Filey

Monday, 7th May 2012
Distance : 16.2 km (10 miles). Time Taken : 3 hrs 20 mins.
Map : OS Explorer 301 (Scarborough, Bridlington & Flamborough Head)

Firstly an apology that I haven't posted anything for absolutely ages.  Rugby, the awful weather and general lethargy mean that it's been a lean year for walking. Anyway, enough of that .... a very busy weekend. Drove down to Twickenham on Friday evening ready for the RFU Cup Finals on Saturday (a mixed bag for Yorkshire clubs), then left at around 5.30 p.m. and drove up to Filey on the East Coast where my sister had booked the magnificent White House for the weekend.

This was once the "chalet" of Sir Billy Butlin when there was a Butlin's Holiday Camp at Filey. The camp is long gone but the house has been renovated and turned into two apartments - it certainly did us proud over the weekend and on Monday (Bank Holiday) Gill and I decided to do a walk I had downloaded from the internet.
I have to be honest that I can't remember where it came from and it's a .pdf so the original location has gone.  However, I'm sure if you do a search you'll be able to find it.
Thankfully we managed to find some good weather and it stayed dry for us throughout the walk (and the weekend)!
We parked (fortuitously as it turned out) in the car park next to the entrance to the golf club (GR : TA115799) and made out way through houses until we found Filey School (GR : TA109802). Here, between nos 98 and 100, a path circumnavigates the school grounds and leads up through fields until the main A165 is encountered.  A very busy road which, once crossed, allowed us to drop through fields to the village of Muston. The first yards through Muston are on footpaths but the next stage required a bit of verge hopping (again, the A1039 is a busy little road) before the the Wolds Way is picked up (GR TA091796) and the traffic left behind.  The steady climb up the side of the Wolds allows the views to expand with sights of Scarborough Castle to the North and Bempton Cliffs to the South.
The "summit" achieved the walk then goes steadily away passing Stockendale Farm (GR : TA074781) before dropping through the delightful Stockindale which becomes ever wider as you progress.

At the bottom of Stockingdale where it meets Camp Dale we managed to find a cache (long time since we did that !) before the only really steep ascent of the day, albeit a very short one ! By this point we had left the Wolds Way and were now on Centenary Way a long distance route from York to Filey. The route took us along to Field House Farm before meeting another road that droppen into Humnaby.
Once in Humnaby our route took us along Northgate and in a dead straight line to cross (once more) the A165. A short distance saw us turn up the drive of Muston Grange - sadly a caravan park, not a stately pile ! Once through the caravans a well worn path brought us out (unexpectedly) at the golf club and right next to the car park !

I think (hope) this has got us both back into the idea of walking. With the rugby season nearly over (County games at the moment) we must get back into the ROUTINE of walking.

Anyway, some picture of the whole weekend (Flat Cliffs, Bridlington and the walk) are available from this link

Easy Keswick & Bardsey

Sunday, 22nd Jan 2012
11.2 Km (6.9 miles) - 2hrs 33 min

The beauty of where we live is that the outskirts of Leeds provide us with some wonderful winter routes that are not too far from home, are not to remote but, nevertheless, provide us with the opportunity to get away from it all.  This walk provided that with a welcome escape from home, only about 10 miles travel, yet a delightful 7 miles, although it was muddy in places.

The walk was take from Paul Hannon's  "Harrogate and the Wharfe Valley" and started in East Keswick, a sleepy dormitory town between Leeds and Wetherby. 

The route quickly escaped East Keswick and, in no time at all we were on top of Rigton Moor.  The day had started with heavy rain but thankfully this cleared and we had a very bright day with hardly a cloud in the sky.  The wind, which was also quite breezy when we started also dropped and, within a half-hour we felt over-dressed.

The route drops from Rigton Moor through Scarcroft before a delightful stretch through Hetchell Woods and into Bardsey (another of those dormitory villages).  The final climb took us back over the ridge and into East Keswick, the car and a short journey for dinner with John and Marilyn - well received after the walk.

