Tag: hiking

A Perfect Day for a Walk in Leicestershire

Sep 9th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today the Three Amigos enjoyed a 9.5-mile circular walk from the Leicestershire village of Bottesford. Mick had found the route on the OS Maps App and it looked ok, so we were giving it a go.

It was a chilly start on a blue sky morning as we set off from the railway station and up Beacon Hill to the Millennial beacon.

Down in the village below we could see the tall tower and spire of St Mary the Virgin church, known locally as ‘Lady of the Vale’ because the church looks across the Vale of Belvoir. During the second World War there was a red warning light on top, to highlight the spire for Lancaster bombers taking off/landing at nearby RAF Bottesford, then home to 207 squadron.

In the distance Belvoir Castle (home of the Duke of Rutland) could be seen perched on the escarpment. The church contains Tudor and Jacobean tombs of eight Earls of Rutland.

We left Beacon Hill and walked down the hill to reach fields and crossed through them. Two contained cows, the first of which were quite feisty for some reason. Thankfully, there were no incidents.

The sun was shining and the morning was warming up. With the blue sky overhead it was a perfect walking day. We headed across recently ploughed fields where you needed to continually look where you placed your feet and no path is discernible.

We also passed across a field containing a couple of horses and crossed the tiny river Devon. Walking across one field we could see a large building ahead, Staunton Hall – a wedding venue.

Staunton Hall

Staunton Hall

We passed to the side of Staunton in the Vale, walked alongside one of the Kilvington Lakes admiring the view along the way. Next, it was a scenic walk through autumnal woods.

One of the lakes at Kilvington

Soon after exiting the woods we stopped for a break- I had my usual scotch egg 😊. Refreshed we made our way into the village of Alveston.

Arriving into Alveston

We were crossing more stiles (some very dubious) and ploughed fields. Our walking pace was dramatically reduced over the ploughed fields. There was a hint of clouds now in the former blue sky.

One field had an overgrown path, but we forged on through, admiring the sunflowers.

In the distance now we could see the church spire guiding us back into Bottesford.

The old part of Bottesford village is pretty and we appreciated this as we arrived into the village crossing a ford over the river Devon.

Soon we were passing the ‘Lady of the Vale’ as we wound our way back to the railway station.

It had been a wonderful walk. I wondered how many more nice walk days we would get before the weather turns wet and windy?

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
A visit to the Iron Giant of the Erewash Valley.

Sep 2nd, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today Mick and I enjoyed a 8.75-mile circular walk which took in the Nottingham (disused) and Erewash canal’s. The highlight of the walk was visiting the Bennerley Viaduct – one of only two Victorian Wrought Iron railway bridges still standing today. It is grade 2 listed.

Bennerley Viaduct

After parking we set off following the Erewash Valley Trail along the defunct Nottingham Canal. The canal was opened in 1796 (built by William Jessop) and ran nearly 15 miles from the River Trent at Nottingham to its junction with the Cromford and Erewash canals at Langley Mill. It carried coal from local pits to Nottingham and beyond. It was abandoned in 1937 and is now a nature reserve.

As we walked along the towpath we saw coots and moorhens, Swans, Mallard ducks and a number of Herons.

Nottingham Canal

A Heron looking for its breakfast

We reached the Nottingham Canals Awsworth Fishery which was clearly well kept and popular with Anglers. It was whilst walking along this section that we caught our first glimpse of the Iron Giant spanning the Erewash valley.

Awsworth Fishery

There is an impressive metal sign detailing the history of the Viaduct at the viewing point which is most appropriate.

The Viaduct was part of the Friargate line which was built to break the monopoly of the Midland Railway Company in carrying coal from the mines along the Erewash Valley. One of the engineering challenges was to take the line across the Erewash Valley and over the Midlands Railway, the river Erewash and the Nottingham and Erewash canals. The Bennerley Viaduct was designed to do this. The design engineer came up with a lattice framework that was light and could be built cheaply and quickly.

The line was opened in 1878 and the last train across it was in 1968- thank you Dr Beeching.

We continued along the towpath and found that access to the Viaduct was blocked by major construction works so we did a detour along a concrete lane that skirted the sewage works (yes, it did smell!) and footpaths.

