Ingleborough, exploring Limestone Country

A combination of punk rock factors meant that one week after our failed attempt at the Yorkshire Three Peaks, I would be back over in Limestone Country. With only a half a day available there was no challenge walking to be done, but I thought an ascent of Ingleborough would be a good idea.

It was pretty liberating to be doing one of the Three Peaks on its own, and provided me with an opportunity to break away from the challenge route and explore other areas.

a look back at Ingleton village

As per usual, time was a limiting factor. Having looked up the various routes in my "Walks in Limestone Country" from Alfred Wainwright, the direct ascent from Ingleton sounded like the right route to take.
I parked up at the tourist office, and after a brief walk around the village I was soon out and up on the fells.

Ingleborough from the walled track

The route is well signposted and the path is pretty obvious, so  not much chance of getting lost, especially with map, compass, guidebook and GPS in the rucsac! There were a few people on the path, but it was fairly quiet, which surprised me as is was one of the first warmer Saturdays of the year. I headed up onto White Scars, which was a short detour and give me a great view of Ingleborough and Whernside from over the limestone outcrops.

Ingleborough from White Scars

Then it was back onto the proper footpath, which has been recently repaired and was a real pleasure to walk on. Getting close to the summit I followed the stone steps and before I knew it I was on the vast rocky summit of Ingleborough!

OS trig point on Ingleborough summit

From here I headed northwards, wanting to check out Simon Fell. The reason was simple enough - we have a cat named Simon, so it seemed rude not to go and say hello to his namesake!

looking along Ingleborough ridge to Simon Fell

It was an easy walk over some boggy ground, with the summit of Simon Fell being rather unspectacular, but offering some good views of Whernside. It was fairly hazy and Pen-y-Ghent was fairly hard to make out in the distance.

looking over to Whernside, Ribblehead viaduct just visible through the haze

As I headed back towards Ingleborough the clouds came down, and the summit soon became enveloped in mist. With this, the temperature soon dropped and I was glad to get the hat and gloves on, but having already spent some time on the summit, I simply crossed the rocks and found my path back down.

looking back up Ingleborough from Simon Fell

I took a short detour on the return leg to go and have a look at Quaking Pot as described by AW in the guidebook. The GPS proved to be invaluable here in helping me locate the holes, which can't really be seen from the path, and this was a fun detour.

Quaking Pot with Ingleborough

The rest of the walk saw me retrace my steps back down to the village of Ingleton and I was back at the car in no time. All in all a great walk and to state the obvious, there is so much more to this area of limestone country than the Three Peaks challenge!

Hambleton Ales

A visit to a local farm shop is always a good chance to check out some of the fine local ales. I have had my eye on the beers from Hambleton brewery for a while now and I recently picked up a nice selection.

The Hambleton Hills are part of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, so I hope to be returning to the area soon for some more walking and of course I am keen to enjoy beers that are brewed in and inspired by the region.

The bottles have a striking label design, using a lot of silver and gold as well with equestrian themes inspired by the Kilburn White Horse .
The beers themselves are nice and refreshing, in particular the best bitter was very light and refreshing. The other ales also had a good traditional taste, which I am sure are best enjoyed on tap in a village pub after a long walk! But I'm certainly not complaining as they taste great from the bottle too.

I'm not normally a lager drinker (unless that's all there is, or if I'm in France or Germany for some 1664 or Berliner Kindl), but I decided to give the Gluten and Wheat Free lager a try, and it's pretty good - cheers!

For more information on these tasty beers please visit: http://www.hambletonales.co.uk/

A Pen-Y-Ghent Expedition

This was supposed to be a glorious report of a triumphant tour of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, however it wasn't to be. On the drive over the rain and wind was beating down so hard on the car, not to mention having to drive around plenty of water on the roads, so it was soon apparent this wouldn't be a classic walk.

We parked up at the arranged meeting point of Ribbleshead Viaduct, and I managed to get soaked just carting my equipment from one car to the other. We had arranged to walk with our friend Dave, veteran from our Lyke Wake Walk.

