Howard

12.3 Km (7.9 miles)

The perils of plotting your own routes !  Sadly, this one went wrong when we were about a third of the way around when I found I had plotted a route down a private path.  Added to that the battery on the GPS went flat (forethought is a wonderful thing), so we had to resort to good old fashioned map reading !

 Our route started in Coneysthorpe, parking outside the Village Reading Rooms (GR: SE711733). As soon as we stepped outside the car we were greeted with wonderful views of Castle Howard but our route took us back towards the main road (incredibly busy for early on a Friday afternoon). Across it and on to a minor route before cutting across fields (and the only real climb of the day – although it can hardly be called that) and up through a delightful wooded pathway into the village of Ganthorpe.

Here we turned down the road and at a sharp bend expected to turn off and through woods to reach the obelisk at Castle Howard. Unfortunately, the route ahead was marked “Private” and, at the same time the GPS gave out, so it was good old map reading skills that took us past Brandrith Farm and through Brandrith Woods at just the right time as we had a downpour ! The detour brought us out just below the Gate House – our intented destination anyway.

From here the route is along road and track with views of Castle Howard, the Pyramid and the Mausoleum before joining the Centenary Way and dropping down to Bog Hall. Here, we were forced to take out second detour of the day as the planned pathway was completely overgrown with chest high nettles, even Gill and I aren’t brave enough for that !

However, the alternative was a well maintained track that dropped to the corner of the Great Lake and then climbed back to Coneysthorpe.

The area around Castle Howard is well maintained farming land and, despite the two setbacks, it was a rewarding, if slightly longer than planned walk.

Photos here

Saturday, 31^st July

Farndale

10.3 Km (6.5 miles) – 2hr 55mins

Thanks to our next door neighbours, Katie and Fraser, who allowed us to rent their cottage in the delightful North Yorkshire village of Gillamoor.  This was an alternative to our original planned route and owes a lot to Frank Wilkinson and his “Walking with Wilkinson” book.  Now, sadly, out of print Wilkinson’s Walks used to appear in the Yorkshire Evening Post and this book is a collection of some of the best.

Farndale is traditionally walked in spring when the valley is full of thousands of natural daffodils. By late July the daffodils have, obviously, gone but this route hit all the right buttons.

We parked at Low Mill (GR: SE 672952) next to the Village Hall and set off along the well maintained route up the valley of the River Dove heading firstly for High Mill and then Church Houses.  The path hugs the river and, in spring, is the main “thoroughfare” through daffodil country.

From Church Houses  (GR SE669975) we then climbed out of the hamlet on Daleside Road until we reached Hall Farm (GR SE665979).  Here, a marked path takes you through the farmyard itself and climbs up to Head House Farm.  Again the route is straightforward as you drop through a valley and then head for North Gill House (GR SE673980) The path eventually give out and we followed the road across to High Bragg House (GR : SE676970).

Here we turned off and headed straight up onto Blakey Moor. This is a fairly strenuous climb of some 140 metres of height in just over a kilometre.  The latter part is through heather and bracken which makes the going underfoot fairly tough. It has to be said that this is not a well trodden route either, so you do need to be able to navigate using either a compass or GPS. Eventually, the route reaches the road on top of Blakey Ridge, some magnificent long range views and a short stroll along the road takes you to a signpost pointing the way back down the moor.

This proved almost as tough as the ascent with first heather and bracken, followed by chest high ferns! We also witnessed that most wonderful of Dales sights – the rain rushing down the valley like a curtain being drawn across a window.  Time to get the waterproofs out !

The last section is straightforward as the path off the moor turns firstly into a track and then road which runs straight back into Low Mill.

A short, fairly strenuous,  but fantastic route which had everything, but was especially memorable for those long distance views.  Getting up there may be the hard part, the rewards are well worth it.

Then it was back to the cottage to celebrate our 29^th Wedding Anniversay.

Selection of photos here

Grimwith Reservoir and Trollers Gill

Saturday, 24th July

12.5 km  (8 Miles)

I got this walk from an old Paul Hannon book, "Rambles in Wharfedale". I can vouch for it's age since, according to the record in the back of the book, I did this walk in October 1994 !! Since I can't find any mention of it on the internet I presume it is now out of print.

The walk starts from a large layby just below Stump Cross Caverns. (GR SE 084635). Walking back up the hill towards the caves a very obvious sign on the left hand side points the way towards Grimwith Reservoir and it is not long before you pass over the shoulder of Nursery Knot and see the reservoir way ahead across the fell. Surprisingly, or perhaps not considering the amount of rain we have had recently, the ground was quite wet and needed a certain amount of care when navigating the path down to the banks of the reservoir.

Grimwith Reservoir was certainly busy on this particular Saturday with both sailors and windsurfers enjoying the blustery conditions. After skirting the reservoir (apparently the largest in Yorkshire), the route takes a wonderful green path with views across Wharfedale before crossing the Grassington to Pateley Bridge Road and resuming on yet another green track.

