Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: malhamdale

Showing posts with label malhamdale. Show all posts

Limestone Scenery

An early winter's morning visit to the limestone scenery above Malham, taking in Ing Scar and the top of The Watlows Dry Valley along which The Pennine Way runs. My return journey gave lovely views over the Ribble Valley towards Pen y Ghent and Ingleborough.

Comb Hill from Ings Scar

Above Malhamdale

Comb Hill from Ings Scar

Dean Moor Hill from Langscar

Frosted Moss

Path To Watlows

Pennine Way, Watlows Dry Valley

Watlows Dry Valley

Pennine Way

Towards Ingleborough

Towards Pen y Ghent

Towards Ingleborough

Above Ribblesdale

Bridleway to Stainforth

Airton and The Pennine Way

My first blog of the new decade. It is just some photos I took on one of the few nice days we have had this year. On the whole January has been a pretty miserable month with plenty of grey blanket cloud which has been interspersed with periods of wet weather. I'm not a blue sky photographer by any means but a bit more variety in the weather would been nice. There's no sign of any snow coming our way in the foreseeable future either so it looks like we are stuck with it.

With the break in the weather, I decided to head to the excellent Town Head Farm Shop and Cafe at Airton near Malham for some breakfast and a coffee. I arrived fairly early so had a pick of the tables but by the time I left about an hour later, the place was full. I had intended to drive over the tops to Wharfedale but with the weather being so nice, I left my car in the cafe car park and headed off back through the village to meet up with The River Aire and Pennine Way. My walk wasn't a long one, I just followed the path behind Airton Mill, through an area of wetlands and then crossed the infant River Aire, returning along The Pennine Way.

I reckon I was only gone an hour or so but it was still good to get out in the fresh air with the camera. With a bit of planning, I reckon you could go all the way to Malham on The Pennine Way and then return via a series of paths on the other side of the valley with only a minimal amount of road walking. Maybe I'll return later in the year.

It's not a long blog as I tend to lose a bit of motivation at this time of year but hopefully, with the caravan season beginning in March, I will regain my va-va-voom and be a bit more productive.

Airton

River Aire

Peninne Way Footbridge

Peninne Way at Airton

Airton Trees

Foss Gill

River Aire

Kiln Hill Airton

Sunrise in Malhamdale

These photos of the spinney at Eshton were take nearly a month ago on an early morning drive up to The Lake District. I had wanted to set off a bit earlier and get up to The Lakes before the sun rose but it wasn't to be. As luck would have it though, the turn off for Malham was on my way so it was only a short detour to my journey and I was well rewarded.

It was a cold and frosty morning and the low sun gave some brilliant shadows, so much so that even the local sheep seemed impressed by it all or maybe they were just surprised and shocked that there was some idiot taking photos at that time of day!

Within minutes of me taking these photos the frost had melted and the moment gone.

Sunrising in Malhamdale

Looking towards Flasby Fell

Malhamdale Sunrise

Eshton Trees

Malhamdale

Eshton Sunrise

A New Year's Eve escape to The Yorkshire Dales

It was a strange end to 2018. I usually spend New Years Eve at the caravan in Cumbria with friends but because of one thing or another beyond my control, I decided to give this year a miss. Some friends had other commitments and some had family and health issues which resulted with none of the "gang" being in a position to go up. Also I was a bit shattered after Christmas so didn't really have any enthusiasm for anything and just wanted a bit of peace and quiet.

As it turned out, I had a very enjoyable day. My afternoon was spent walking above Malham and this was then followed by a nice quiet night just relaxing, watching a bit of telly and sharing the start of the New Year, albeit via the Internet, with Sal. I thought I would have missed not going to the party but if I'm being honest, I didn't miss it one bit. Having said that, hopefully things will be back to normal and I will be up there partying with friends again next New Year.

The walk itself was very easy and relaxing. In fact it was just a stroll or, as I prefer to say, a wander. First I paid a visit to Matham Tarn Moss which you navigate via a series of boardwalks. The Moss is an area of raised bog and fen which has developed at the mouth of the streams feeding the Tarn from Fountains Fell and is home to a unique community of rare plants, insects, birds and the occasional deer. Pollen samples have shown evidence that this was oak and pine forest before the last Ice Age and there are some very large pine trees at the far corner of the moss. They would have made for a perfect photo but they were just inaccessible and from the boardwalk they hidden by other trees.

By chance the path coming out of the moss joined The Pennine Way coming up from Malham Tarn which continues across to Fountains Fell. Never having been on this section, I thought I'd follow it for a short while. The scenery had changed dramatically; the limestone pavements and scars of the Malham Area were behind me whilst in front I had the millstone grit and featureless landscape of Fountains Fell. I followed the path until I met open countryside and would have followed it further but at this time of year, the days are short and I wanted to pop up to the field centre before returning to the car.

The centre looks a bit dowdy and unappealing at this time of year. It is a large Georgian house built in 1790 and is leased to the Field Centre Council by the National Trust. It is where Charles Kingsley wrote The Water Babies. With it being on The Pennine Way plus it being a popular family walk as well, there are a lot of passing walkers on a daily basic and I'm sure that, with a bit of effort, a tearoom could be incorporated in to the house which would give a bit of life to the place and make it more appealling. I would certainly have stopped for one!

I retraced my steps back to the car but missed out the Tarn Moss section to save a bit of time. My route back home took me over the tops before dropping down to Littondale and joining the main road back down Wharfedale.

There is nothing quite like a walk in the Dales to end the old year. A Happy New Year to all.