Concrete lane by sewage works

Mick saying hello to a local horse

We crossed over the River Erewash passing from Nottinghamshire to Derbyshire and reached the Erewash canal- no passports required 😊.

Erewash canal

A short walk along the canal brought us to the Viaduct where we could access it. The railway lines and River Erewash were below as we walked across the Viaduct admiring the views and looking at the Viaduct.

On top of the Viaduct

There were nice steel benches leading to the Viaduct – these had been donated by Railway Ramblers. There were bricks on the floor from many different manufacturers – each brick had the manufacturers name on it- a very nice touch. http://www.railwayramblers.org.uk

Steel benches- top quality

View of the River Erewash from the Viaduct

Bennerley Viaduct

Re-joining the Erewash canal we walked past a number of locks enjoying the sunny weather.

At one point we passed a sunken small boat – definitely a hazard for boaters. We wondered why it had not been removed.

Sunken boat

Soon we left the canal and followed easy paths back to the car. We had enjoyed the walk and the Iron Giant was a little gem.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
A Scenic Walk Through Bourne Woods and Edenham

Aug 23rd, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

It was just after 07:00 when myself and Angela set off for the Lincolnshire town of Bourne. We thought that we would get a head start on the rush hour traffic only to find the A1 was as busy as ever! C’est la vie.

Our walk was a 7-mile circular walk starting in Bourne and passing through Bourne Wood to reach Edenham. We then returned through the woods again back into Bourne.

Our route

The Burghley Street car park in Bourne was empty and free – a good start to the day. It was a cloudy morning, but thankfully dry.

We set off through the town following a drainage ditch (bone dry) towards the woods. We passed a section where the householder had made a particular effort with maintaining the area next to the drain – it brought a smile to our faces looking at the nice flowers.

It wasn’t long before we entered the wood along a good path.

Entering the wood

The woods were quiet – I had anticipated hearing more birds. There were no people about.

A strange pair of eyes were spotted following our progress through the wood 😊.

We passed a Willow sculpture called Helter Skelter. We felt it needed some work.

Helter Skelter – Willow sculpture

Shortly, we were crossing a wooden bridge and out onto open fields.

Leaving Bourne wood

Angela setting the pace

As we walked on further we reached a nice view of the valley containing the River East Glen and the distant church tower in Edenham.

View from the ridge

A walk downhill into the valley brought us to a bridge across the River East Glen. Crossing we saw very little water in the river.

Crossing the River East Glen

Walking into the village we stopped at the Church of St Michael and All Angels, found a bench and I enjoyed my usual scotch egg 😊.

Church of St Michael and All Angels, Edenham

Refreshed after our break we followed a lane out of Edenham, uphill to a farm where we passed through a couple of field’s to enter the woods once again.

There were more people about now, dog walkers mainly. Walking along I could hear acorns dropping from the oak trees. Some of the bracken was turning brown. Clear signs of an imminent change in season .

After a lovely walk through the wood, along good pathways, we arrived back into Bourne where we walked through housing estates back to the car park. The car park was now full!

Bourne Corn Exchange

We found a nice coffee shop and relaxed with a latte. It had been an easy walk and enjoyable too.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
A hint of Autumn in the air?

Aug 19th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today, the Three Amigos met up and enjoyed a 9.5-mile circular walk starting from the village of Gunthorpe in Nottinghamshire, adjacent to the magnificent River Trent.

We had last walked this route in July 2024, so it has been a while since we last walked it. It is one of our favourites because it is easy walking and you can walk along at pace. I had expected a cloudy day but it also turned out to be quite a wet one – we are not used to rain, plus, it wasn’t forecast!

Entrance into Gunthorpe Lock

Shortly after setting off we passed by Gunthorpe lock. I was in denial about the drizzle mizzle but it got heavier so I had to reach into my rucksack and fish out a waterproof jacket- its been a few months since I last needed to wear it!

The weir at Gunthorpe and lock gates

Surprisingly damp

The bank of the river is grassy and wide. Our distant views were reduced because of the rain, however we saw quite a few noisy Canadian geese.

It was interesting to see the changes from our last visit as we progressed along our walk – nothing seems to stay the same. Fences are erected, bushes grow, new houses are built etc.

A few Anglers were dotted along the bank and we passed by some curious cows.

