We always feel a tinge of sadness when we leave the Dales. Many years ago when the children were small we took a two week holiday and stayed an extra week. If someone had said we could have stayed forever I would not have needed asking twice.
Category: Yorkshire
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Hoffmann Kiln
Today is our last in Settle this trip. We are moving to the North York Moors tomorrow, so it is time to visit one of my favourite sites in this area.
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Peregrines at Malham Cove
After two weeks in the Dales we decide to join the throngs of tourists and visit Malham Cove. In part our trip to Malham is to do a walk that will take in Gordale Scar and Janet’s Foss. We recall going to Gordale Scar but cannot remember having previously visited Janet’s Foss.
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Young At Heart
For the last couple of days I have had a bit of jip with my right knee. Long walks have become a bit painful. Nurse Lynnie decides that I should have a restful day. Thereby creating a good opportunity to catch up with some jobs around the van.
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I Do Like A Bit Of Wensleydale
As Wallace would say “I do like a bit of Wensleydale Gromit”. In fact I do like a lot of Wensleydale. A trip to the Dales never seems complete without a trip to Hawes. It was always a regular feature of our holidays in Yorkshire with our children.
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All Around Penyghent
Looking at some pictures of the local area the other day I came across a shot of Hull Pot. I have seen it on the map as we have walked Penyghent but it is not a spot we have visited. After looking at the map I work out a walk that takes us by Hull Pot but not all the way to the top of Penyghent.
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A Cracking Bit Of Swaledale Gromit
For a number of years Lynnie has had a walk near Muker in Swaledale on the agenda. At three miles long it is one of the shortest walks in a walking book of the Dales purchased over twenty years ago. I have a more recent book, kindly given to me by ex-colleagues from my last job in London. This has a longer walk starting from Muker.
Our drive to Muker takes us through Hawes, currently bedecked in bunting in preparation for the Tour de France due to come through on 5th July. We drive through the town, just about every field is offering parking or camping when Le Tour comes to town. We drive along wondering at the speed that the cyclists will be travelling and find ourselves at Garsdale Head, we have gone the wrong way!
We retrace our route and then take the correct road to Muker, we are going across Buttertubs pass. As previously mentioned I am not at all keen on heights and avoid high bridges at all costs. Nothing prepared me for the drive at the top of Buttertubs. If I could, I would like to have done it with my eyes closed. Thankfully it is soon over, but the memory will live with me for a long time. I will definitely be finding another route back!
Once it is safe to pull over we stop at the viewpoint. It is a special view. Lynnie gets out, my legs are still jelly so I stay in the car. I know I have said it before whilst in Yorkshire, but this view is stunning.
We park in Muker. The bunting is out here too. Le Tour is expected to come through the village at 13.31 on 5th July, the support vehicles coming through about forty-five minutes earlier. The whole area will be locked down for hours before hand.
We walk through the village and over the bridge then immediately take an ascending walled lane, then turn right to walk back above Muker. There are great views back across Muker and of Kisdon hill beyond. After crossing a small bridge in the track we turn right down towards a barn. We then go through a gate and around a farmhouse in the process of renovation, what a cracking place to have a home. Several Curlews are very active above us making their distinctive call. We spot a chick running on the track, it finds cover in the marsh grass.
After crossing a couple of fields the path takes us over a small bridge that crosses a waterfall. We pause to take photos then make our way down to the road and follow it into Thwaite, another typical Dales village. This is All Creatures Great and Small Country and appears little changed from Herriot’s time.
At the Kearton Hotel we turn right to pick up a path that leads us through a series of hay meadows abundant with wild flowers. It is a bit boggy in parts but the route is well walked. We spot a couple of bears with calves in a field we are passing through, all is fine they are at the bottom corner and not interested in us. However, the bull across the way takes a good look at us. We have a bit of a stare at each other, eventually he decides that one of the cows is looking particularly attractive. So we pass him whilst he starts his warm up routine.
We join the road that takes us up into the small hamlet of Angram. There is a succession of properties for sale, all with stunning views across to Kisdon. Fine on a sunny June afternoon, but in January with the wind blowing and snow on the ground it must be a different prospect.
