20th July 2019.

A high summer circular.

Its time for me to lead another ramblers walk. This time from Wharncliffe side in the Don valley, just to the North of Sheffield,i have been away this week staying in a cottage in Hinderwell, up by Staithes on the North Yorkshire coast...We have had a smashing week, walking every day in glorious summer weather.So now we are back home and it looks like the weather has taken a turn for the worst.The weathermans prediction for today is mainly showers.sometimes heavy.Oh well never mind.On the drive to Wharncliffe side it was drizzling constantly, I wondered if anyone else was going to turn up.We pulled into the small car park at Glen howe and noticed that one early bird was already there..We were early as usual, I have always been early I cant help it..We sat and waited to see if anyone else would turn up..Before long our numbers had swollen to 15. Some had trouble finding the venue as the car park is tucked away down a narrow country lane. After a short walk briefing we were off...uphill...up Storth lane towards Brightholmlee.

Still drizzling but it didn't bother us, our spirits were high, This was going to be a cracking walk, a walk with great views lots of twists and turns, ups and downs..in fact 1800ft of ascent. The hills are what it is all about for me. As long as I am amongst the hills I am a happy bunny.We dropped down into the Ewden valley to follow the path alongside More hall reservoir then later up to Broomhead reservoir. Along with the hills I find that water also enhances a walk, be it river lake or canal or coast.

Leaving the valley a steep climb lies ahead..Up through the trees. The sound of rain above , we didn't care we were sheltered.It wasn't to last though as the path soon disappeared into an area of Bracken. At least 7 ft high in places. There was no alternative than to plod on..No big deal it's only Bracken, but have you ever walked through Bracken after or during rain?.We were soon soaked through ..we emerged from the jungle onto the lane on walker edge resembling drowned rats. One of the group summed things up perfectly..."my legs have never been so clean"

A short walk along the lane and we were to reach a bench, a good spot for our elevenses break.We sat in the sun, scoffing Cheese and onion wraps washed down with refreshing green tea..The sun was out..the view was good and I do believe we were beginning to dry out a bit.

I explained that the worst bit of the walk was now over and that we should now dry out on the next section..This turned out to be another lie as we were soon following a path through knee high wet Billberry plants..I could feel water sloshing about in my boots.

Who cares about wet feet, us ramblers are made of sterner stuff..We carried on over Ladder stiles, open moorland. There were even bits of blue up there in the sky..Great views opened up as we walked along Rocher edge and then down Agdenside to the Reservoir...What lies ahead can only be described as a bastard...The bastard in question being the steep path up to High Bradfield..I wondered if anyone was calling me a bastard for leading them up such a steep path...I couldn't resist taking a photograph of the red faces as we reached the top.

Into the village and it was time for our lunch break..Benches in the churchyard were taken up by the sandwich eaters..a few however rushed off to the pub...The old horns is a great pub..a bit busy though..we slipped outside to enjoy a couple of pints in the beer garden..Great views..i reckon there are not many pub gardens with views this good.

Back to the walk....just 3 miles in the afternoon over Onesmoors and down the access land on Bent hills

The sun came out...I realised my feet were dry...everything was tickerty boo..I usually take lots of photographs on my walks but today I took very few, and the ones I did take were nothing special..but it had been a fabulous days walking...great countryside with a great bunch of people..I took one last photograph at the end....everyone was still smiling...I hope they enjoyed it.

22nd June 2019

A walk around Nidderdale.

Each summer the Doncaster Ramblers organise a summer coach trip to somewhere a little bit further than they would normally venture on their weekly walks, this years destination was Pateley bridge [the capital of Nidderdale ] A choice of 3 walks on offer today ranging from 6, 9 and 12 miles..We chose the 12 miler, with fine weather forecast it was going to be a cracking day out...We pulled into the car park at Pateley bridge, [Pateley to the locals]..Boots on, sunscreen applied and we were off up the main street of the small market town...Plenty of teashops, pubs,Fish and chip shops, Ice cream parlours and independent shops...Im sure we will be back in time to sample some of the towns delights.