A little further on I deviated from the route in the book to cut back on myself and then dropped down into Trollers Gill.  Described as a "sinister little ravine" there are numerous myths and legends about trolls and spectral hounds that are said to inhabit this delightful gill. Walking (or scrambling) down it on a bright summer's day it seemed very un-sinsiter

The bottom of the gill leads past Parceval Hall - the gardens are open to the public and the Hall itself is owned by a religious order and used as a place of retreat.  Eventually you drop onto Skyreholme Bank and the start of a long drag uphill back to the start of the walk.

After last week's fairly level walk this was a bit more strenuous (especially the last pull from Skyreholme). However, the weather was fair with a breeze and some glimpses of sunshine. The scenery around this part of Wharfedale is absolutely spectacular with long range views right up the valley, whilst the area around Skyreholme is dominated by the brooding presence of Simon's Seat.

Some photographs available from this link

Long Itchington & a Golden Wedding

Saturday, 17th July

13.6 km (8.7 miles)

Gill's Aunty Diana and Uncle John celebrated their Golden Wedding Annivesary this weekend and Gill, having been a bridesmaid, was (along with myself) duly invited to the celebrations held at John and Diana's farm just outside Buckingham.  This gave us the opporutnity for a walk in an area other than Yorkshire.

We had booked into a hotel in Leamington Spa for the simple reason that Charlotte, our middle daughter, was visiting her boyfriend Mike.  So we combined the chance to see Charlotte and Mike, with the Golden Wedding celebrations and the opportunity for this 8 mile walk which, in the main, was along the towpath of the Grand Union Canal.

Once again this is from the walkingworld.com website, although we found that the Memory Map Overlay (.mmo) and the walking summary varied slightly. Anyway, the map above shows the "track" rather than the "route" and, therefore, records the actual walk we took.

The walk begins in the village of Long Itchington (GR SP415652). The car park is just off a busy main road and we were met by Charlotte and Mike who joined us. The walk heads away and into the village which is a mixture of old and new.  The first part of the route then zig zags back, almost to the start in fact, before heading off down a much quieter country road and onto a bridleway before reaching the canal at Stockton Locks (GR SP429648).

Here you begin the main part of the walk which is simple enough since it follows the towpath down the Grand Union Canal, past pubs and moored narrowboats, along with those on the move until you reach Longhole Bridge (GR SP380639). Again the route here is very straigthforward following Ridgeway Lane through woods and fields until you meet Stonebridge Lane. The final stretch is straight down this lane with a final dog leg along the banks of River Itchen and back to the village.

Slightly different from some of our previous walks - the total "climb" was some 81 metres !  However, the stillness of the canal and, thankfully, lack of rain made this a pleasant stroll through the Warkwickshire countryside.

Usual bunch of photographs from this link.  Oh, and by the way, this walk marked the 150 miles so far this year!

Bolton By Bowland

Sunday, 11th July

15 Kms (9.6 miles)

Really strong winds meant that we postponed our planned high level route and instead we headed out for our longest walk of the year to date.  This route came from Country Walking Magazine that I picked up in Leeds City Station one evening on the way back from work and, as a replacement, it was absolutely fantastic.

The land around Botlon by Bowland was, for a long time, private property and access to it was forbidden. Thankfully, the area is now accessible by all and what a joy it was.  Excellent walking and excellent scenery. 

The first section of the walk takes you from Bolton by Bowland to the village of Sawley.  There was adequate parking next to the bridge in Bolton by Bowland (GR: SD 785495), and it has the added bonus (for a Yorkshireman at least) of being free.  After leaving the village the route heads out across arable land where the farmer has "cut" the path through his crops !  Very considerate but also very easy to follow.  In not time at all the first 3km are under your belt as you emerge onto the road next to Sawley Bridge.

After crossing the bridge you pick up the Ribble Way which climbs out of Sawley and affords fantastic views of Pendle Hill - a looming presence throughout this part of the walk.  The route rises to Gisburn Cotes before dropping down to the riverside and a perfect place for a picnic !

Continuing along you eventually emerge onto the road near Gisburne Park and begin a 2km stretch along the road before leaving it at Park House Farm.  Here we purchased 1/2 dozen free range eggs for the bargain price of £1.00.  Sadly, we won't be able to return the egg box as is suggested but we are looking forward to a hearty breakfast one morning this week.

This section is slightly more indistinct than the others and is not a clearly signposted but, thanks to the GPS, we eventually emerged at the head of the village and dropped down through it to the car park.

I think both of us were feeling the strain by the end.  Me with a sore ankle and Gill with an aching hip. However, recovery did not take too long and the heart feels gladdened and stronger after some exercise through lovely countryside.


Some pictures are available from this link.   The walk means that I've now completed approximately 142 miles since February.  Can I make 150 next weekend ??