After about 4.5 miles along the river we turned away from the river and began our return leg. We couldn’t help but notice that there was an autumnal feel to the day. The rain and leaves on the ground all hints to the impending change.

We took a break standing up – there was an unfortunate lack of benches on the walk. The Canadian geese were nearby wandering through a field.

The Geese

The rain eased off and a slight hint of sun broke through the gloom. ‘The sun will help dry us out’ said Mick – we were well saturated at this point- and indeed as we walked along we felt the sun was working its magic. We were coming to Hoveringham Mill – one of the highlights on the walk.

Hoveringham Mill

A bridge took us over the Ford which was quite low in water – no surprise there.

The ford at Hoveringham Mill

As we passed across the Ford we were wondering whether the path diversion we had come across last year was in place still. Thankfully, it had gone so we clambered over a rickety stile and followed the drainage dyke into the village of Caythorpe. Nice willow trees hung gracefully near the water.

A short walk through the village and we were soon leaving heading for Gunthorpe. We noted that some former agricultural fields had now got rows of trees in them. We wondered why? The rain had started once again.

Passing a field of maize

Arriving into Gunthorpe we noticed that a former derelict restaurant had been refurbished and was now a pub – that was good to see.

Mick was going to hunt out his gaiters when he got home – getting prepared for wetter weather. Chris had a list of jobs to do too. No rest for the wicked they say!

Happy Walking 😊🚶
Discover the Beauty of the Lincolnshire Wolds: A Walking Adventure

Aug 17th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

This morning myself and Angela enjoyed a 7.4-mile circular walk from the attractive village of Tealby in Lincolnshire. Tealby is one of the prettiest Lincolnshire villages lying close to Market Rasen and on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds. In my humble opinion, the Lincolnshire Wolds are one of the best kept secrets in the UK, with their quiet, open and rolling landscape. https://www.visitlincolnshire.com/destinations/lincolnshire-wolds/

Tealby

The 4th heatwave of our summer had abated and temperatures were much more comfortable as we set off early on Sunday morning, on a wonderfully quiet drive to Tealby.

Arriving in Tealby we parked close to the memorial hall.

Tealby Village Hall

We set off walking down Beck Hill, following The Viking Way, and crossed the ford at the bottom- I was surprised to see water still running.

The Ford

Heading along a track uphill we passed through Bayons Park where once there stood a grand manor house – home of the Tennyson d’Eyncourt family. The house was demolished in 1964.

As we gradually gained height we had nice views looking behind us – we could just about see the tall spires of Lincoln Cathedral far in the distance.

nice views

We continued to follow the Viking Way until we reached the B1225. Our route now took us along the road for a while – the cars were an irritation but we were soon turning into the road for Kirmond Hall Estate.

On the Viking Way

We followed the road into the estate but eventually turned off – had we carried on we would have seen a large house and been trespassing!

Kirmond Hall

We were definitely in Wolds country now with a valley stretching out ahead of us.

We were heading towards the village of Kirmond le Mire. A pleasant walk following a good path brought us into the village. We spotted a bench in the grounds of the church of St Martin so decided to take advantage and stop for a break.

Angela striding ahead

The church of St Martin

Refreshed after our break we set off on a farm track. There was open countryside all around us. The fields were nicely striped from recent ploughing activities.

The farm track ended and we were then following nice grassed paths.

We soon found ourselves arriving back into Tealby where we stopped at the well stocked community shop for a coffee and bought a good Lincolnshire Wolds walking book. We also found some free walking guide leaflets -Tealby is a starting point for quite a few walks.

A nice coffee at the end

We noticed the nice thatched pub in the village – The Kings Head is a 14th century Inn and looked amazing . Maybe next visit.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
Three Amigos: Navigating Muston Gorse and Canal Views

Aug 13th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

With the temperature set to peak today (32 Deg C) during our fourth heatwave of the summer, the Three Amigos met up early (at Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir) to enjoy a short walk of 6 miles and avoid the extreme heat. The plan was to walk beside the canal to Muston Gorse bridge, then follow paths to get to the Sustrans track and head back to Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir.

Setting off from The Duck pub we made our way to join the towpath of the Grantham Canal. Regular readers will know that I enjoy walking beside the canal. Crossing Woolsthorpe bridge No 61 we could see very little water in the Duck Pound. Nature is reclaiming the canal unfortunately.

