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.