Once arrived at Horton-In-Ribblesdale the weather had calmed down a little, and it somehow felt like the Three Peaks were back on! Soon after setting out towards Pen-Y-Ghent though, it was evident that this would be a slog. The paths were extremely muddy, the rock was slick and slippery and the rain which had briefly abated came back for seconds. Despite our raised spirits and banter about the Lyke Wake Walk, this didn't help lift the gloom and cloud off Pen-Y-Ghent. As we got higher up the winds picked up and we even debated whether it would be too risky to hit the higher ground. Oddly enough one of the only other walkers we saw that day was a bloke in shorts!

Ascend we did, and it was quite an adventure! After clambering over limestone, the last section up to the summit was relatively easy, but the cold, wind and wet meant we didn't linger. At this point we had both independantly come to the conclusion that there was no point in continuing as we were soaked through, and had not even reached the boggy section! Despite the relief in knowing we would be back at the car soon, the wind picked up on our way down, with absolutely no shelter available.

We were happy to reach lower ground, and by the time we reached the track at Horton Scar Lane the wind had died down considerably.

The walk back was by far the most pleasant aspect and we had some good views of the pots and holes of limestone country. There was the occasional watery hurdle to overcome...

Soon enough we were back at Horton and glad to be back in the warmth of the car. Sod's law of course meant the cloud lifted within a couple of hours revealing a nice blue sky, but soaked through as we were, the Three Peaks were left for another day.

In the end instead of doing the Three Peaks we ended up following walk #28 as described in Wainwright's "Walks in Limestone Country" and despite the conditions, it was a great little route.

A 2011 Retrospective: Part Two

The latter half of 2012 proved to be just as varied as the early months as far as walks are concerned. Here are a couple of links to some my highlights, enjoy!

High Stile range

This was an amazing walk that took in some of the best views of Buttermere - from the tops of the fells to the waterside path. Our route took us straight up the flank of Fleetwith Pike and then along the tops across to Red Pike (Buttermere) before the steep slide down the scree slopes to return to Buttermere. Read the blog post here.

Scenes from Derwentwater

This was part of my perfect stag weekend. After a busy morning swinging in the trees of the Go Ape course in Grizedale Forest and before an afternoon sampling the refreshments and liveners that are to be had in Keswick, he had a nice leisurely cruise on Derwentwater, taking in views of some of the fells that surround the water. Read the blog post here.

Semer Water

Hidden deep in the Yorkshire Dales, Semer Water is just off beaten track, in Raydale, near Wensleydale, yet far enough to mean that it wasn't too busy. I got to enjoy a Summer's walk around this beautiful natural lake barely encountering another soul. Read the blog post here.

Langdale Pikes

This walk is about as classic Lakeland as you can get. Driving from Ambleside to the car park near the New Dungeon Ghyll  Hotel through Great Langdale, then heading up to the craggy heights of Harrison Stickle, Pike O'Stickle and Loft Crag for a fantastic quick Langdale round. Read the blog post here.

Binsey

Diminutive Binsey is the Lake District's final frontier to the north. Although it is an easy walk, it is greatly rewarding, offering views all round to the Skiddaw Fells, the Ulldale fells, Bassenthwaite Lake, the Solway Firth and Scotland beyond, and the plains between the Lakes and the Pennines. Read the blog post here.

Fewston Reservoir

Fewston and Swinsty are two reservoirs located to the north of Otley, close to the fantastically named Blubberhouses. These is one of my pal Jase's favourite spots to come for a walk and I was glad he introduced me to them! Read the blog post here.

Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale

I have been wanting to explore Gunnserside for a while, especially after having enjoyed a bottle of The Yorkshire Dales Brewing Company's Gunnerside Gold Ale!
I headed with my work colleague James,  deep into Swaledale one crisp sunny January morning for a walk up Gunnerside Gill, following the walk outlined in my "Swaledale" guidebook written by Paul Hannon. After the walk along Marske Valley at the end of 2011 this was my second walk from this book and I am looking forward to more as they are great medium length routes that pack a lot of features in.