We decide to follow the road along to Keld. High on the hillside opposite there is a limekiln.
Keld is very quiet, hardly a soul about. Difficult to believe that this was once the hub of a lead mining industry and 6,000 lived in and around the village.
As Alfred Wainwright said “Keld is a very special place, at Keld a sundial records the hours but time is measured in centuries”.
Keld is on a crossroads of two long distance paths with the Coast to Coast and the Pennine Way crossing close to the village. We take the path heading east out of the village, in a short while we take a detour down to the water to get a view of Kisdon Force, then retrace our steps to join the Pennine Way around Kisdon.
The path here is rocky and high with some steep drops to the river, fortunately either masked by trees or dry stonewalls. As we follow the path around Kisdon we get views of the disused lead mine across the valley at Beldi Hill and further on our map shows disused lead mines in the spectacular Swinner Gill.
After negotiating a field of bears, not at all bothered until they got sight of the dogs, we start the descent to Muker. Back in the village we debate having a beer but decide that we should head back as it is a bit if a trek back to Settle. Our walk has covered around eight miles, very pleasant (if you discount the two encounters with curious bears).
Our route out of Swaledale is to drive across the hills to Askrigg and then along Wensleydale. The first time I took Lynnie to Yorkshire was well over thirty years ago. After a stop in York we came to the Dales and stayed overnight in Askrigg. At the time All Creatures Great and Small could still be seen on TV and the area was very Herriot themed. She fell in love (with the Dales.) So our journey back to Hawes is a trip down memory lane. It does not seem possible that it was so long ago. All those happy years, as I frequently tell Lynnie, she is a lucky woman.
[To follow our walk you will need Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure Map 30 – Yorkshire Dales Northern and Central Areas]
16th June 2014
© Two Dogs and an Awning (2014)
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Catrigg Force
Today our walking plan is to complete a walk that we first attempted over twenty years ago when our children were young. On that day we terminated our walk when we reached a field of lively young bears and Lolly refused to go through the gate.
We park in Stainforth and follow the road through the village until we reach the Craven Heifer pub, where we turn left and follow the lane round by the village green. Stainforth is an attractive Dales village, tucked away from the main road.
We walk up the walled track and on reaching the gate at the top we take a detour to our left to take a look at Catrigg Force. I cannot recall having been here previously, odd because we have holidayed in this area so often. The water flow is steady and the fall impressive, it must be a wonderful sight after a period of sustained rainfall. Pictures taken we walk back up to the gate at the top.
There is a choice of paths, we take the one to the right. This is the point where all those years ago Lolly had decided enough was enough and she was not going into the field of bears. No sign of any today. We cross the field, keeping an eye out just in case they are hiding and planning an ambush. We go through the gate on the far side and take the path signed towards Winskill Farm.
Before the farmyard we turn left down a track towards Lower Winskill and take a wall style. We have entered an attractive meadow of wildflowers, there are buttercups, red clover, vetch, daises and many others that I can’t identify.
Across another couple of equally attractive meadows and then through a gate to descend steeply by the side of Langcliffe Quarry, this quarry was worked by the Craven Lime Company and was the reason that the, now derelict, Hoffman Kiln was built alongside of it. I have a cracking book about the Limestone Industries of the Yorkshire Dales written by David Johnson, it gives a real insight into the industrial and agricultural past of the Dales.
Across another couple of fields and then along a walled track into Langcliffe. As usual the dogs are barking at the kennels. In the village we turn right down to the main road and then right again following the road, crossing the railway line and then taking the lane opposite to walk down to the River Ribble.
By cottages we take the footbridge over the river and then follow the riverside path back to Knights Stainforth. Along the way we encounter bears on the path, they do not like Dexter and Crosby, they take some persuading that we should be allowed to pass. Eventually we do, but not good for the stress levels.
The final section of the riverside path takes us by Stainforth Force, with the water levels low this waterfall is not as impressive as Catrigg Force, but I have been here when the river has been much higher and it is then impressive. At such times it is also dangerous. A couple of weeks after I was here one year there was a tragic accident in Stainforth Beck the smaller tributary that flows here from Catrigg Force, two girls were swept away and lost their lives when their school party was river walking. Today the beck was a trickle of water that would have not caused anyone a problem. It goes to show that such places of beauty can also cause tragedy.