Leaving the road we were to follow a flight of steps, then a walled lane steeply uphill, this track goes by the name of the Panorama walk, a popular walk in Victorian times with visitors to the town...Its just as popular today with walkers as it springboards us out into the countryside..Lovely views of the valley were developing to our right..We came to a viewpoint called "The rock" a welcome spot to stop for a slug of drink and a quick perusal of the view.

Much of our walk today was to follow along the Nidderdale way a 52 mile trail that mainly follows the high ground on one side of the valley then returns alongside the other side of the valley, its a walk I would love to do in its entirety..maybe one day..Its just finding the time..you know what its like when that horrible four letter word "work" gets in the way..We passed through many a lovely pasture, lovely scenes..Streams..small sections of woodland..We were bound for Brimham rocks. After half an hour of uphill walking we were there, and what a spectacular spot it is..Looked after by the National trust there are 400 acres of rocks and moorland to explore.

We had a half an hours break here..An ice cream, a cup of tea then.i took a quick look around, Lots of people..Kids screaming..Its a great place, but not today..Maybe I will return when its much quieter..A Tuesday afternoon in January rather than a Saturday in summer.

Another quick photograph and we were off..We soon left the noise behind...All downhill now to the village of Summerhouses. A gentle walk gradually descending down to the River Nidd...Curlews and Kites above..Life felt grand. At Summerbridge we had a choice...Tea room or pub..an easy choice, most of us squeezed into the tiny backroom of the flying Dutchman pub..Its a Sam smiths pub which is always a treat...£2 a pint of bitter [ good stuff it is too]...someone sampled the Mild..£1.35 a pint...Am I in heaven or what ?..

Not wanting to get too comfy we set off for the afternoon walk back to Pateley..Over the Nidd and up to the high ground on the other side of the valley..We were bound for Nought moor..it was a heads down affair..Conversations flowed while we climbed...Main topics were Hay/Silage....Trump/Johnson...Ticks...The humid weather...Is it better climbing than descending..Best boots....Gates/stiles..etc etc...I enjoyed the afternoon section as it was all fresh ground for me and the views were superb...much to be admired in every direction..And suddenly there it was before us..The end.

Downhill steeply...what a great day it had been...The best walk I have had for ages [that's 3 times I have said that this month]..Boots off at the coach...we have an hour before we set off back to Doncaster...Tea room?..Fish shop?..sod it lets go to the Crown.

So ends a perfect day... a couple of pints of Saltaire blonde....

26/05/2019

Another Wolds wander.

Are we mad, or what..It was bucketing it down as we left home..Wipers going full pelt as we crawled along the M62 heading east towards Hull. Strong winds buffeting the car around as we passed over the Ouse bridge... No we are not mad, its only weather,it will not kill us. I took a quick look in the mirror, skies were clearing from the west, even a little bit of blue up there. We were heading for Brantingham to carry on our walk along the Yorkshire Wolds way. Not sure how far we were going to walk today...Just see what happens...As we arrived in Brantingham something good happened, it stoped raining...Horray !!!..We pulled up by the church, around 30 cars were already parked up. I never realised that church was so popular...We set off..Raincoats on [just in case]

Before long the coats came off as we dropped down into Woodale, a tiny dale, but the path out of it was ruddy steep...up to Mount Airy farm..It was certainly airy up there this morning..Our gaze was drawn west..Approaching rain storm. Quick raincoats back on.We reached South cave before the heavens opened..10 minutes later the sun was out and the coats came off..I can see a pattern emerging here..a pattern that was to last throughout the day..As we were stuffing our coats into our rucksacks a couple of ladies passed by..they stopped for a chat.They thought that Alfie was a Sarda dog [search and rescue dog] this was because he was wearing his bright orange harness..We explained that he wasn't as he was rather a mature dog who liked a slow gentle life..Apparently there was some sort of event/ sponsored walk going on in the area for Search and rescue dogs..Ahh that would explain all of the cars parked up at Brantingham church...So religion is not so popular after all.