We grabbed the last available parking space beside the bridge in Gunnerside and headed off alongside the Gunnerside Gill (or Ghyll). The first part of the walk is a pleasant and at times muddy walk along the banks of the gill, with some of the familiar Swaledale stone barns dotted on the hillsides.

The valley here is still fairly enclosed and you don't get much of an impression of what is to come. It soon widens though, and you approach the first ruins of the lead mine buildings along the wide valley floor.

The bunker storage facilities for the storage of lead ore are impressively well preserved and give you an idea of how this scenic quiet place was once an industrial hive of activity.

We then climbed up the hillside and the landscape changes from a lush green valley to being something more rugged and wild, with the stone buildings (intact and ruined) maintaining the Swaledale look and atmosphere.

Bit by bit you stumble upon more mining remains - old hushes, buildings, piles of rocks and so on, yet despite the man-made industrial origins, this landscape looks very natural. By this point we had reached the snowline, and the man-made intrusions were well camouflaged under the layer of crisp white snow.

The top end of the walk is at the very impressive Blakethwaite smelt mill, where the remaining structures look almost fit for a castle or abbey, in particular the kiln as pictured below! This was a really nice spot to stop for a quick look around and with a bit more time there is plenty to explore here.

You cross the stream via a stone slab bridge, fortunately it wasn't as slippery as I didn't fancy a dip at this point!

Our return route took us high up onto the other side of the valley, giving us bird's eye views of the outward section of the walk.

As we got to the top we could see the desolate moorland that stretches between here and the head of Swaledale. Heading further southwards, the snow cover was gradually giving way as we got closer to the woodlands around the Gill.

This created some quite amazing views of the valley - the stone buildings looking like toy buildings with a dusting of icing sugar to decorate. After following a drover's track for a while, we headed back across a short marshy section before a steep descent back into the village and the car.
Once again, I was amazed by the quality of paths, scenery and general atmosphere that you experience walking in beautiful Swaledale.

The Lakes to Dales Project

Now as I'm sure regulars to this blog will have picked up on the fact that I am a great fan of both the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks. I have also made numerous walks in places that are on the fringes of, but outside the boundaries of both parks, for example the pictures below were taking from a walk in the gorgeous Smardale valley.

Including these areas in the National Parks would in my opinion bring tourist investment into the area, and would be a boost to conservation of these places. Some might argue that the decision about what happens to these regions should lie solely in the hands of those that live and work there and I agree theirs should be the most important voice. However I think that lovers of the outdoors are also entitled to voice their support for schemes such as the proposed National Park extension.

Proposals to extend the existing boundaries of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks have been sent to The Secretary of State for the Environment.The proposals entail extending the Yorkshire Dales to include the northern Howgills, the Orton fells, Mallerstang and Wild Boar Fell and the Lake District to include the Whinfell ridge and the Borrowdale valley. 
Public consultation will be running until the 16th March 2012, so you still have a while to register your opinion. If you wish to show your support then you can follow this link and fill out the short form.

Wensleydale Ales

As well as home of the famous cheese, Wensleydale is also home to plenty of real ale. I recently picked up a nice selection of beers from the Wensleydale Brewery and they certainly went down a treat.

The beers each have their unique attributes, but one thing that brings them all together is - to put it simply - they are very drinkable! I found them all to be fairly simple and light on the palate, and tasty served both chilled and out of the cupboard. With modern beers upping the alcohol percentage to compete with the lagers and ciders, Wensleydale simply go for taste, the strongest of these was the Semer Water at 4.1%. What you do get is a really nice beer, with the bitters tasting just how they should. I enjoyed the Rowley Mild too, which could definitely be a choice for a Winter drink. If I was to pick a favourite, I would probably go for the Semer Water - I'm a sucker for the name! Despite being a Summer Ale, I was happy to drink it mid-December.

With a trip to Leyburn planned soon I'll stock up on more of these and I think I'll be paying the brewery a visit for a more detailed insight into the life of a Dales brewery so keep an eye out for that. Cheers!

For more information visit: http://www.wensleydalebrewery.co.uk/