First Proper Walk of 2018

It wasn't meant to be the first proper walk, but the flu has taken its toll and so today was the first time I have managed to get out. Even then it was only a little under 4 miles, but was definitely better than nothing. And I got to wear my shiny new jacket and sweat shirt 😊

So the walk - Muker to Swinnergill, which is about half way to Keld - and back of course. As usual, I parked the car along the side of the road in Muker. The weather wasn't up to much and the clouds were quite low and blowing along the dale from the west - or so it seemed. The big benefit of the weather being poor is that there was virtually no-one else about. I met a farmer-ess (can I call her that?) on a quad and a bit later, a couple with a dog. The couple obviously wan't feeling sociable because they didn't acknowledge me at all, let alone return my 'good afternoon'. Oh well, maybe they also thought they would have the Dale to themselves.

The first stretch, once you get off the road, is through the meadows. At this time of year, they are nothing to write home about - they just look like any other fields. But in the late spring, they are amazing! There are seven to cross, with walls and 'squeeze stiles' between each. Not sure who named them 'squeeze stiles', but Wainwright's name comes to mind. I could be wrong though. Anyway, they are aptly named - the larger you are, the more you have to 'squeeze' to get through. And that applies to being short and carrying a backpack too!

After a very short detour to get a picture of the Rampsholme Bridge from a different angle from usual,

the first surprise was something missing. I was actually past it before I even realised! The first thing I noticed was the piles of soil, indicating someone had been busy with a digger. After that, I realised that the digger had obviously been clearing the ditch. And then I noticed - the huge puddle that I usually encounter on the first bend after the bridge was actually not there any more. I even went back to take pictures, I was so surprised. They (whoever 'they' might be) had not only cleared the ditch either side of the track, they had tunnelled under the track, supported their tunnelling with rocks at the entry and exit points and the water was actually running under the path instead of across it.

While I was taking pictures, a farmer (female) on a quad bike came by. I stepped to one side to let her pass and she said hello. About a minute later, I was mobbed! About 100 sheep were following the bike, trying in vain to keep up with it.

They were followed by a Texel ram who looked none to friendly, so I gave him a wide berth. He was looking after his harem no doubt and I didn't want to mess with him. The wives, though, were quite docile

After successfully navigating my way through the sheep hazard, I continued along the track towards Swinnergill. This was where I met the somewhat unsociable couple and their dog. But they were the only people I met all day - I did see two or three couples on the other side of the river, but they were a long way away.

There was a huge digger and dumper truck later on too - no idea what they were actually working on (well, actually, nothing today as they had no drivers).

There is a tree along the stretch after the digger that I thought it might be good to photograph every month to catalogue the passing of the seasons. It's an old (very old by the look of it) hawthorn bush that has grown to small tree proportions. The two photos are of two different trees

It wasn't long after the tree that I noticed a large number of vehicles parked on a field near the river. I have never see that particular area used as a car park before, but it was clear from the noise what they were there for - they were shooting in the nearby woods and fields, but on the opposite side of the river. I have no idea how they cross the river - I've walked that way many times, yet haven't seen where the crossing is at that point.

The waterfall was not as full as I expected. Parts of it were gushing, but often when there has been a lot of rain or a snow melt, the whole width of the falls is rushing with water - not the case today.

This was a lead mining area in the past and there are still plenty of signs of former buildings/workings to prove the point. The building at Swinnergill is completely collapsed, but there are still a couple of features showing that it had once been used for something to do with the mining operation.