We followed the woodland path up Little wold..Good views along here...We passed the Little wold vineyard where they produce some fine Yorkshire wines. Good luck to them, apparently they are doing a roaring trade...Shortly after the vineyard we descended the slopes into Coomber dale...coats on at the top...off at the bottom.

A wooded section came next as we walked along Weedley dale and then East dale..I really enjoyed East dale..some lovely trees..Sycamore to the left..Ash to the right..The valley narrowed and steepened and we were soon out into the open again

Fairly high now as we followed field edge paths..Some long range views opening out along here, but it was the skies that grabbed the attention.

The next dale was Swindale..it is probably the highlight of the walk so far..Very pretty. We last walked here in 2013 and amazingly I cannot remember Swindale. Typical wolds scenery complete with sheep, just as it should be...I wont forget Swindale this time...It was so nice, here are 3 pictures of it.

The plan now was to walk as far as North Newbald where we would be able to start the walk from next time..This meant leaving the YWW for a mile or so..a steep climb through woodland and we reached the road to the village, we could see the rooftops of the village in the valley below but it seemed pointless to walk down to the village only to walk back up..We could mop up this small section next time..by now we had walked over 7 miles so we decided to walk back...following the road at first..I hate road walking, luckily its a fairly quiet road..most cars slowed down for us, but you always get a few clever twats that speed past at 70 mile an hour meaning a quick jump into the verge.

We retraced our steps for most of the return..After 12 miles we began to hobble..Boots were taken off and emptied of small stones, twigs and various bits and bobs..a glug of drink, a chocolate biscuit and I bounded along...Nearly back now..Down that ruddy big hill into Woodale..It was along here I had a lovely surprise..There was a pony in a field..I did that noise you do with your tounge and the top of your mouth..you know the sound..everyone does it to call a horse ..The horse looked at me and carried on munching grass..I did that sound again and to my amazement a sheep came over to me..she let me pat her on the head..The horse looked up..feeling jealous he trotted over pushing the sheep out of the way so he could have a pat..They watched as I walked away..Farmyard friends.

Its been a good day..14 miles..Now im looking forward to next time.

19/05/2019

Along the Yorkshire wolds way from Welton to Brantinghan.

Just a short walk today covering a few more miles along the Yorkshire Wolds way. The plan is to start from Welton [ where we left the way last time ] and walk to Brantingham, passing through Welton dale, Wauldby and Turtle hill before dropping down to Brantingham for our packed lunch, after which we shall return via Elloughton dale...a round of 7 miles...Boots on, sunhat on, Rucksack on, Camera on, Dogs lead on, map at the ready.....Oh yes and lucky stone in pocket..Lets go.

Welton was looking fine in the sunshine..The name comes from early English meaning Spring town due to the abundance of spring water around the village..Alfie [ our dog ] started the walk off with a dip in the crystal clear stream, no doubt he will have another dip on our return...Before long we had left the village behind where we were to walk the length of Welton dale.

Its an idyllic spot...Sometimes open country,sometimes wooded. The Bluebells in the wood are still looking so fresh, I cant believe how long they have been flowering this year. May is certainly the most beautiful of all of the months..How lucky we are to have such wonderful seasons throughout the year...The shade of the woodlands was very welcome as it was beginning to get very warm.

We slowed down, enjoying every twist and turn...Groups of joggers passed us, seeing nothing, sweat dripping off noses, wheezing, faces like beetroot...im glad im a walker..Soon we were out of the Dale...open country, arable land...Alf was off his lead. We passed Wauldby manor farm and Wauldby dam, it looked lovely, apparently there was once a village up here but it was cleared in medieval times all that remains in the area is the gentrified manor house and a couple of other dwellings.

We followed the track to Turtle hill, well it says Turtle hill on the map,...I saw no Turtles and very little hill. The Wolds way followed a most attractive lane along here. What I have noticed about this walk is the fact that it is almost impossible to get lost, you could probably walk it without a map as the signposting is superb [second to none].

