Farndale and Rudland rigg.

30/09/2017.

Fancied something a bit different this weekend, somewhere new..We don't visit the North York moors enough I thought, so with this in mind I found a lovely little walk of 6 miles in Farndale..Now I had heard of Farndale, as it is a place famous for Wild Daffodils..These Wild Daffodils have heralded spring in this valley for centuries. Known locally as Lenten Lillies since their flowering often coincides with Easter. Some say many were originally planted by the monks of Rievaulx abbey.Dont know how true that is but I knew that there will be no Daffodils in the valley today...maybe we can come back next spring to see them.

Didn't get up until 7.30, so we never had the early start that I like to have...never mind, we pulled into the car park at Low mill around 10ish..nice and quiet, just how I like it...I felt like a kid in a sweetshop, hills reared up in all directions. We headed north up the valley. The Horns ridge looked exceptionally attractive.

We couldn't help noticing how many Pheasants and Partridges there were in this valley, obviously reered for shooting..As we passed Horn End farm we witnessed the slaughter first hand as there was a shoot going on along the hillside..Beaters waving flags while the gunmen picked them off one by one..End of the road for a hundred or so beautiful creatures. That's life in the country....We climbed steadily up towards the moorland of Rudland rigg, looking back often...No more gunshots although we could see the murderers heading back down to their flashy 4x4s.

At The top we came to the wide track along the ridge of Rudland rigg. This is a popular place for off road motorbikes although we never saw any, we did however see a young farmer on his quad bike, Collie balanced on the back..he pulled over for a chat, I told him what a great life he has, working up here on the high moors. Not so good in winter he said when you often have to dig sheep out of the snow. Before he went on his way he told us to watch out for off roaders as they often shower walkers with stones as they rip past..i do believe he called them Bastards....I like him, could have chatted for hours.

We saw him again a bit later on, stood looking out across Farndale...yeah lucky man I thought again.

We were dropping down steeply now back towards the valley. We enjoyed the entertainment as we watched a small aeroplane doing stunts, looping the loop and twisting and turning like a lunatic [ don't try this at home kids]. Even the sheep were looking upward.

These bleak, windswept moors and isolated valleys emphasise the elemental forces of nature, and it is hardly surprising that beliefs in the supernatural and the other world have been strong in these tight-knit dale communities, stories of hobgoblins abound. There are many stories of farmers who have fled the valley to escape the mischief of these little tormentors...all the farms we passed seemed so quiet..I wondered if the little goblins were still up to no good.

Back down in the valley and all that was needed was to follow the path alongside the River Dove back to Low mill. Really beautiful finish to such a lovely walk..Cant belive we haven't visited before.