Work is underway at lock 16, further downstream, to get the gates water tight. However, there is not much water coming down the canal, hence the dry canal.

Most of the canal network is feeling the lack of water.

How it should look like

Walking along the grass towpath towards lock 15 we met a big dog (a great Dane) that was walking his human. He was a friendly chap-as was his human 😊.

The friendly Great Dane

Reaching Woolsthorpe middle lock (No 15) we enjoyed seeing Belvoir Castle perched on the hill in the distance- its always impressive to see. There was not a cloud in sight, and it was definitely hotting up.

Belvoir castle in the distance

Pausing under bridge 60 (Stenwith bridge) we peered into the canal, taking advantage of the sunlight illuminating the water, to see a multitude of fish swimming to and fro. Soon we reached Muston Gorse bridge ( No 57) where we left the towpath and entered fields.

Muston Gorse Bridge

We were heading for the village of Muston. After crossing fields we joined a track where we met a horse and rider and had a good chat.

The horse and rider

There were a large number of topics of conversation occupying the Three Amigos, as they perambulated along the route.

Having reaching Muston we had a short section of quiet road to walk along before joining the Sustrans cycle trail. Overhanging trees provided some shade from the sun along the cycle trail.

Sustrans cycle trail

Passing through a tunnel I appreciated the graffiti painted on the walls. It really is rather good.

Soon, we were arriving back onto the canal towpath and had a short walk back to Woolsthorpe bridge. This was the end of todays walk – it had been a nice little walk in good company.

What was amazing was getting into the car and not being roasted alive – we had parked in the shade and it was still early enough not to be in the sun. Its the simple things that give pleasure!

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
A visit to Idle Valley Nature Reserve

Aug 7th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today, I visited Idle Valley Nature Reserve, part of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. https://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/nature-reserves/idle-valley

I arrived just after 09:00 as it opened. There was a large empty car park where there was a suggested donation of £3 to park – entry into the Nature Reserve is free. This seemed very reasonable to me. The car park is adjacent to the visitors centre (built in 2008).

Visitors Centre

In 1989 Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust acquired part of the Idle Valley for the grand total of £1. Over the coming years, further land came to the Trust in separate parcels to formulate the now Idle Valley Nature Reserve, which currently totals around 450 hectares of prime wetland habitat and it is one of the largest sites for nature conservation in the East Midlands and it is also one of the largest Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the county.

There are four designated walking routes in the reserve and these are easy to follow using the signed colour coded posts.

Leaving the visitors centre I passed a unique waste bin for empty cans. What was surprising was that people were not putting other rubbish in it!

The start of the walking trails

I decided to do the Riverside trail. The river in question is the River Idle. There was a good path along the river bank.

River Idle

I met a couple of dog walkers first thing, but as I walked further away from the Visitors Centre I met nobody- it was a peaceful walk. I was feeling frustrated because most of the way along the river I could not see the river because of the build up of vegetation.

The River Idle is 30-miles in length and begins at the confluence of the River Maun and River Meden near Markham Moor. From there it flows north through Retford and Bawtry before entering the River Trent at West Stockwith.

As I walked further along, the view opened up and I felt happier.

I heard an engine running and then found the source of the noise – a pump taking water from the river to spray on crops in the adjacent field. The river looked as though it was a couple of feet below its normal level.

Leaving the river I passed by Chainbridge Pit – an old gravel working now filled with water and hosting wild birds.

Chainbridge Pit

Having almost completed the Riverside Trail I branched off and did a couple of other trails through woodland and then around another lake.

My route today 8-miles

A woodland trail

I was getting nearer to the Visitors centre so more people were about enjoying walking.

After the woodland trail I did the Lake View Trail around Belmoor Lake where I passed a small weir and had views across the lake of the visitors centre.

View of the Visitors centre from across Lake Belmoor

As I got near to the finish I walked along a windy path as you can see from the angle of the trees.

Windy path

Arriving back at the Visitors Centre I found that it was much busier than when I had left. I stopped by the café for refreshment’s.

It had been good to explore new territory.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
A Joyful 8-Mile Walk with Scenic Views and Scotch Eggs

Aug 5th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today, the Three Amigos enjoyed a 8-mile circular walk from the Lincolnshire village of Marston to Barkston and back.

