Along the Wharfe and Over Hare Head

This was a great circular walk that took me from Bolton Abbey, past the ruins of Bolton Priory, along the River Wharfe, by the raging Strid, and up to Hare Head on Barden Moor. While the cold, grey, rainy weather did literally dampen my day, it didn’t stop me enjoying some of the best sights in the Yorkshire Dales. If I ever get around to writing my guidebook of walks to do in poor weather, then this walk will certainly be included. Continue reading Along the Wharfe and Over Hare Head

the Severe climberFebruary 20, 2025August 26, 202515 Comments

Hiking

A Two-Day Walk from the Settle-Carlisle Railway – Part Two

I didn’t get any sleep. Strong winds had pummelled my little tent all night while rain had beaten down on it. The noise and the violent movement of the tent walls were too much, and sleep didn’t come. By about 5am, I was wondering if I might as well get up. After about another half an hour of procrastinating about getting out of my warm sleeping bag, I managed to motivate myself to start getting ready for the second day of my walk. Apart from a navigation mistake, the first day had been enjoyable. Despite my lack of sleep and the longer distance I would have to go, I was optimistic about this second day of walking. Unfortunately, this would turn out not to be the best start to a day of walking and this morning involved the main challenges of my two-day trip. Continue reading A Two-Day Walk from the Settle-Carlisle Railway – Part Two

the Severe climberOctober 8, 2024January 30, 202510 Comments

Hiking

A Two-Day Walk from the Settle-Carlisle Railway – Part One

My idea was to base a two-day walk around the Settle-Carlisle Railway that runs through the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines. This is one of the most famous and scenic rail routes in the UK, and I’d been wanting to take a journey on it for some time. By taking a train to one of the stations on the Settle-Carlisle line, I could get into the heart of the Yorkshire Dales without needing a car. I could then walk into the Dales for an overnight camp in an attractive, remote spot, with the possibility of some great stargazing. The next day I’d walk to another station on the Settle-Carlisle line to catch a train towards home. After some research, I decided that I would head to Ribblehead station in Ribblesdale and then walk over the moor to Nethergill Farm campsite in Langstrothdale. The following day I’d carry on down Langstrothdale as far as the hamlet of Beckermonds, where I’d turn west to traverse the Greenfield valley, go over Birkwith Moor, and then along the Pennine Way to Horton-in-Ribblesdale station. It seemed like a good plan, but, as can happen, things did not go entirely as I had hoped.

the Severe climberSeptember 28, 2024October 9, 20248 Comments

Hiking

Linking Together Some of the Best of Wharfedale

A few weeks ago, I was puzzling over where to go for a walk. I wanted to do something new, but I’d ruled out doing several of the routes on my “to do” list of hikes in the Yorkshire Dales because I wanted to do them when the conditions were better. After looking over my maps for a while trying to decide which walk I might repeat, I realised that the most interesting option would be to bring together in one hike the highlights of a few different walks. It would be like doing a dot-to-dot puzzle of great limestone features in Wharfedale. This I could do by walking a loop that started and ended in the town of Grassington, and which took in a waterfall, a strid, a gorge, and plenty of limestone pavement. Continue reading Linking Together Some of the Best of Wharfedale

the Severe climberFebruary 4, 2024August 30, 202411 Comments