All felt well as we followed the excellent wildflower bedecked footpaths..Sheeps parsley, Pink and white Campions,Germander speedwell, Ramsons, Herb Robert, Forget me nots to name a few...I dawdled along taking photographs.

We passed a National trail sign saying Filey 69 miles, Crikey have we done 10 miles already...Soon we were dropping down to Brantingham church.

All saints church has to be the most attractive looking church along the Wolds way..It looked beautiful today  we found a bench in the corner of the churchyard and settled down for half an hour to enjoy our packed lunch in the warm sunshine..Cheese and onion wraps, a cheese pasty, Ready salted crisps, Lemon cake, Lemon curd tarts and half a kit kat each were wolfed down with great gusto..We sat and watched as several people visited the church.

Lunch over....We spoke to a lady who asked where we had been and where we were going, I explained that we were heading back to Welton..Oh you must look out for Peggys farrow she said..I will keep my eyes peeled said i...steeply uphill now away from the village, we headed back via Elloughton dale where we met a high spirited couple out for a walk, they asked us if we had any flares in our rucksacks as they were lost...Keep following the path to Brantingham we told them, there is a pub there...they seemed quite happy with this and sped off..Down through dappled woodland we wandered into the dale where we came to a lane..Looking at the map..We could follow this back to Welton..It was quiet enough, we could count the cars that passed us on one hand and we were soon back in Welton..

Roll on the next section [ Possibly next sunday]

16/05/2019

Yorkshire Wolds way..Let the walk begin.

It's been 6 years since we completed the Yorkshire Wolds way, looking back, the 79 mile trail from Hessle to Filey is up there with the best walks we have done.. Most walkers head for the North York moors or the Yorkshire Dales leaving the Wolds relatively quiet...I like quiet. These gently rolling chalk hills with their wooded slopes and deep green, almost secretive valleys have avoided the coffee-table book treatment. You may meet a few walkers along the trail but Crocodile lines of walkers are rarely seen. The plan is to walk the trail in short sections, whenever we get a free day...No need to hurry. ...So here we are...Parked up...and booted up at Hessle foreshore.

I picked up a chalk stone, one of millions along the Humber foreshore and put it in my pocket...A lucky stone, a stone to bring us good fortune along the trail..I will carry it to Filey where it will be thrown into the sea. A sort of a tradition...I wonder if anyone in Kirk Yetholm has ever wondered how a Gritstone rock from Derbyshire turned up in their Scottish village...Photographs taken..We set off.

We passed under the massive Humber bridge, arguably one of the most spectacular man-made structures in the country..From the cliffs at Hessle to the outskirts of Barton-on-Humber on the south bank it is almost 1.5 miles long..I took a few photographs [ like you do].

A few minutes later ….whats this "path closed"..We stood staring at a notice which told us that the riverside path was closed as far as North Ferriby..I don't bloody believe it. So much for my lucky stone.

A bit of a detour was now needed, firstly though a country park and then a 3 mile trudge along roads..The country park was lovely, 48 acres of woodland and open meadows surrounded by White chalk cliffs..The road walking on the other hand was dreadful..Hated it...We eventually made it to North Ferriby.

Its a large village with many old buildings..The Duke of Cumberland pub caught my eye, far to early for a pint yet...we carried on. Ferriby is famous for the finding of some Bronze age boats along the shores of the Humber, radiocarbon dating tells us that these Plank sewn boats were the earliest known boats in Europe.

More road walking followed before crossing the A 631..Then suddenly countryside at last..We passed a couple of women that were walking the trail as far as South cave.We decided that we would walk as far as Welton today before retracing our steps.Another 1.5 miles and we were sat by the village pond in Welton, demolishing the contents of our lunch box..Its a most attractive village.

Over our shoulder we caught a glimpse of the Green dragon public house..It would have been rude not to have partaken in a quick pint.Its a pub with an interesting history as it was here in 1739 that the legendary highwayman, Dick Turpin, scourge of all coach travellers between London and York was arrested..He was tried at York and sent to the gallows...Pint finished all we had to do was retrace our steps back to the start..i was glad to get back as I never really enjoyed the walk as it was too much of a trudge on tarmac..On the plus side, that's the worst section of the whole walk over...Things will get better.

