Last walk of 2013 (Henley again)

Date: 29th December 2013
Route: Hambleden to Henley and back
Distance: around 9 miles

Since we started the year walking along the Thames Path, it seemed to make sense to finish 2013 the same way, with our favourite walk, the first walk from the Time Out Book of Country Walks and the walk I have probably blogged about the most regularly.

Beautiful sunshine, frosty hedgerows and barely a cloud in the sky made for perfect walking conditions - or so we thought, until we came to Henley Bridge halfway through the walk to discover that our usual path home was underneath a substantial amount of the Thames, surrounded by flooded roads and fields and frozen puddles!

We vaguely remembered the route up to a path on the hillside above the flood waters, then joined up with a lane running to the Flower Pot Hotel, before descending on a causeway to Medmenham Lock (keeping our fingers crossed that we would actually be able to cross the lock when we got to it!).

Thankfully, the path over the lock was high enough to escape the high water, although with vast amounts of water flowing beneath our feet, looking down was decidedly vertigo-inducing.

All in all, a bit of adventure, even though this was a very familiar route, setting up for a lot more walking in 2014.

Yorkshire Dales: Buckden & Langstrothdale Chase

Date: Friday 20th September
Route: Buckden & Langstrothdale Chase
Distance: 7 miles

Another fantastic Dales walk, starting with a steep climb and great views across hillsides and concluding with an easy stroll alongside a river.

This is our only walk of the week in Wharfedale, starting from the village of Buckden, and is taken from the Pathfinder Yorkshire Dales guide. A slightly punishing gravel track leads from the car park onto the hillside, however it soon levels out and turns into a grassy path across fields, looking across Upper Wharfedale and Langstrothdale.

A steep and slightly slippery descent on a stony path leads to stepping stones next to the White Lion pub in Cray, then a broad track leads back onto open countryside, with yet more stunning views along the valley.

The easy path makes its way through meadows, passing Scar House, a former centre of the Quaker religion, before heading downhill to the farms of Yockenthwaite beside the river below.

The route then starts to head back to Buckden, with a low-level path beside the river and across fields, crossing the Wharfe in the pretty hamlet of Hubberholme, then again on the road back to Buckden.

Highly recommended (and not just for the pleasure of saying "Yockenthwaite"!) 

Yorkshire Dales: Reeth Circular

 

Date: Thursday 19th September
Route: Reeth Circular
Distance: 5.5 miles

With grey skies glowering overhead, we opted for a walk from the AA's 1001 Walks from the market town of Reeth, with its pretty central square, surrounded by houses, pubs and shops amidst the hills of Swaledale.

The first part of the route is flat and easy to follow, walking alongside the river Swale to Marrick, where an outdoor activity centre sits alongside the old priory.

From the priory it's a steep climb up into the slightly spooky, Lord of the Rings-esque woodland, then a paved path through the woods alongside moss-covered stone walls and on into fields, with views across Swaledale and Arkengarthdale.

After an equally steep, knee-punishing descent down the road back to High Fremington, the path levels out again across fields and rejoins the river just outside Reeth.

This is not the most spetacular of walks, but it is very straightforward (and definitely offers more rewarding views when the sun breaks through the clouds and lights up the hillsides).

The first

Yorkshire Dales: Classic Swaledale

 

Date: Wednesday 18th September
Route: Keld to Muker and back
Distance: 6 miles

This is simply one of the best walks in the Dales.

It makes you want to stride along, grinning and shouting "In't walking BRILLIANT?!" in the style of Fast Show-era Paul Whitehouse. Or to exclaim about the beauty of the views so much that you start to sound like one of those drippy female characters from P.G. Wodehouse that Bertie Wooster occasionally finds himself engaged to.

Either way, this walk makes you feel ridiculously happy to be out in the midst of an awe-inspiring landscape, walking over green hillsides with the constant presence of the fast-flowing River Swale down to your side.

The walk comes from the AA's 1001 Walks in Britain, which in an uncharacteristic fit of hyperbole rightfully describes it as a classic. For a more challenging version, the Pathfinder Yorkshire Dales Guide offers a longer alternative - 10.5 miles, starting and  ending in the village of Gunnerside.

Leaving the car park in the village of Keld, the path soon meets up with the Pennine Way. It is a steady, but not exhausting, climb on a well-maintained, well-trodden path, taking little time to reach a reasonable height, with views across the sprawling hills of Swaledale.

The path passes through greenery and rock-strewn fields, punctuated by sheep, dry stone walls and the occasional gate. On some of these walks, the instructions are pretty complicated, occasionally confusing and sometimes completely wrong - on this walk, there is very little opportunity to take the wrong route or stray off the path.

As the Pennine Way heads back to the right, the village of Muker is visible below - a cluster of houses built out of local stone, on either side of the road from Richmond to Kirkby Stephen. The tea-room at Muker provides a timely opportunity to refuel with a toasted teacake before heading back to Keld on the other side of the river.

The return journey begins at low level, with a brief section alongside the river, before crossing it on a narrow footbridge. The river is a constant on your left as you follow the easy, broad track back to Keld and whilst you do not ever reach the heights of the first half of the walk, there is enough uphill walking to make you feel that you are getting some benefit - and excellent views.

The final stretch of walk passes waterfalls feeding into the river, then it is a short stroll back to the car.

In short: amazing scenery and views, particularly when the sunlight hits the river or illuminates the distant hills, an easy-to-follow route, a fantastic teacake stop and 6 miles of the best walking in the Dales. Perfect.  

