Sunday 25th September 2011 Naunton, Upper Slaughter, Glos

Mike & Robin

This was one of our traditional Sunday walks, done with Robin and Mike, but in Mike's favourite area around Naunton. Mike drove us from Cheltenham on a grey morning and we parked opposite the Black Horse pub, ready for the return later. The circular walk is 7 miles which we did in around 2.5 hours.

The Black Horse, Naunton

We walked back through the village and turned left beside the old dovecote (see walk of 9th March 2011 with Mike). We continued up the hill past the dovecote until we reached the golf course, keeping to the well defined track before turning to the left, across fields towards the ford at the Windrush. We met another group of walkers there who greeted us and when we told then we were doing a circular walk back to Naunton via Upper Slaughter, their leader scoffed, questioning our navigational skills. When we were out of earshot, we let them have it! But I think they heard - see later.

Lords of the Manor

We crossed the field, heading across and uphill until we reached tarmac and then followed the road for some time past farm buildings and other Cotswold gaffs. Beside Manor Farm, we entered fields again with the promise of a pit stop and coffee but the view that Mike had in mind for our stop was crowded out by a blue rinse walking group who greeted us loudly as we approached! We eventually found some space (!), had our break and continued into Upper Slaughter, passing the Lords of the Manor and other pristine houses, turning left in the village to meet two bus-loads of ramblers, one from Derby. We admired the houses in the village, cursed the Londoners and made our way past the sea of humanity in walking boots.

We left the village along the track by the River Eye, through woodland until we met the road again - this time stopping to admire a handsome gate house for Eyford Park, before moving on for a short while before following the Wardens' Way track again. We passed a row of workers cottages before taking the track - I don't suppose these are for workers any more! The track at this stage is quite easy and we were making good time as the rain/drizzle came down, covering us very quickly. We followed the track in a zig-zag until we came to Brockhill Farm where we began our descent down to Naunton. We actually met our sceptical tour leader and his group coming the other way, apologising loudly and theatrically that he/they should never question other folks' navigational skills! Sorted!

We arrived back into Naunton in the rain, changed and enjoyed Donningtons BB and SBA beers with lots of other walkers!

An OS view walk is below, courtesy of QUO digital mapping/OS

Wednesday 21st September 2011 Hazleton & Salperton, Glos

This is a short (5 miles) circular walk through rolling Cotswold Hills, done with Mike on a beautiful autumn day, sun shining, birds singing etc etc. We drove to the picturesque village of Hazleton, just off the main A40 and parked in the village before setting off along the track down towards a large, untidy farm yard.

I was relieved to see that a large gaggle of geese were restrained behind a fence as we approached, so we took time, in comparative safety, to look at the geese, ducks and other game birds being reared there. We passed through the smelly farm yard and started along the edges of fields which had been recently been ploughed. We continued until we stopped to look at an old barn at Downs Barn which Mike had explored on a previous walk - believing it to be the home of barn owls at some stage.

Back towards Hazleton

We started uphill at this stage (unusual for a Mike walk) on a gentle climb, criss-crossing fields, trying to keep out of the muddy parts by sticking to the edges of the fields and stumbling through the narrow tracks as a result. We joined the Gloucestershire Way at Lamp Acre where there was a very smart roadway, with well manicured trees and bushes either side - marking the entrance to Salperton Park. We crossed the cattle grid into the park and took a small detour to look at a view of the main house before retracing our steps and continuing the walk back towards Hazleton.

Salperton Park

Again we crossed fields and skirted the woods at Hazleton Grove before we saw the first few houses of the village. We passed the churchyard, admired a few village houses before we reached the car and took on liquids. We declined a lunchtime pint and drove back to Cheltenham - a good walk and all done, door to door in around two hours.




