Good morning. A lot of photo's to load last night, I didn't have time to do the words. I have an hour before breakfast so let's see if I can get it done now. It was forecast rain, but I was lucky, there were a few light showers that lasted no more than ten minutes, and the brolly coped with them without the need to cover up. The plan was to head north from Gillamoor, I had identified some interesting looking terrain on the map, and was itching to explore.
The walk took me through Farndale Nature Reserve, this sign made me titter, no plucking, ha ha.
Leaving the road at Lowna Bridge, taking the track to Low Mill.
Along the track I was caught up by this tractor trailer coming up behind me. I always step aside for farm vehicles, knowing the farmers have a job of work to do. I soon caught up with them at the next gate and watched from a safe distance. The driver was trying to reverse the trailer into a narrow path on his right. A bit of shunting took place, the driver stopped and asked if I wanted to pass. I said, no you carry on, I want to watch, knowing that the trailer was a beast to reverse with it's low bed, heavy load, and axle right at the back. Is he going to do it?
Nearly there, just one more shunt.
Success, now he can get on with repairing the gatepost. Always something interesting to watch when out on a walk.
Through the woods, some very deep ruts along here. Thank goodness the ground has dried out a bit and they are easily navigated with a bit of scrambling along the edges.
The wood opens out into fields full of sheep. This is what I am here for, the lovely views.
Can't beat it, the tranquility, the twittering of the birds, and fresh fragrances of the foliage, occasionally punctuated with some pungent farm smells wafting past, ha ha.
Into the tiny hamlet of Low Mill, this is the Old Post Office, now residential.
Right next door is a new build. Attempts have been made to use traditional materials and blend it into it's surroundings. It hasn't quite worked, maybe it will look a bit better when it has weathered a few years.
At Low Mill there is a car park with a sign saying £2 for the Daffodil Walk. Oh, that might explain the no plucking sign, there must be a lot of daffodils to see. The path follows the bends of the River Dove. It was very pleasant to stroll along accompanied by the water rushing over the river bed. Alas, the daffodils are now gone, but there are great swathes of bluebells to admire instead.
I saw a sign for a cafe up ahead on a gate post, and found the Daffy Caffy. All very rustic with home made signs and home made food, and a garden to sit in.
The ice cream fridge was housed in a shed opposite. Oooh, I must treat myself to a Magnum.
Me happy in Yorkshire. Yum. Tastes so much better in the great outdoors.
This is about the halfway stage, time to turn round and find another route back. Climb the ladder stile. Quite a few finger posts have been replaced with new ones, nice to know that these are being checked.
Lots of shades of green in the trees over yonder.
This is more like the Dales rather than the Moors.
The map is telling me to go through this wood, it looks quite steep and I almost decided to take another easier route along the road.
I am glad I didn't. Climbing up onto the moor above the wood and here was the bonus. More fantastic views. See that short road down there, that's where I was. It's good to look back.
Not a soul about, this is just heaven. I had to sit on a rock for a while to take it all in.
The last part of the walk was a mixture of moor, tracks, and fields full of sheep, and finished with a steep climb up the hill back to Gillamoor. A six o clock finish was exactly what I planned. The day was fantastic, a total of 12 miles and lots of ups and downs.
I'll wind this up now, breakfast calls. Someone asked about the B & B, I'll include that later, so come back for the last part of the story. Thanks for popping in. Catch ya soon.
Toodle pip
