Walk: 11:30am to 1:30pm - 4.4 miles and 180ft of ascent
Well the weather forecast wasn't wrong today...unfortunately. Looking at the weather maps on the news this morning it showed clearly that the weather in the north-west quadrant of England wouldn't exactly be on a par with the Med, so our plans for the day didn't include any driving or walks out in the 'wilds', just a local walk from Settle.
Although it didn't excite particularly, we planned a route taking in farmland to the west of the A65 as we'd walked much of the higher ground in the immediate vicinity of Settle in the past. We planned to pick up the Ribble Way and head down towards Rathmel, then west over to Scoutber Crag and up to Birchshow Rocks before heading back into Settle. However after about an hour's walking we decided to give up and head back to the cottage, my camera had rarely been out of the palm of my hand.
We followed the Ribble for a mile or so, I was especially proud of the fact that we'd walked through the middle of some cattle - nothing special you may think but I'm gradually overcoming my fear of them. In the past I'd have done anything to walk around them, but not today - I had my head held high and for once not hiding behind Donna :)
Our path took us under the A65 where we saw a guy up in the space at the top of the bridge foundations, we were unsure as to whether he was a walker having lunch up in the 'rafters', or a homeless man who was sleeping up there. Likely to be the former as we decided that someone who is homeless is more likely to find a bed for the night nearer to civilisation.
We crossed a field towards Hollin Hall where we made the decision to abort the walk - why you might ask? Well it had rained since we left the cottage and it was gradually getting heavier, and with there being little of interest on the walk it was just walking for the sake of it. If it's banging down with rain but there are plenty of interesting things to see and places to visit, then the rain is little more than an inconvenience, but just trudging through fields with nothing more than a few cows and sheep to see isn't the most exciting use of our time.
So we headed back into Settle and paid a visit to the Naked Man Cafe for a couple of scones and custard tarts, and then back to the cottage for an afternoon relaxing in the warm and dry surroundings. It's on days like these however when we realise how much we enjoy staying in cottages on our walking holidays - I can't think of anything worse than getting back sodden and having nothing but a hotel room or tent to relax in...
Well the weather forecast wasn't wrong today...unfortunately. Looking at the weather maps on the news this morning it showed clearly that the weather in the north-west quadrant of England wouldn't exactly be on a par with the Med, so our plans for the day didn't include any driving or walks out in the 'wilds', just a local walk from Settle.
Although it didn't excite particularly, we planned a route taking in farmland to the west of the A65 as we'd walked much of the higher ground in the immediate vicinity of Settle in the past. We planned to pick up the Ribble Way and head down towards Rathmel, then west over to Scoutber Crag and up to Birchshow Rocks before heading back into Settle. However after about an hour's walking we decided to give up and head back to the cottage, my camera had rarely been out of the palm of my hand.
 |
| The entrance to The Folly in Settle |
Our path took us under the A65 where we saw a guy up in the space at the top of the bridge foundations, we were unsure as to whether he was a walker having lunch up in the 'rafters', or a homeless man who was sleeping up there. Likely to be the former as we decided that someone who is homeless is more likely to find a bed for the night nearer to civilisation.
 |
| Bridge under the train-line into Settle |
So we headed back into Settle and paid a visit to the Naked Man Cafe for a couple of scones and custard tarts, and then back to the cottage for an afternoon relaxing in the warm and dry surroundings. It's on days like these however when we realise how much we enjoy staying in cottages on our walking holidays - I can't think of anything worse than getting back sodden and having nothing but a hotel room or tent to relax in...
Comments
Post a Comment