An OS view walk is below, courtesy of QUO digital mapping/OS

Sunday 18th September 2011 North Cerney to Daneway, Glos

We were up very early for the England RWC match against Georgia, so a walk at 10:00 seemed a good idea. Jools dropped Robin, Mike, Liz and myself at North Cerney, near the Bathurst Arms and the plan was to walk via Sapperton to the Daneway pub where Jools would meet us. This walk is the reverse of a Robin walk he had devised and done with Mike some weeks earlier. The walk is around 7.74 miles and took us just under three hours with stops.

Duntisbourne Rouse

St Michaels

We started up the road towards Woodmancote with a steady incline, just right to get us puffing a little. We passed the picturesque cricket ground and continued to the village where we kept left on the Macmillan Way, passing Moor Wood Farm and heading for Dartley Farm where the loud hum of the A417 was getting louder. We stopped for a short while to pick Sloes for the next batch of sloe gin before going under the dual carriageway and heading off again on the Macmillan Way. We followed the track on the edges of field before coming to the ford at Duntisbourne Rouse and continued through the village, only stopping to have a quick look at the Anglo Saxon church of St Michael, while Rob & Mike, who had already done the tour, had a fag.

Duntisbourne Rouse, Glos

Daneway Entrance

Pinbury Park

Leaving the village, we again followed the track along the sides of field until he hit the road again, following it for a while before entering a fine park gateway leading into Pinbury Park. At this point the walk got really pleasant as we followed the track along the top of the hill with the valley below us and the fine houses to our right. Eventually, following the track and the horse poo, we dropped into the posh village of Sapperton and down to the canal where we followed another walking group to the Sapperton Tunnel.

Daneway entrance to Sapperton Canal Tunnel

We continued ahead of this group along the canal path towards the Daneway pub where we enjoyed Somersault beer and some sunshine before Jools picked us up and took us back to Cheltenham.

The Daneway Inn, Daneway, Glos

Rob, Mike, Liz

Ditto

An OS view walk is below, courtesy of QUO digital mapping/OS

Friday 22nd July 2011 Pen-y- Ghent, Yorkshire Dales

Dominic and I had completed two of the Yorkshire Peaks at the end of June, so this was an opportunity for us to do the third while D was in the Dales for a few days. The ascent to Pen-y-Ghent and the walk, following the Pennine Way route back to Horton, is a mere 6 miles but the first two of these miles are quite hard, so overall time would be around three hours.

We left Dent early in the morning, drove to Horton and parked in the public car park, before setting off on the now familiar trek towards the brooding peak of Pen-y- Ghent, which I had done in early June and more recently on the YTP Challenge.

We passed the Pen-y-Ghent cafe and turned by the church to follow the road up towards the farm at Brackenbottom where we started up the track. We followed the track in good weather and passed familiar points along the way, climbing the obstacles and gradually making our way up the incline with dry stone walls to our left. Eventually, we got to the large stile where the Pennine Way cuts across our path and we joined the track uphill, via steps and rough ground. It is at this point that it becomes quite steep so you're scrambling a little to make progress, but eventually we came onto a plateau where there is abut a short walk to the trig point and the summit.

We paused for a while to take on liquids and snacks before crossing the stile and heading downhill towards the long path back to Horton. We turned to the left after the descent, following the Pennine Way on a straight but uneventful track downhill before we made a left at Grouse Bar to continue the descent into Horton by way of Horton Scar - coming out onto the Horton main road near the cafe where we enjoyed hot drinks and bacon butties before heading back to Dent.


An OS view walk is below, courtesy of QUO digital mapping/OS

Thursday 21st July 2011 Dent, Yorkshire Dales

This was a walk around the lovely village of Dent in the Yorkshire Dales with Lynda and Dominic - a four mile loop, starting and ending in the centre of Dent, close to the church and pubs.