The next month is going to see me travel further afield and, hopefully, share some walks in and around the cities that will host the Rugby Six Nations Tournament.  It all starts in a fortnight in Edinburgh !

As usual I tried to get some photos of the walk.  The bright sunshine with the sun low in the sky made this difficult and I only managed a few - available from this link.

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 !!

Ullswater

Saturday, 19th November
8Km (4.9 miles) 2hr 24mins

A number of weeks since we've  been walking due to other commitments and the weather.  Thankfully, this walk proved to be anything but seasonal.  Mid-November and we ended up walking in t-shirts !!
Thanks to friends John and Marilyn who had been given a free night's accomodation at the North Lakes Hotel and decided to share it with us !!  It was only fitting that I planned to Saturday afternoon excursion !

From the hotel we took the short drive to Pooley Bridge at the very top of Ullswater and, after exploring the village (a full ten minutes worth) we bought tickets for the Ullswater Steamer and boarded the boat for the short 20 minute journey to Howtown.  The weather at this stage of the day (midday) was chilly with low cloud over the hills, although there was a hint of blue. I have to say that sitting at the front of the boat I was pretty cold by the time the voyage ended !

Disembarking at Howtown Jetty (GR NY443198) a short walk leads to the road and just by the Howtown Outdoor Centre a gate gives onto the path and a short uphill stretch to another gate which gives on to a track.  The track hugs the wall as height is gained, almost inperceptably and the views spread out below you.

Also, as we gained height so did the cloud and within 10 minutes of starting the fleeces were discarded in favour of t-shirts.  The route was easy to follow and gained height almost without notice and the views became more and more extensive making it a delight to be outdoors at this time of the year.

The apex of the walk is a stone circle called The Cockpit (GR NY 482222) at approximately 330 mtrs. - 150 mtrs of ascent that hardly felt like it.  From the stone circle the anly way was downhill firstly across moorland and then along an old Roman Road that eventually became metalled and landed us back in Pooley Bridge.

A fantastic walk which, had we known what the weather was going to be like, would probably have been longer.  However, if I could  predict the weather then I wouldn't be writing this blog and the next day proved a point as, back in Yorkshire, the day from dawn to dusk was thick fog.

A selection of photos avaiable which probably don't do justice to the fantastic scenery.  Thanks to John, Marilyn and Gill for a fantastic weekend. Let's hope the weather at the weekends is better over the next few weeks and let's us get out - only 20 miles to go to crack the 300 mile mark for this year !

Viva Black-Vegas!!

Sunday, 30th October
13.7 Km (8.5 miles) - 2h:33min

Unbelievably on the penultimate day in October we completed this walk in t-shirts - the temeprature was around 14 degrees !!  The reason for visiting Blackpool was my father's annual holiday there. The excuse was there to walk from Blackpool up the coast to Fleetwood.
I have to say, and I don't want to sound snobbish, that Blackpool is still as gaudy as I remember it in my youth.  However, the Parkinson's Disease Society have held a week's event there and my parents have attended for a number of years.
The walk is very easy - ensure that the sea is on your left hand side and don't wander too far to the right ! It is also not a walk if you want solitude - the crowds were certainly out, and why not it was an absolutely glorious day.
If both Gill and I have any complaint it was that the whole walk was on concrete and both of us complained about sore feet and Gill ended up with some nasty blisters. 
Oh ! getting back ?  Thanks to the No. 14 bus which dropped us in the middle of town and left us with a half mile at the end getting back to our start point - a bit of a hobble if the truth be told.  Still, a very enjoyable walk.

Ingleton Waterfalls & Kingsdale

Sunday, 16th October

13 km (8 Miles) - 3 hr 18 min
OL2 - Yorkshire Dales (Southern and Western Areas)

Well, it's been almost three weeks since our last walk - in the meantime we have been busy moving my daughter into her new house in Lincoln (good luck to both Hannah and Alex in their new jobs and their new life in England) and also moving my father into a sheltered flat.
The latter has been quite emotional in respect that my sister and I have had to clear out the old house and, in the process, have unearthed memories of our childhood and family history that we had almost forgotten about.
In that respect this walk was also nostalgic given that (as far as I can remember) the last time I visited Ingleton's waterfalls was in my childhood - we lived some 20 miles away in the village of Langcliffe).
The walk itself really needs no detail as, once you reach the waterfalls (and pay your £5.00 entry fee), there is nowhere else to go but to follow the path that winds through woodland at first and then past Pecca Falls climbing steadily to Thornton Force.

