Dales Way 4 Wednesday 22nd March

Dales Way 4 Wednesday 22nd March

Map: OL 2

Grassington to Buckden

Dales Way 4 Wednesday 22^nd April

Grassington to Buckden, c.10 miles

OL2

It rained steadily and heavily all night and was still doing the same when we got up. The forecast was for the rain to continue all day and into the night, so I made the executive decision not to walk today. Storm’s insulation in her coat was already compromised. even though we had tried to wash the mud out the night before, had dried her with the hair dryer and she had had overnight, her fur was still clumped underneath her. To add getting a soaking through the rest of her coat and the fact it was very cold (there was plenty of snow on the hills) meant I was not prepared to take the risk. Had I had an overcoat for her, it might have been a different matter and I might have done the walk, but as it was, I was not willing to put her health at risk.

Instead, we decided to drive to Buckden to drop off Sandra’s van, then I would drive her back to Grassington and she would walk the walk. We would meet about lunch time in Kettlewell. If the weather cleared, we would all walk the final four miles to Buckden from Kettlewell.

The roads between Bolton Abbey and Buckden were awash – there had been a lot of rain! In one place, the water completely covered the road and cars were driving through slowly and one at a time in either direction. By the time we reached Buckden, we were also above the snow line, which confirmed that I had made the right decision for Storm. We did pass a farm dog, looking wet and bedraggled, on a quad bike while we were driving, but Storm is not a farm dog – she is used to the comforts of a centrally heated house and being dry.

Back at Grassington, it was (temporarily) not raining. Sandra did ask if I could be persuaded to accompany her, but in the end, I was glad I hadn’t given in. within an hour of her setting off, the rain had settled in again and it remained steady thereafter.

From Grassington, I drove to Kettlewell (Cetel Welles, apparently), arriving about 12.15pm. Sandra can walk much faster than me, so I expected her around 1-1.30pm. I left Storm in the van and went for a short walk to see who might be serving lunch – well, I might as well take advantage of the fact that a cooked dinner might be available – one that I didn’t have to make myself J There were not many people about (not really surprising, given the weather) but everywhere was open – I found 2 pubs and 2 tearooms! I chose the Blue Bell for lunch, mainly because I could see along the street from there, so would see Sandra when she arrived, if I sat near a window. 

They had fish pie on the menu, so I asked what was in it, as there are certain types of seafood I don’t eat. He said he knew there were no mussels in it, but he went to check with the chef – cod, smoked haddock and haddock, apparently, and no prawns or mussels. Great! I ordered some fish pie.

While I was waiting, Sandra arrived; she was dripping wet and decided not to come inside the pub. She ate her sandwiches in the semi shelter of the pub’s porch before setting off again.

The fish pie arrived, served nicely with a plate full of salad, so I tucked in. it started off being delicious and as I had been assured of its contents, I ate with gusto. Unfortunately, my elation was short-lived. I found a bit somewhat chewy and I swallowed it before realising it was not a piece of rubbery smoked fish, but calamari L I searched through what was still on my plate and found several other pieces, so it wasn’t accidental. The waitress walked past at that moment and I pointed to the calamari – she ‘helpfully’ said, with a big smile on her face (like I’d just won the jackpot) ‘Yes, it has calamari in it’. I told her I had specifically asked for the ingredients of the fish pie and no-one had mentioned calamari, otherwise I would not have ordered it. She went to speak to the person who had told me the ingredients; meanwhile, I poked about some more and found a mussel too L I had been prepared to eat the pie after removing the calamari, but I was not prepared to eat anything that had mussels in it – and he was absolutely certain when he told me there were no mussels or prawns (I didn’t find any prawns, which is something). The girls returned and refunded my money – without me asking for it, or even mentioning it. The man I had spoken to originally came through and apologised profusely. I laid it on that had my aversion to seafood been an allergy issue, the pub would be in serious bother – at the very least they would be calling an ambulance by now! It is very important that when someone asks the ingredients of a dish that they are told all the ingredients, not just some of them! He agreed and said it wouldn’t happen again; he would have a word with the chef. He was rather embarrassed, but it was very fortunate for him that I did not have an allergy – especially with the discovery of the mussel. Some people are extremely sensitive to their allergies and that single mussel could have meant the difference between a lovely meal and a life threatening reaction.

After lunch, I took a few photographs of Kettlewell (the only photos I took that day really). As you can see, the roads were really wet and the sky was really grey:

The stream was described in the guide book as ‘a bubbling stream’ – it was more like a raging torrent today! 

And they have a red phone box, so of course that got photographed. 

I had passed another phone box earlier when driving to Buckden, at Starbotton, but the roads were narrow and it was exceedingly wet, so I didn’t drive along to photograph that one – that will have to wait for another occasion. Instead, I drove back to the campsite.

OH had sent me a text saying he would check the weather for me for tomorrow. I’m not sure how I’m going to receive it – there was zero signal at the campsite. If it was going to be as wet the following day, I would prefer it if he could come and get the dog, so she would not hinder further progress. As it turned out, that couldn’t happen as he and I didn’t speak until much later in the evening.

Sandra arrived soon after I’d settled in and got my heater working. She must have done the last four miles in record time! We decided to drive into Skipton for the evening to find a warm pub and to ensure some phone signal. We went to the Devonshire Arms, where OH and I have been several times before. And yes, there was signal, so OH called me and I told him about my day and how it would be better if Storm went home. But there was now no way of doing that, as he was busy the following morning and working in the afternoon. Besides, he gave me the good news that the weather was going to clear, so it might not actually be necessary anyway.