I left the buildings and set off back towards Muker, forst crossing the small wooden briger that spans the gill

The walk back seemed to take no time at all, but I did take some pictures of the field barns that proliferate in this region

And one of Rampsholme Bridge from the opposite side

Back in the village, there is another barn (not a field barn this time, because it's not in a field), with red doors; it's probably one of the most photographed barns in Swaledale

And finally, I managed to get a photo of the phone box - minus the usual clutter and no vehicles in the way

The whole walk only took a couple of hours, but it was enough. This flu has been a real nightmare and is taking far to long to recover from unfortunately. But hopefully back on track now - particularly tracks in the Dales 😉

New year, new resolve

Well, not quite new year resolutions - decided not to make any of those this year. Instead, I've set myself a few challenges, one of which is to attempt to maintain this blog more consistently than hitherto 😉

But my main challenge this year is that I have signed up to walk1000. What's that? I hear some ask. Well, you sign up to a very busy facebook page called 'walk1000miles' and agree to walk literally 1000 miles over the course of the year. It is sponsored by Country Walking magazine and in the February issue (which inexplicably was released on January 4th), they included a chart that you can fill in to record your miles.

Yes, I know that's the January edition, but my February edition seems to have taken a walk!

If you want to join in and can't get hold of a copy of the magazine (they seem to be like gold dust - but what can you expect when there are 25000 people signed up for it??), then there are other tracker charts available on the pinned post on the facebook page - there's even one that is shaped like a walking trainer (the shoe sort, not the PE instructor sort), that has little squares to colour in every time you complete a mile!

You can walk as often or not as you like, count all steps walked, or just 'boots on' miles (that's deliberate walks and not steps you might take walking from the sofa to the kettle and back). I've chosen to do 'boots on' for my challenge. It isn't a race - the only person you are competing with is yourself to get those miles in and hopefully be fitter this time next year than you are now.

It's actually not that hard. 1000 miles equates to a mere 2.74 miles a day - should be do-able, right? Yeah, right! For one thing, we are already at the end of week three. So I've walked 63-ish miles already, yes? Erm, no, actually. So far in this entire year, I have managed four miles - that's right only four (4) miles. I blame the flu. And the weather - we have had a fair bit of snow recently.

A couple of pics of my garden the morning after it had snowed all night - we had about a foot of snow 😲

But in the meantime, I have bought myself a shiny new jacket. I had that lovely turquoise Mera Peak XCR for around ten years, but it has finally had to be laid to rest 😢

Not only was it no longer waterproof - a must when walking in Yorkshire at almost any time of the year - but the zips wouldn't stay shut any more either. They didn't slide undone; they simply parted at the teeth and I didn't want to risk losing something important, like my phone, or my car keys.

Zip at the top; pocket wide open

So some research later and I decided that another Mera Peak was in order. The new one - the Mera Peak 5 - is designed for men, but that's fine as they are longer in the body than a woman's jacket and I do like to keep my rear end out of sight. They also don't have shaped waists, so are not a snug a fit, which I prefer. And being a man's jacket, it came in black and grey, instead of pink, purple or any other pretty pastel colours! (I might write a post on what I think about women's hill walking fashions at some point!)

Anyway, we have a large Go Outdoors near us, so off we went to have a browse. I tried on several jackets, but kept coming back to the Mera Peak 5. It was going to be expensive, so back home we went and I checked on line to see if there was somewhere cheaper. The jacket retails from the manufacturer at around £300, but we did find one advertised at a shop in Ambleside at around £195. Go Outdoors has a price match promise - if you find the same product anywhere else, even on line rather than a physical shop, they will sell the item to you for the price you find it at and reduce that by 10%. We decided to test their promise. I rang them and asked - sure enough, they agreed to the much reduced cost. All we needed to do was buy one of their discount cards for £5 (a one off that entitles us to discounts on everything in store) and we could have the jacket for £195-10% - amazing! They did of course need to check we hadn't made the price up and had to ensure the other place had the jacket in stock in the size we wanted too. Of course, we couldn't turn our backs on such an offer and bought the relevant jacket - at around £100 less than the price they were advertised at in their shops. A great deal and a very happy customer, who has no hesitation in recommending them.

So, I'm all ready to go. I have my walk1000 badge (ordered from Country Walking for £2) and it's now attached to my hat, in case I meet any other 'badgers' (that's what they call those who are doing the challenge) on my travels - but waiting for the snow to melt as it's far too cold outside while I'm still recovering from the flu (the cold air makes me cough - a lot). The thaw is forecast for Tuesday/Wednesday - I can hardly wait!