We cross the old packhorse bridge and follow the lane to the main road where we turn right, and then left by Stainforth church to take us back to the car. An interesting stroll, close to six miles. Just right for a Sunday afternoon.
In the evening we meet up with Maurice, Jane and Carl and go for an excellent meal at The Little House Restaurant, highly recommended. Good quality food and wine and excellent service.
[To follow our walk you will need Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure Map 2 – Yorkshire Dales Western Area]
15th June 2014
© Two Dogs and an Awning (2014)
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Victoria Caves
After a days rest it is time for another walk. Leaving the car on the site we go through Settle and up the old drovers track by the side of Castlebergh Plantation. This is the route we took to Langcliffe a few days ago, but today we turn right and ascend the hill. This is a very steep incline, I have to stop more times than I did going up to Ingleborough on Thursday. The weather is muggy so the breeze at the top is welcome.
Walking below the limestone Crags there is an abundance of bird song. Unusual calls, very different sounds to the birds we are used to hearing in Wiltshire. We come to a ladder stile. Crosby is up and over, but Dexter does his usual trick of standing on the top waiting to be lifted off. This is getting a bit irritating I will have to work on a way of getting him down of his own accord.
Now we turn left under Attermire Scar. The limestone here is covered in caves and potholes. We stop to watch the Wheatears not a common bird back home.
Through a gate and then the short climb to Victoria Cave. This cave gets its name because it is said to have been discovered on the day that Queen Victoria ascended to the throne. The story goes that a dog went down a hole chasing a fox this first showed that there was an entrance to a cave.
Now there is no mistaking it is a cave. The entrance has been dug out and hundreds of tons of rock have been removed to create a vast opening.
During the excavation of the cave the remains of many animals were found including the bones of mammoth, brown bear, reindeer, hippopotamus, straight-tusked elephant, spotted hyena, lion, narrow-nosed rhinoceros and giant deer. Other finds include Bronze Age pottery, Romano-British jewelry, tools and over 100 coins dating from 83 BC to 346 AD. It makes you wonder what else there might be tucked away in this cliff face.
We continue on, passing the smaller Jubilee Cave and stay on the track towards Malham until we reach a footpath on our left. Over some marshy land and we are treated to the sight of two Curlews creating a distraction so that we keep away from their young. I have rarely seen Curlews so close they are splendid birds.
Through a plantation and over a couple of ladder stiles, Dexter continues to be difficult. As if to prove a point when we reach the last stile he decides that instead of putting his muddy paw on my shoulder he will put it in my mouth instead. Now I love my dogs, but a muddy paw in the muncher is going a bit too far.
We briefly join the road as it descends to Langcliffe and then take the footpath that will lead us under Blua Crags. Our little stroll has been just over nine miles. Just right to get the legs working again.
[To follow our walk you will need Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure Map 2 – Yorkshire Dales Western Area]
14th June 2014
© Two Dogs and an Awning (2014)
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Relax
I wake up and find it difficult to get out of bed. I ache all over. The exploits of yesterday have taken their toll. Followers of this blog will know that I walk a reasonable distance everyday, so I can only imagine how those that tackle the three peaks without doing any preparation must feel afterwards.
We agree that a relatively restful day is required. I do some work, it is not all holiday you know! Later we head out for a wander around Settle and take the dogs for a walk. Just a gentle wander up a steep lane so we may admire the views. Dexter is very approving of such a walk. It has everything he needs, especially the wander through the town bringing the bonus of discarded crusts and the like.
Settle is a cracking Dales town. Locally some refer to it as a village. But to my mind it has to be a town because it has supermarkets (Booth’s being our favourite – a northern version of Waitrose), pubs, restaurants, butchers and bakers. In fact everything barring the candlestick maker.
A lot goes on in and around Settle, we were here a couple of years ago and our visit coincided with the annual story telling festival. The local theatre has regular performances from well known names. If we did not live in such a lovely village in Wiltshire I could easily live in Settle.
13th June 2014
© Two Dogs and an Awning (2014)