Our route

The walk was mainly through well maintained lanes and fields. It was quite a breezy day and the wind was mild, so it was pleasant. Chris was leading this walk and brought a smile to my face first thing by presenting me with a couple of ‘fancy’ scotch eggs – obviously, he was tired of me whingeing on recently that my ASDA store is forever running out of scotch eggs, and, if you are a regular reader, you will know that I do enjoy a scotch egg whilst out walking!

We set off across fields, picking up a tree-lined path close to some wetlands. The floor was carpeted in various berries, fallen from trees which clearly had an abundance of such berries. A bumper crop this year?

We passed by the local sewage works (hold your noses!) and then through a tunnel under an active railway line.

Railway tunnel

A short walk through the woods brought us to open farmland where we walked beside the river Witham for a while before crossing a large field.

This was a nice open, big sky space and there was a good feeling in this area-a positive energy. You get that sense sometimes when out walking – conversely, you sometimes feel the opposite in other places.

We reached some stepping stones across the river Witham where two of the Amigos raced across.

Stepping stones across the river Witham

Shortly, we reached the village of Barkston, which didn’t take long to walk through, and we then entered a field where the path across was barely discernible.

After crossing a railway line, we headed uphill to a place where there was some shelter from the wind -here we took a break. I enjoyed one of my Tescos finest soft- centre scotch eggs 😊.

We were being watched by some very curious calves. I think we were the highlight of their day.

Refreshed after our stop we set off and reached a nice farm track. It was easy walking up a slight incline. The track turned to grass after a while and we were walking gradually downhill.

We reached the busy east coast main line and waited for an opportunity to cross the tracks.

A farm track brought us back into Marston, where we once again crossed the river Witham. Chris informed us that he had seen an otter in the water here a few days earlier and a Kingfisher- sadly, we didn’t see any today.

River Witham

A walk through the village brought us back to the start. We had enjoyed a lovely walk and were looking forward to our next one.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
A Day Out in Lincolnshire: Kettlethorpe to Torksey Lock

Aug 1st, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Yesterday Angela and I met up with Mick outside St Peter and St Paul’s church in the small Lincolnshire hamlet of Kettlethorpe.

St Pater and St Pauls church Kettlethorpe

We had planned a walk from Kettlethorpe to the river Trent which we would follow to Torksey Lock, where the Fossdyke joins the Trent. Then, we would take a walk along the bank of the Fossdyke, after which the plan was to follow footpaths across fields back to Kettlethorpe. As you will see things didn’t quite work out as planned!

We set off walking on a pleasant morning, after plenty of overnight rain, and were soon arriving into the village of Laughterton, which oddly had exactly the same village sign as Kettlethorpe.

Walking through Laughterton I noticed some very pretty hanging baskets in a garden. They were a pleasure to see!

A walk along Marsh Lane brought us to the magnificent river Trent.

River Trent

Having reached the river we followed the grassy bank admiring the views.

As we walked along the giant cooling towers of the former Coal Fired Powered Station at Cottam soon dominated the view.

Cottam power station cooling towers

And before long the short grass on the bank turned into something much more difficult to walk through. There were many ruts and trip hazards in the grass and we needed to be careful where we put our feet.

After a very tedious walk through long vegetation we arrived at Torksey Lock.

Torksey Lock is where boats on the Fossdyke can access the river Trent and vice versa.

Lock gate – looking towards the river Trent

Angela pointed out all the tea pots resting on the beams of a lock gate. Most curious.

A strange place to store tea pots.

It took a bit of finding to get on to the towpath of the Fossdyke but eventually we found the way and set off along the canal. There were several pleasure craft moored up in private marinas.

A narrow boat passed us by as we strolled along the towpath.

Narrow boat heading for Lincoln

The power station cooling towers were still in view.

As we continued along the canal bank the vegetation got more difficult to walk through which was tiring. Eventually, we reached Drisney Nook and finished the section along the Fossdyke. We headed off to find our route across fields. Here things went pear shaped. Footpath signposts disappeared and after referring to the map, we got back on track only to find the subsequent path completely impassable with overgrown vegetation. Unless rights of way are maintained by the landowner this is always a possibility during summer months.

