Harrogate and Knaresborough ramble

This is day two of my ramblings last week in Yorkshire. It was a sunny morning when I walked out of the hotel in a northerly direction. A walk through a large housing estate to Bilton, then onto a disused railway track, now the Nidderdale Greenway, a footpath and cycle track. I was heading for Knaresborough and the plan was to pick up the river and walk through Nidd Gorge. 

Rusty metal sculptures. There was a wooden post to set your camera up if you wanted to take a photo of yourself sitting on the bench.

Here I am on top of Nidd Viaduct, nice views from up here.

The viaduct is surrounded by trees, so difficult to get a good photo.

Nidd Gorge is twisty, with rough ground and lots of tree roots and rocks to pick your way over. It's a good job that the ground was fairly dry or I would have been slipping about.

It was a very pleasant walk not to be rushed due to the uneven ground, a few people about but not many. Mostly peaceful and quiet. I love the reflections on the water.

I arrived in Knaresborough and it was Market Day. It was buzzing, I hadn't realized that the kids were on half term holiday.

I joined the hustle and bustle and sat in the middle of the market and ate my lunch. She wasn't very talkative.

Managed to get a conversation going with him, ha ha.

I think I have pulled ;o)

I got a street map from Tourist Information and had a bimble around the town and castle. Some fantastic views from the castle.

This is stunningly fabulous.

These ravens are hand reared and very tame. They didn't mind sitting there and posing. Here is a link to a web site. Knaresborough Castle Ravens.

This is the main part of the castle.

I knew if I started to head back to Harrogate now, I would be too early, so I extended the walk and went south out of the town to pick up the river again and walk back into town, doing a loop. Then I got on a bus for about a mile, because the road had no footpath, and I got off when it reached the outskirts of Harrogate, to walk the last bit back to the hotel

I thought this looked very pretty at the entrance to a park.

After spending £5 in a Tesco Local on food for my tea, I arrived back at the hotel at 5.45pm. That's my room up there on the sixth floor. The car park is down the ramp underneath it.

It was a smashing day out, I did 12 miles, the weather was sunny, and Knaresborough is a nice place to visit. Day three to follow.  ilona