Same walk - 30 years on: Yorkshire June/July 2014

Monty the Motorhome is coming towards the end of his stay in Kettlewell. Today is the last full day of the ‘mini-meet’.

Most of the others went off to Grassington today, but I struck out on my own as Ruth and I are going to be there next week and there will be plenty of opportunity to look round then.

My plan was to follow the Dales Way from the site and see how far I got before deciding to return. I also factored in the local bus service - more later.

This was a nostalgic walk for me as Ruth and I did the whole of the Dales Way back in 1984. I do not have many memories of this area from that walk, but having said that we did pass through on a day of continuous rain, so features of the landscape would have been blotted out.

The route follows the River Wharfe and initially is a reverse of the latter part of yesterday’s route, as far as Buckden. The next hamlet is Hubberholme. It is peaceful and picturesque, with a few houses, a church and a pub.

The pub is The George, a lovely whitewashed building, and somewhere Ruth and I stayed on our 1984 walk. That day we had arrived soaked to the skin and not received much of a welcome. The food was just as poor. I can’t comment on how it may have changed over the years as it wasn’t open when I passed.

Across the bridge is the church of St Michael and All Angels. Founded in the 12th Century it is noted as one of the very few churches in the country to have a Rood Loft - a sort of mezzanine structure which would have been used for musicians. There should also be a Crucified Christ with the Virgin Mary to his right and St John on his left - unfortunately these are not there now. This was The Rood - a visual reminder that our entrance to heaven is paid for with Christ’s life. There is also a plaque in the church in memory of J.B. Priestly whose ashes are buried nearby. He loved Hubberholme as one of the most peaceful spots in the country.

The Rood Loft

The next settlement is Yockenthwaite and I think the section between here and Hubberholme is like a little piece of heaven that has fallen to earth. The river glides over smooth limestone in places, but there are faster flowing stretches just to prevent monotony. The hillsides sweep down through Ash woodlands to meadows in the valley bottom, which at this time of year are knee deep in flowers and grasses. Redstarts, Grey Wagtails and Dippers abound. I had really forgotten how beautiful the Dales can be. The photos below do not really capture the full beauty, but they do give a flavour.

Peaceful countryside

Note the van parked up in what could be a very pleasant wild camp

Wild Thyme is blooming everywhere

I continued on noticing stretches where the river just disappeared, obviously flowing underground as it reappeared a short distance (up to about 100 meters) away, leaving a completely bone dry river bed. I passed Deepdale and finally stopped at Beckermonds (place names suitable for a Tolkien novel) as time was getting on, plus the fact that I was on the edge of the map with the route disappearing off it.

Retracing my steps back down the valley I headed for Buckden as I had already seen that Pride of the Dales bus left here at 5.00pm, calling at Kettlewell 10 minutes later and saving me an extra 4 miles. This local service operates between Grassington and Buckden, with five buses a day. At weekends the route is extended from Buckden to Hawes.

I estimated this walk was about 13 miles, so not quite so far as yesterday and certainly very few feet of ascent. However I certainly knew I had done it when I got back to the van.

As this was the last evening of the meet we all had a communal meal at The Kings Arms in Kettlewell. An impressive menu, but I went for plain old meat pie - well it was called The Kings Arms Pie - with new potatoes and mixed veg. Good solid, tasty food. Just the ticket.