Here's Gill stood next to the Force which, following almost a week of prolonged rain, was in good spirits !!

The going is good throughout and your £5.00 has obviously been well spent in creating and maintaining the footpaths.  A word of warning is that the outward stretch is reasonably strenuous with plenty of uphill sections - you are, after all, going against the river on this stretch and water, as we all know, flows downhill !

Just above Thornton Force the walk, which we got from the walkingworld website, deviates from the waterfall route and instead heads off up Kingdale.  A gloriously wide and flat bottomed dale with a single track road and quiet after the relatively crowded surrounds of the waterfalls.  The walk up the dale is via. the road as far as a ladder stile (GR SD702780) where we stopped for lunch next to the dried out Kingsdale Beck. Inagine our surprise then when the Beck suddenly sprang into life with the water filling as if the tide were coming in !
The route back is across meadow before a relatively easy climb over the shoulder of Wakenburgh Hill to re-join the waterfall route. 
Again, the route back is simply a case of following the signs for the waterfall walk as the return stretch down the River Doe again provides spectacular falls and gorges where the water gushed through.
By the time we got back to Ingleton the rain was fairly beating down but, I'm happy to say, my investment in a new pair of walking boots paid off as I was able to change without having wet feet !!  Congratulations to Scarpa - top class boots that didn't make my feet ache too much although it was the first time I had worn them.
Usual set of photographs is available from the link

Dallowgill and Greygarth Monument

Sunday, 11th Sept
11.7 km (7.2 miles) 2hr 55m
Explorer 26 - Nidderdale.

A wonderful scenic walk with clear views stretching for miles, although the wind was a bit pesky towards the end!  This was another walk from Paul Hannon's "Ripon and Lower Wensleydale" book and covered ground I did in May 2010, although this walk was clockwise !
The walk starts on a stretch of moorland road (GR SE199706) that can easily be missed. Once kitted up the first section follows a moorland path that drops quickly and easily into Dallow itself (GR SE197714). Dallow can hardly be called a village only containing a couple of houses but, once the settlement is left, the scenery changes as you skirt a wood and then drop to cross the River Laver by a footbridge (GR SE190714).  A short climb takes you into woods before crossing fields to a ruined farmhouse and up through a green lane to join the road.  A short stretch along the road, followed by an equally short climb sees you arrive at Greygarth Monument (GR SE 186723).  The monument contained our only cache of the day but the ability to climb up inside the monument to a "viewing platform" afforded long range views - as far as the eye could see and right across to the North Yorkshire moors.
After spending some time at the monument the "official" route is to retrace one's steps and then double back past the monument to cross Swetton Moor.  However, being cheats we went directly from the monument, across the moor dropping down to Swetton and eventually crossing Carlesmoor Beck.

Of point of interest along this route are a number of mosaics.  There are about ten of these (some photographed in the album that accompanies this blog), each depicting some form of wildlife or livestock.
The route from Carlesmoor is a lovely lane which follows the line of the beck before emerging onto the road. A short skip up the road and another lane gives way to the right which drops back down to cross a couple of fords before rising steeply to become Belford Lane.
This joins the main road just by the Drovers Inn before a further lane (Wetshod Lane) heads out towards Skelding Moor.  The final section skirts the edge of the moor before rejoining the road for the last 1/4 mile when the parking place is regained.
A superb walk in almost total isolation.  Dallowgill seems to be one of those places that no-one has ever heard of and we only met one other group of walkers. The weather was breezy but not uncomfortable apart from the last stretch along the road when we had to walk into it.  An enjoyable afternoon where we broke the 250 miles for the year mark !!  Photos available from this link (Note: the album is called Greygarth so it does not clash with a previous Dallowgill album!)