Monday 8 June 2015

A windy walk in Yorkshire

Hiya. Just back from a two day trek in the wilds of North Yorkshire with my buddies. Think we've done about 28 miles in total, the first day was longer at 17, the second day not so long at 11. I will check that on the bike hike web site tomorrow. The first day was quite strenuous, a lot of up and down hills, with some scrambling over rocks, a lot of wind to do battle with, and lots of steps around Malham Cove. 
We set off from the car park about a mile north of Skipton and it wasn't long before we were trekking over Flasby Fell. The first climb took us to the top of Sharp Haw. Lovely views from the top. The weather was sunny but windy. 


Off the Fell and into Flasby, a small hamlet with a Beck running through it. We came across a field of very contented looking cows, basking in the sun.

Then it was footpaths all the way to Winterburn Reservoir. This was the closest the path went to it on our side. The dam and weirs were hidden behind the trees.  
 More footpaths, over Boss Moor, to Bordley.


This handsome chap was munching his lunch as we passed by Bordley House Farm.
Over the moors past a Roman Marching Camp, nothing left of it now, and over the stream.

We made a short diversion to Malham Tarn, which is a national nature Reserve, and England's highest freshwater lake. It is owned and managed by the National Trust.

From there we joined the Pennine Way down to Malham Cove. This is typical of the stunning scenery in this beautiful part of North Yorkshire.

A lot of scrambling was needed as we headed for the famous Limestone Pavement at the top of Malham Cove. To the right of the picture out of shot we did a u turn through a gate and proceeded to scramble down hill along that stone wall you can see trailing into the distance. 
And here is the Limestone Pavement. Huge massive boulders to walk across, or should I say hop from one to the other, with two to three feet crevices in between them. You wouldn't want to get your foot trapped down there. Here is an interesting site from the  Limestone Pavement Conservation Society.

A selfie at the top of Malham Cove.

Marvelous views from up here. It was about 5pm by this time, so we almost had the place to ourselves.


We came down the steps at the side and this is what the cove looks like from the bottom. Here is a bit more information on Malham Cove. 

After that great day's walking, the Cove was the icing on the cake. It was a short walk to the village where we checked in at the Youth Hostel. I was given the key to a four bedded dorm and was pleased to find I had only one person to share with.

The local hostelry provided us with much needed refreshments and food, although at one point I wondered if I was going to get anything to eat. There were two vegetarian dishes on the menu, and neither of them were available. I asked for a plate of chips. Then the barman suggested I had a starter of mushrooms stuffed with goats cheese. OK, I went along with that, after all it was only £5.20. Then as a goodwill gesture he said they would add the chips free of charge. Sounds good I thought, given that the meals were around £12 to £15 each. I didn't want a full meal anyway, knowing that I was going to get a good breakfast at the hostel.

When the mushrooms came I was gobsmacked. I was expecting some of those big round flat ones with loads of filling piled in. On the plate was four tiddly squat smallish to normal size mushrooms, the sort you get in a punnet for £1. Four chuffin mushrooms with a squiggle of soft cheese in them for £5.20. They must have cost all of 50p, I suppose the rest of it was payment for sitting in a country pub in a popular tourist village.

Someone has asked me what the hostels are like inside. I took some photo's and will make a separate post of that so please bear with me. I have some photo's from day two to post as well, so come back later for more. Thanks very much for popping in. I'll catch you tomorrow.
Toodle pip

14 comments:

  1. At school (a long, long time ago...) I used to have to run up Sharp Haw/Flasby Fell on wet Thursdays in winter when the rugby pitch was flooded. Horrible. Just horrible.... It was very hard to keep your ciggies dry.

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  2. thats an amazing walk,

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  3. A wild and windy trek, well done. What a shame about your starter, so glad they didn't charge you for the chips as that would have been an insult.

    Thanks for taking photos of the hostel. Looking forward to seeing them.

    Love following your adventures.

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  4. A super walk - it's a great area for walking! Lovely photos :)

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  5. That's Yorkshire for you! By the way, my mother used to say that if the cows are lying down it means it's going to rain. Then I asked my grandmother what it meant when the cows are lying down and she said, "They're lying down because they're tired!".

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  6. Okay, after seeing all your photos from your walk, I need to take a rest! You are amazing with your stamina....17 miles!

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  7. The vegetarian options always seem to be a last minute thought on the menus and I am finding they are sold out more and more as lots of people like to eat this way now even if they are not vegetarian.

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  8. Fantastic countryside pics! Shame about your disappointment with the meal. I think they were taken the p...
    Just as well the chips were thrown in free. Eating out is becoming more and more expensive. Looking forward to more pics of your trip.

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  9. Hi.Stunning countryside,Ilona and interesting info.You and your friends are very fit to do that.(also part mountain-goat :)Eating out can be a let-down if your a vegetarian.It's expensive,but sometimes necessary to do so, and if you don't eat wheat, dairy,fish or poultry it's even more of a challenge.(big sigh)We avoid it as much as possible due to the expense.The windy weather you've had in the hills there remind me fondly of living up high at our old farm.The bag balm days,tee-hee.Regards,D.

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  10. Lovely photos. Can't wait to see pictures of the hostels. Too bad about dinner, I hope breakfast is better.

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  11. Great trip down memory lane! In my last year of primary school, aged 11, we went to Malham (from Switzerland!!) in 1976 for a nature week, all very WWF in those days… and then, when I joined my mother's friend's 'camp for girls', aged 12, we also stayed in the same area, in a boarding school that was empty for the holidays :)
    At the time I probably didn't appreciate the scenery or the walking as much, but it was still lovely to see your pictures and remember the hikes as well as us all hopping over the Pavement, sold to us as quite the highlight at the time lol. We all groaned because we had to hike 5 miles, as I remember!

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  12. I've not been to Malham since last summer, its only an hour and a half away. We went to Malham Tarn and then went to the Buck Inn for our tea. We usually go in the walkers bar but it was full so we went in the 'posh'side (i'm surprised they let me in) the food was more expensive and a bit cordon bleu.
    The author Bill Bryson lived in Malham for a while and descibed it as possibly the most beautiful place on earth.
    I need to work a bit less and try to enjoy the summer but there seems to be a driver shortage, have you got your HGV back yet Ilona to help the cause?
    Dave.

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    1. Hi Dave, I'm afraid you're going to have to soldier on without me, I decided against renewing. The drivers crossing the Channel are a bit disgruntled at having to be border control guards, maybe they should give up the continental and do UK work.

      The Buck Inn was where we ate, the posh bit with posh prices. No wonder it was almost empty.

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  13. The Buck Inn was crammed full but it may have been a bank holiday weekend.
    A wise decision not to renew your licence, the agency tries every trick in the book, they've just been telling me what i 'legally' can and can't do (i didn't know they had access to my driving records).
    The money dropped out of european work, i keep hearing drivers telling anyone who'll listen about how they used to do europe and how they hate doing uk store deliveries.
    Dave.

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