It was a lovely sunny morning when we set off from the rented cottage heading up the hill, through the village until the road turned into a cart track where we turned to the right, heading across fields and through farms towards Gawthrop, another scenic village perched on the side of the hill with great views towards the Lake District. There were also great views back towards Dent and Rise Hill as we walked through Gawthrop and towards the River Dee. We crossed the fields by Foulsyke Farm and joined the track by the river at Barth Bridge. From there, we followed the river only pausing to swat horse flies that were troubling us a little! We followed the track back towards Dent, passing the small campsite and reaching Church Bridge which crosses the main road from Dent to the railway station and Hawes via the narrow lanes.

At this stage we should have followed the Dales Way along the Dee, but instead traced the Keld, a small stream flowing from a number of nearby springs. We followed the track as far as Double Croft and then turned up the road to the right and reached the tarmac of Deepdale Lane which led us back to Dent and the comfort of the George & Dragon pub with its excellent Dent ales.

The George and Dragon, Dent

Dent Brewery
















An OS view walk is below, courtesy of QUO digital mapping/OS

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Garsdale, Yorkshire Dales

This was a short 2.5 mile 'loosener' walk after the main event in Horton, done with Lynda and Trevor who was visiting us in Dent for a couple of days. We started at Garsdale Station where we stopped for photos and admired the scenery around us. The picturesque station has a small visitors centre with a number of old photos showing the building of the railway, the station and characters involved. It is not quite as high up as Dent but has the same feel of remoteness even though Leeds station is only 80 minutes away!

Trevor & Lynda (smiling)

We left the station and crossed onto the moor, following a vague track across a stream and onto a derelict (?) farmhouse at High Scale. We then dropped down to the main road at Low Scale (!). We went through the farmyard pausing to admire the abandoned caravan and started uphill towards the row of cottages at Knudmanings where we chatted with a resident who advised us of the path ahead.

We followed the road, crossing cattle grids and eventually met the main road again, towards the station. After the rigours of this epic walk, we repaired to the Moorcock Inn where we enjoyed pints of Copper Dragon beer.

Moorcock Inn, Garsdale
Copper Dragon Brewery

An OS view walk is below, courtesy of QUO digital mapping/OS

Saturday 16th July 2011 Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, Yorkshire Dales

After all of the hype and (some) training, the day had arrived. Lynda and I stayed overnight Thursday and Friday nights at a B&B wisely booked back in January when the challenge was mooted.


The Willows B&B, Horton in Ribblesdale

Rain was predicted by locals, the Met Office and anyone we asked, but we kept hopeful as Friday night at the Crown turned into an early Saturday start. Breakfast at the Willows was 06:00 and we rendezvous-ed behind the Crown Hotel with the rest of the group under the Epilepsy Action banner - and no rain!

Andy - our guide

The Mountain & Glen team were our guides and advisers as we were split into teams ready for the off. We (myself, Lynda, Paul & Sarah) were in an Epilepsy Action team led by Andy the Taff, complete with walking poles, who I was to spend some time with during the day!



Mountain and Glen, great guys!

As we left the hotel, heading towards the church and the track up Pen-y-Ghent, we passed the public car park and loos where most folks made a last pit stop. As we waited, the rain started to come down. Waterproof over-trousers out of the pack and off we went, leaving Horton, heading up the road by the church towards Brackenbottom. The road has a gradual incline and just before you reach the farm there is a track to the left where the real walk starts. There is a constant uphill gradient, following the clear track onwards and upwards with Pen-y-Ghent out of sight, hidden by the rain and clouds.

We followed the track with a dry stone wall on my left before turning uphill to Brackenbottom scar where the track became a little more difficult, having to scramble over rocks at times. The field was now starting string out (to using racing parlance) with different groups heading up the mountain and people generally struggling with the conditions. Andy kept walking with the back markers of our group (no names) making sure they were OK and in good spirits, but the truth was that we were all soaked soon after leaving Horton - despite the array of expensive gear on show.

Andy leading, Lynda following...

