08/03/2020

A walk from Middleham.

Well this is rare, I have a proper weekend off, 2 nights off. im feeling like a normal person, It must be great to have proper weekends. So what do you do when you have a rare Sunday off?...Go for a walk of course. We chose a walk from Middleham, a small township on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, Wensleydale to be exact..after a leisurely drive up the A1 we made our way to Middleham, Parking up on the cobbles in the centre of the Village, a couple of quid in the honesty box and we were off...Full waterproof gear on today as showers were on the cards.

Its a cracking little place, several Hotels and pubs, no doubt we will pop into one for a bevvy on our return..The biggest feather in Middlehams cap is its castle..Now in ruins, this is said to be the childhood home of Richard the 3rd...As we passed the entrance to the castle, Alfie [our dog] managed his very own Richard the 3rd on the cobbles..he always makes a habit of it...poop sccoped we set of along Canaan lane leaving the village.In 1985 somewhere along this bridleway a chap with a metal detector found the Middleham jewel, a gold pendant with a massive sapphire stone...I would love to make a find like that...I saw something glistening in the grass, could my luck be in?...no just a plastic whistle...I pocketed it anyway...Up hill we went then down again to reach the River Cover at Hullo bridge.

Saying goodbye to Hullo bridge we continued gently uphill to visit Pinkers pond, a lovely tarn beside the Coverham road...its a nice spot with some lovely views of distant hills..we didn't stop long..Alfie had a dip and we were off...up onto Middleham Low moor, its a training ground for Racehorses. A young Willie Carson is said to have trained here...its a fact he rode his first winner in 1962 at Catterick racetrack on a horse called Pinkers pond.

It was a bit of a struggle up on Low moor today as we were battling with a strong headwind...a racehorse sped past us at great speed and was gone in seconds...They can't half shift...Hoods up ,heads down we eventually made it up to the trig point..not that high but the long range views are good along Wensleydale, a scene dominated by Pen hill...I wished the wind would ease a bit so i could consult my map...Have you ever tried unfolding a map in strong winds...Sod it, just keep heading west  to pick up the lane down into the valley.

At the lane a right turn and it was all down hill to Wensley...a small village that gives its name to the whole dale. We toyed with the idea of going into the village to have a pint in the Three horseshoes...No we could wait until we got back to Middleham..We set off alongside the River Ure, the waters seemed to be very high, a noisy raging torrent...we were to follow the river for one and a half miles..we hoped that there was no flooding downstream...We decided to stop for lunch along here...Cheese and onion rolls, leftovers from last nights pizza, Leftovers from the night before's Sausage pie and a Hot cross bun...bloody lovely all washed down with nice strong coffee...I do love to follow a river..the Ure looked very attractive today.

We passed a bit of flood damage to the river bank..Uprooted trees had taken out a fence and the meadows were full of water...nothing else for it but to walk through it..A few hundred yards of walking on tippy toes through 6 inch deep water followed ...amazingly i made it through with dry feet..Karen wasnt so lucky and faced a wet end to the walk...Its all part of the fun.

It was now uphill again to get back to Middleham..At least we had clean boots.

05/01/2020.

3 tops from the Goyt valley.

Back in August I compiled a list of 170 hilltops in and around the Peak district that I wouldn't mind visiting on my walks, I have given myself a couple of years to walk them all....Fast forward 5 months and I have only bagged 30 of them...Best get a wriggle on. With this in mind we drove across the Peak district to knock another 3 off the list. Foxlow edge, Cats tor and Shining tor. Its a walk I know well,having done it many times in the past. A steady drizzle greeted us as we pulled into the car park in the Goyt valley, just inside Derbyshire close to its border with Cheshire...we were soon togged up in waterproofs..lets get going, Before long we passed the ruins of Errwood hall the former home of the Grimshawe family. it would have been quite an imposing mansion back in its day, not much to see today, a few walls and arches, sad reminders of its past glory. Still drizzling quite heavy we walked on leaving it to the ghosts.

Walking through the woods..The sound of water everywhere, a rushing stream to the right, rain dripping off the trees,Alfie,

our dog sprinkling on the mosses..Everything seemed to be covered in a carpet of moss..Have you ever taken a close look at moss, its amazing...Apparently there are 12.000 species of it.

Soon we veered off to the right on a path marked to Foxlow edge..quite steep and slippy we were soon free of the trees and walking along the most attractive little ridge. The rain had now stopped but it was blowing a gale...I felt alive..Some great hills in view to our right, some of which are on my list..Chinley churn , Eccles pike, South head etc etc...I like little Foxlow edge.

Downhill to the lane now which we followed to the left up to Pym chair and into Cheshire.Theres a path alongside the road but we stuck to the road to avoid the mud...At the top we hit the ridge, to our right lies Windgather rocks and just for a second I thought "lets detour to tick it off the list"..No best stick to the original plan..It was only a short Hop Skip and a Jump from here to reach the second top of the day..Cats tor..Standing at 1713ft there are some nice views, not today though couldn't see a sausage in the thick mist...we settled down behind the ridge wall for Coffee and Christmas cake...enjoyed it.

After a short break we set off ,bound for Shining tor..Its an easy walk along a nice slabbed path..we thought back to the first time we walked along here in the years before the path was laid...it was a nightmare in those days..We had a chat along here with a bloke who was out with his Spaniel, 13 years old and still springing..she looked lovely. Springers seem to keep their good looks all though their life..Eventually we arrived at the trig pillar on Shining tor, its the highest point in the whole of Cheshire...not worth stopping today though, just gave the pillar the customary pat ,a quick photo and we were off

Do we follow the path back down Stakeside?...Or the path down to Goytsclough quarry ?..We plumped for the quarry. In this thick mist there would be more to see..Sure enough as we dropped down the clouds lifted and we were treated to some nice views

Down in the valley there are some lovely little waterfalls and some benches to sit and enjoy a lunch box...Sausage, Bacon and egg sandwiches [Vegetarian of course]..Washed down with stewed coffee.After a lengthy break it was back along the valley to the car park...We had only walked 7 miles but every step was a joy.