Walking in North Yorkshire

 We stayed at Newfield Hall, which is a beautiful house just south of Airton on the Pennine Way.

Views of and from the house and around Airton. 

Mr Zachary trying to climb a fence - tut tut!

Airton and the River Aire on its way to Leeds and beyond.

Ros and Di kindly drove us to Horton in Ribblesdale. From the centre of the village we walked towards and then up and over Pen-y-Ghent. Gradual on the way up, steep on the way down.

From Pen-y-Ghent we continued along the Pennine Way over Fountains Fell and then down to Malham Tarn, through Watlowes gulley and on to Malham Cove. The Cove and the village of Malham were very busy so we did not stop and continued on, following the River Aire back to Newfield Hall. 18+ miles all told - a good stretch!

Malham Tarn

There were a lot of carvings in the woods, including this lovely hare. Later in the week I saw two brown hares, one above Calton and one near Winterburn.

Watlowes - a tricky descent.

Malham Cove from above and from below

We started Day 2 on the towpath of the Leeds & Liverpool canal below Gargrave and strolled into the lovely town of Skipton. Heading northwards out of Skipton, we crossed the very impressive Skipton golf course, on to the Dales High Way and up Sharp Haw. Unfortunately there were no views to be had from the top as we got caught in a heavy downpour. It was nice and dry by the time we got down to Flasby where we followed the Flasby Beck to Hetton (alas the pub was closed) and thence back to Newfield via Winterburn.

Last time that I saw a canal swing bridge was on the Manchester Ship Canal!

1st hole at Skipton Golf Club. The club has provided very clear signage for walkers.

Dales High Way en route to Sharp Haw.

Sharp Haw in the rain

Flasby and lunch break with bullocks and an ineffective gate.

Winterburn in rush hour

For Day 3 we walked from the rear of Newfield Hall, through the attractive hamlet of Calton and on to Calton Moor. The weather forecast was not promising but the morning was bright and clear, though a bit draughty. There were great views from Weets Top, after which we headed along the Dales High Way down to Winterburn Reservoir which was very low on water. 

The track out of Calton and Calton Moor.

Richard behind bars at Weets Gate.

Weets Top

We had good weather overall and three lengthy walks in readiness for the Offa's Dyke Path on 1st September.