We looked at the map and came to the conclusion that some road walking was necessary to pick up the route further on. So, we had a horrendous walk beside the busy A57 to reach our route – nobody enjoyed this section and all were glad to get off the road and follow a quiet track back to Kettlethorpe.

We passed a large Paintball site but there were no competitors there today.

Angela was amazed at the large number of chicken farms that there were in the area. There was certainly a lot.

We were glad to arrive back at the cars after a 13.5-mile walk on what turned out to be quite a hot day. It was a shame that our enjoyment of the walk was tainted by the walk along the road. I don’t think we will be doing this walk again too soon.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶
Enjoying walking in the Yorkshire Dales.

Jul 26th, 2025

Hello and welcome back to my Blog 😊.

This week I have enjoyed a few days walking in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, staying in the small town of Sedbergh, found on the western edge of the dales.

Sedbergh nestles beside the Howgill Fells, which were aptly described by Arthur Wainwright as ‘looking like a herd of sleeping elephants’.

The Howgills

Angela and I drove up the A1 and then headed west on the A684, crossing the beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park. It was a nice picturesque drive with very little traffic. We were staying at Thorns Hall, a lovely grade 2 listed building, owned by the walking cooperative HF-Holidays. I have enjoyed many nice breaks with them over the years. https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/

Thorns Hall

On this guided walking break HF provide experienced walk leaders so that you can park your brain, and just enjoy being on the walk without having the challenge of navigating yourself.

Cobbled stone courtyard at Thorns Hall

For our first walk we were part of a group of four walkers plus the leader. Starting in Garsdale we ascended, with views of Dandrymire Viaduct, to the high moorland summits of Swarth Fell and then on to Wild Boar Fell, before crossing a patchwork of fields to the village of Ravenstonedale (the numerous small stile’s got tedious towards the end). 11 miles and 1,850 ft of ascent. We ascended into mist, but when we arrived at Wild Boar Fell trig point, the cloud had lifted and we had great views across to the Howgills. We met no one apart from a group of three men – the fells were quiet.

Dandrymire Viaduct

Stone men on Yoadcomb Scar

Rising mist across the fell

Wild Boar Fell Trig Point

A view across Yoadcomb Scar

Descending towards Ravenstonedale

We both had enjoyed the walk and after a good evening meal and a night’s rest, we were eager for the next walk.

On day 2 we walked as a group of five together with a walk leader. Our route started in Sedbergh and we began by walking beside the river Rawthey towards the hamlet of Millthrop. We passed a nice weir.

Weir on the river Rawthey

From here we made our way across Frostrow Fell where I managed to get bitten three times by Horse Flies – I was not pleased because I always react to them. We picked our way across boggy ground to reach the high point – the trig point of Aye Gill Pike.

At the trig point we met a couple who were trig-point bagging with their cute dog. The dog was clearly used to having his photo taken sat on top of the trig point – apparently it had bagged over 170 trig points. I should have taken a photo!

Tussocks amongst the bog

We descended into Garsdale before walking beside the rivers Clough and Rawthey back into Sedbergh. We had great views of the Howgills and walked 11.4 miles with 1,893 ft of ascent.

Day 3 was billed as a hard walk with 2,898 ft of ascent, so Angela wisely decided to do a less strenuous walk. Our group of four hardy walkers, and leader, set off from Cautley and had a very steep ascent straight away to Yarlside. I was huffing and puffing on the way up. We had distant views of Cautley Spout (the highest waterfall in England) on the way.

Cautley Spout in the distance

The steep ascent was followed by a steep descent – this was somewhat easier to do.

Descending from Yarlside

I was loving this walk, the sun had even made an appearance.

We ascended to a saddle and then walked to the summit of Green Bell followed by a descent to the saddle and then up to the summit of Randygil Top where we had lunch.

After lunch we descended from Randygil Top then ascended Hooksey and walked along this plateau enjoying distant views. Finally, we descended, winding our way to Ravenstonedale and the pub!! We had walked 10 miles.

Descending from Hooksey

It had been a wonderful mini-break and we had both loved the area and the walks. We had enjoyed good company (thank you to Shirley and Catherine for their company and chat) and had been looked after extremely well by HF holidays.

We shall explore more of the Yorkshire Dales National Park in the future – there is much to see. https://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/

Happy Walking! 😊🚶