We kept going up the track, wall on our left and the usual obstacles such as limestone steps and boulders on the way. We eventually hit the Pennine Way and followed the track left up the steep path with steps leading into the mist. The rain was really coming down at this stage and we couldn't see ahead or behind us for any distance. At a certain stage of the ascent, as I remembered from my previous visit in June, we had to scramble up the track, often waiting for the queue to subside - yes, there were really lots of people doing this thing! Red Cross had 350 folks up for the challenge and I have to say that some of them were poorly equipped - we even saw one idiot with Morrison's carrier bags over his trainers to help in the wet conditions!

Lynda, not smiling

After a steady scramble the track flattens out somewhat with a gentle approach to the trig point and the summit. There weren't many happy faces on the top but we did manage a few photos to capture the magic. As we waited for our group to assemble, Andy emerged from the mist with our back marker on this stretch - Lynda. She was not smiling! 

We assembled and hid from the rain and wind behind the stone shelter, ready for the descent and the track across the bogs towards Birkwith where the Mountain & Glen mini-bus would meet us with hot drinks etc. The descent is quite wide, but steep and on rough ground which skirts round the side of the mountain. There is the Pennine Way path off to the left which leads back to Horton and many of us wanted to take it! We continued on to the dreaded bogs on Horton Moor, Todber Moss & Red Moss and we were soon sinking into the mud as we crossed in the mist. The guides helped us traverse boggy streams and other traps, but we all saw people lose their boots and others sinking in to alarming levels before being helped out. This was miserable!

Paul, Sarah & Lynda

Lynda and Sarah were at the back of our party and Andy radioed for support so that he could push on with the main group. After much boggy progress, we reached the van at Birkwith and gratefully drank hot tea & coffee and grazed on energy bars while taking on more bottled water. Paul squeezed out his walking socks and got ready for the re-start as Lynda & Sarah arrived. It was here that they both retired after 8 miles, grateful for hot drinks and shelter. Their day was over!

We continued on the track, towards Nether Lodge and Lodge Hall, a long snake of intrepid walkers, undeterred by the conditions. It was here that cramp kicked in and Andy's advice was to consume crisps and salted nuts to recover salt in the system. As I had neither I made a mental note for future extreme hikes! The cramp was in both thighs and getting worse as we approached the next checkpoint on the Gauber Road where the van (and Lynda) were waiting. I was almost giving up at this stage but went along with the encouragement around me and continued towards Ribblehead, the station and the pub.

Viaduct on a good day!

At the Ribblehead T junction, we didn't stop to admire the viaduct as on previous walks, but headed across Batty Green, parallel to the railway and on towards Whernside. We followed the track, past the signal box and house, then as before with Dominic, we crossed the line at the aqueduct and started uphill, pausing only to take on water (not much left here as I had not refilled at the Gauber Road!) and graze on energy bars. I was quickly becoming the dreaded back marker of the group, struggling to keep up and so becoming Andy's best mate. I was struggling here and only with Andy's support and the 'Himalaya Pace' trick did I eventually make it to the summit of Whernside where we expected to meet the rest - as per Andy's instructions.

Whernside descent...

As we started the descent, having made sure the rest of the group were OK and with another M&G guide, the weather lifted a little (Alhamdulillah!) and I found the energy to take a photo. The descent was awful with the steep steps previously described in 28th June blog. These were made worse by the rain and the constant flow of what looked like cement slurry - very slippery. It took quite a while to get down and to the track ahead - the conditions and the number of people making the descent caused mayhem. Andy and I proceeded along the path while radio calls advised us that, if hot tea was required, then we should buy it at the Philpin Farm snack bar where they were doing a roaring trade and did not need the M&G (and other) competition. We reached the farm at around 16:00 and I really enjoyed the hot tea and a cheese butty while I looked for a towel to throw in. I wasn't going to make it to Ingleborough and so I joined other members of the group, who were also stopping, in the van ride back to Horton, 17 miles under our belts.

Paul Johnson and two ladies from our group made the full 25 miles and I admire them for doing so - it was not my day, but I'll be back!!