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!

Dales Way Revisited 6

Burneside to Bowness J

18/6/2017

At last, the end of the walk is in sight J

Well, back to Burneside and off towards Bowston. As it happened, there wasn’t much to photograph of interest in Burneside from the car park so I didn’t take any pictures at this point, except, of course, the signpost showing where I was headed

The path was well defined, if a little confined

…but the views across to the hills were good

I followed the river, again on my left side as I travelled west. The landscape yesterday and today is noticeably different from what preceded it. more rolling hills and meadows, whereas before, it had been much more rugged. Still, that is not a complaint – it was really pleasant walking along the side of the river here.

Not quite sure why there is a stump of an old tree right in the middle of the water though

A little past the stump was a lovely house just being built; unfortunately, I seem to have been a little giddy when taking this, or else the builders have made a huge mistake as the house is leaning precariously!!

The path ended at some steps up to a road over yet another bridge

…but this bridge was a little different, built from a different material – still stone, but flatter instead of chunky rocks

Nearby was an old Victorian post box set into a wall

Another road section

…signposted to Staveley

…and leading to and through Cowan Head. This was a huge estate which has been renovated and turned into flats

But the latter part of the village is still as quaint as when it was first built

Just after this, I met some students doing their D of E. Not sure what they had done with their map, but they found it necessary to ask if the path crossed the river. I had obviously crossed it myself at some point, but it was so far back, I could barely remember! Anyway, I told them which way to follow at a tricky bit; I hope they found their route. If they had continued along the road past the path junction (which wasn't easy to realise was the actual path they needed), they could have been taken miles off their course.

Sometimes the signs have been difficult to see, some even difficult to find, but who on earth put this one here?? Is this what they call 'hiding in plain sight'?

I had crossed the river a way back and was now walking along with the water to my right, but still walking through meadows. Ahead was an enormous barn

It was fenced off as clearly it is currently unsafe, but it looks like someone is trying to renovate it

The gate immediately after it had the most enormous gateposts for a simple field gate!

…and at the end of the next field, another two enormous gateposts, with the gap walled up

The path followed through several fields after this, mostly flat and somewhat featureless, but pleasant none the less

Of course, at every field boundary there was a ladder stile to clamber over

Then on through a lightly wooded area

And to a gate that was firmly locked.

Reading the instructions again (three times) and puzzling over the map didn’t help at all. But before I decided to climb over the gate, I retraced my steps a few yards to see if I had missed anything. Indeed I had – to the left of the locked gate was a stile with a gate on it in the wall, hidden behind bushes and tall grass. I just caught a glimpse of the Dales Way sign on the gatepost and headed over to it, thankful for not having to walk through a field full of cows.

The open field eventually was directed to a green lane between two walls

..at the end of which was a gate with a sign that could not have been clearer

Once again we were passing through flat fields and meadow land

The clouds were coming in and it looked as though it might rain (again)

The path headed under a railway bridge

…where just beyond it was a clump of lysimachia growing, looking lovely with its bright yellow flowers

Soon I was at the half way point of today's walk; a signpost clearly announcing 5½ miles left to go

I was quite excited by the prospect of finishing J

I passed a farm where they had several horses and climbed the hill beyond to a stile

As I reached the stile, I encountered a lovely older couple. Sadly he has dementia and so they can’t walk like they used to in case something happens to her while they are out and about, as he wouldn’t know what to do. He was 80 and she was 75 – she looked about 60! She wished me well and said she wished she was going with me. You can just see them walking down the hill I had just climbed:

Crossing the hill, I came to yet another farm

They clearly have a bit of an issue with their cattle and walker’s dogs L

The views from the top of the next rise were wonderful. I might not like ‘up’ but the climb is always worth the effort

The lady I had met earlier had said something about being in sight of Bowness when you reach a stand of pine trees. Was this the stand she meant?

Clearly not, for I couldn’t see anything resembling a town in any direction!

The terrain changed dramatically – meadow between huge boulders!

Another gate, this time at a place with the quaint and unusual name of ‘Outrun Nook’

The path couldn’t have been signposted more clearly:

The views towards the Lake district were stunning

I came to a junction on the path which the guide book told me was marked by four pine trees. Sadly only one is left standing, while at least one of the others was lying forlornly on the ground, uprooted by some storm or other no doubt and showing evidence of its age

A short way further on, I saw what looked like OH standing on the top of a hill nearby. I waved enthusiastically but the person turned away and left the promontory. I thought he might have been coming down off the hill to meet me. However, it turned out that I had been waving at some random stranger as OH hadn’t been there at all!

A short way further on, another junction told me that Lake Windermere was a mere ¼ mile to the right. My path however went left. I was tempted, but decided against going to the lake as my blistered foot was really sore now and I was limping along. I didn’t want to jeopardise finishing the walk and I’d see Windermere soon enough when I arrived at Bowness

I turned left towards Hag End

The lane came onto the road, kind of, but there was a path right next to the actual road, separated by a stone wall. Here I found a sign telling me Bowness was another mile further on

At the other end of that pathway was another sign. What gets further the closer you get? Obviously Bowness – I was still a mile away!

I think it was the longest mile I had ever walked! More fields to pass through and then…

Finally I could see Bowness, or at least the very edge of it

A stone pillar attached to a slate seat was at the top of the hill as Bowness came into view, marked ‘for those who walk the Dales Way’; you can just see the structure in the photo above

On the other side was a sign saying ‘Ilkley 81 miles’ – since the walk is actually 84 miles long, I hoped this didn’t mean I still had three miles to go!

Looking back where I had just walked:

It was now just a matter of walking down the hill into the town J

The path soon gave way to road

At the bottom was a pub called the Royal Oak; it claimed to be the official end of the Dales Way; whether it actually is or not remained to be seen

Anyway, we entered. Dogs were welcome,

…so we took Storm in with us and sat in a corner while I ate a well earned meal and had a glass of wine to celebrate

Some women I had met on the last stretch arrived shortly after I did (I’d overtaken them where the path paralleled the road between the walls) and ordered Prosecco for their celebration – I thought I must do that next time too – when you have just walked 84 miles and given yourself a sore foot, Prosecco is a good way to celebrate/commiserate J

Once I’d eaten, we made our way down to the Lake edge. OH went to fetch the van and I hobbled painfully to a bench and sat by the Lake waiting for him. It was beautiful, but very, very busy

I even indulged in a selfie to prove I was there, clearly not my strong point J

I'm frowning because it's bright, if not sunny and also my toe hurt! Well, that's my excuse anyway. So, finished at last! I breathed a long sigh of relief and waited for OH to collect me to take me back home.

It has been a long slow walk over several months and at times has seemed like a real chore. At first it was the weather, then my CSID caused big issues, then when we tried to complete it, we had once again to contend with the weather (soaking wet at least twice) and not being able to do it all in one go… it just seemed to drag on forever. I’m glad I’ve managed to complete it, but I would prefer not to undertake a walk like this again! That is not to say I wouldn’t do a long distance walk again, but I would be more careful about eating plenty at the right times and checking the weather forecast before I set off!! [NOTE: Indeed, since completing this walk, I have now completed Hadrian’s Wall Walk as well and that had no issues. But I will leave it till I write about that walk to tell you how we managed it].