05/05/2019

The bagging of Boulsworth hill.

Another Bank holiday weekend and we are not wanting to waste a second of it..Anytime off work is precious time. Today we set off for pastures new..The borough of Pendle over the border in Red rose country. When I say pastures new that is not strictly true as we have visited the area once before. On that occasion we climbed the mighty Pendle hill in snow..A day I look back on fondly. I don't know why we have not returned to the area as it has a rich tapestry of landscapes.....tucked away in a quiet corner...I have a pack of 8 walks for the area...we chose an 8 miler called The Brontes in Pendle circular walk..Ok lets do this.....

The starting point for the walk was to be the village of Trawden..Never been here before, I always find new places confusing..we drove around for a few minutes looking for somewhere to park..Parking seems really tight around these little streets..We eventually squeezed into a spot alongside a row of terraced houses...No yellow lines...we should be fine. We followed the line of the old Tram tracks uphill, before we knew it we were free from the village. Striding out across fields towards the hamlet of Oaken beck..Until recently only one house in this pretty hamlet was occupied but the attractive cottages have been recently restored..A century ago there were two shops and a small pub here to support the outlying farms.

We dropped back down into the valley to visit the stream, a beautiful spot amongst the trees. We came across Lumb spout waterfall, a tranquil hidden gem..i took a few photographs of the ribbon of water as it cascaded down through a gap in the rocks. In its heyday it was a popular beauty spot, I believe there was even a small café there..The ruins can still be seen..All quiet nowadays, just the tinkling of the water and the bubbling call of the Curlews could be heard...A place to sit and soak it all in.

Ahead of us now looms the huge brooding bulk of a hill that is Boulsworth...This hill is the reason I chose to do this walk. Standing at 1696ft its the biggest hill around these parts. easy to climb though as the path wasn't that steep, in fact we hardly broke into a sweat..We met a group of 3 people that were coming off the hill..An Asian fellow a coloured chap and a small lad..we stopped for a chat as most walkers do when out on the hill..they were locals that knew the area well..i could instantly tell that they loved these wild hills..could have chatted for ages but the summit was calling me.

Just before we reached the top we decided to shelter from the wind behind a rocky outcrop for a bite to eat and a hot drink..With our backs to the rocks we surveyed the view to the south..Calderdale and Stoodley pike held my gaze for awhile as I recalled memories from our Pennine way walk a few years ago..Green tea drank and a quick piddle and we moved on..refreshed.

Soon we were stood by the summit trig point [Lad law]..This time looking north..Thats Burnley down there to the left..Then Pendle hill looming large behind Colne..Ingleborough and Pen y ghent..in the distance..This really is a first class view..We headed back down on a decent path passing the Abbot stone.At the bottom we joined the Pennine bridleway.

Nice to be on flatter ground as we followed this track for a mile or so..up and down, twists and turns, a track like this is a joy to follow..Now we were heading for Wycoller..apparently the name comes from Wic air meaning the dairy farm among the Alders..There are still Alders there today lining the river..Apparently there are seven bridges along this stretch of river ,ranging from an ancient packhorse bridge to one single slab of stone that is believed to be over 1000 years old...its certainly quite a spectacle and im guessing everyone that passes by cannot resist walking across it..i know I couldn't.

From Wycoller it was back over high ground again to Trawden..passing the Pulpit stiles where it is said that preachers such as George fox and John Wesley would have addressed their congregations...Back in Trawden we needed a pint in the Trawden arms, [like you do]. After which we returned to the car..the second I opened the door a scruffy looking Nesbit came out of his house..can I park my car in front of my own house now he ranted..Do what you like mate I said..I took my time, even lacing my shoes up when they didn't need lacing up..he was watching me out of his window..I had another swig of my drink and did my shoe laces up again.. ..It had been a good day.