Yorkshire Dales: Around Arkengarthdale

Date: Monday 16th September
Route: Arkengarthdale Circular
Distance: 3.5 miles

Staying in the village of Langthwaite in the Yorkshire Dales, we are lucky enough to have a great walk around the most northerly of the Dales on our doorstep.

Taken from the AA's 1001 Walks in Britain, the full route is an 8 mile circuit - unfortunately the lure of dry clothing and hot tea is too strong to resist once we are only half way round, so we just complete the first few sections!

Like many Dales walks, this one starts with a steep climb, which quickly makes its impact felt on both our calves and lungs - luckily, it is not long before the punishing ascent is rewarded with views across broad green hillsides, dotted with stone cottages, patches of heather and dry stone walls.

The bright green of the hillsides contrasts with a sky that alternates between piercing blue and threatening grey, as vertical waves of rain blow across and away and rainbows light up the houses below.

Once past the humorously-named hamlet of Booze, the path passes through the remnants of the lead mining industry littered across the hills, with the fast-flowing stream of Slei Gill down to the right. After a few minutes of brushing aside waist-high prehistoric-looking ferns, the path crosses the stream and heads up onto the heathery (and very windy) moorland hillsides.

Along the route we encounter cautious rabbits, which run off into their warrens or disappear into the heather, unhurried grouse, which reluctantly fly up into the air with much flapping and shrieking and flocks of finches, which dart in and out of the trees and hedgerows. We do not see any other walkers in the remote and quiet landscape.

The final section of the walk that we complete is very exposed and open to the cold, stinging wind - as the driving rain continues to assault us, we feel like proper southern softies heading for warmth and comfort rather than raging against the elements (but we are on holiday, after all).

Great views, lots of wildlife, a relatively straightforward route (with a few slightly ambiguous walk directions) through a remote and beautiful location - just not the best of weather, unfortunately.

Amesbury and "glimpses of Stonehenge"

 

Date: Bank Holiday Monday, 26th September 2013
Route: Amesbury Circular
Distance: 6.5 miles

From Avebury yesterday to Amesbury today - the sun decided to reappear so we decided to take advantage of the sunshine and go for the "Glimpses of Stonehenge" walk from the AA's 1001 Walks in Britain.

Despite the slight dullness of the photos, this was a really good walk - enough hills to get good views but nothing too strenuous, the views of Stonehenge (which of course look rubbish on camera!), a really pleasant section of grassy valley, some equally pleasant shady woodland and multiple crossings of the fast-flowing but pretty tiny (here at least) River Avon. It also passes through the village of Great Durnford, which is packed with so many ridiculously pretty thatched cottages with lavender in the front garden and lilac around the door that you feel a bit self-conscious singling any one out for photography.

There is also a longer Stonehenge walk in the Rough Guide to Walks in London & Surrounding Countryside book, if you have more time, although it would entail getting a bus or taxi back to Salisbury. It's worth bearing in mind that there is no longer any interchange between the A303 and the road at the side of Stonehenge, which looks as though it may well be grassed over in the near future. 

Wandering around some historic sites (Salisbury, Avebury & Woodhenge)

Date: Sunday 25th August 2013
Distance: Various

Since our plans to do a walk with views of Stonehenge were thwarted by some unwelcome Bank Holiday drizzle and fog, we took the opportunity to drive up to Marlborough and across to Avebury so we could check out some of the ancient monuments in the area.

We started off with Woodhenge, where the wooden posts of years gone by have rotted away and been replaced by concrete pillars, giving the impression of a prehistoric picnic site, where you half expect to see a mammoth barbecue pit in the corner. From there we continued on past Silbury Hill and West Kennet Long Barrow (which is definitely worth a visit, as one of the most impressive burial chambers in the UK) and into the village of Avebury, which sits in the middle of one of the biggest stone circles in Europe. My photos really don't do it justice - you really need to walk around the whole thing to get the sense of the whole site, with its gigantic stones and huge ditches.

Finally, the sun came out as we headed back to the centre of medieval Salisbury to wander around the town centre and Cathedral gardens, before heading to the riverside for some beer at The Mill and amazing curry at Anokaa (possibly one of the best curries ever!).

So, although this is supposed to be a walking blog, this is what we do when we're not following a formal walk (There is a great Avebury walk in the AA's 1001 Walks in Britain though, which I can recommend for less dreary days)! 

Beside the seaside in Swanage

Date: Saturday 24th August 2013
Route: Circular Walk from Durlston Country Park into Swanage and back
Distance: 4.25 miles

After a night of loud music and psychedelic light shows (Hawkwind in Bournemouth!), the perfect recovery walk turned out to be an occasionally steep but beautiful wander around the hillsides and town centre of Swanage in South Dorset, taken from the AA's 1001 Walks in Britain.

The walk starts and ends at Durlston Country Park, which is signposted multiple times from Swanage town centre and has at its heart a fantastically restored castle, with great views out to sea and multiple tea and cake purchasing opportunities.

The walk starts along the coastal path, passing the Tilly Whim caves - old limestone quarries that used to be a tourist attraction until the landslides started! The path climbs past a lighthouse and over the hillside of Round Down, through an area of fields and butterflies and onward towards the distant Purbeck Hills and chalk cliffs before reaching the road into Swanage.

The centre of the town boasts plenty of shops, places to eat chips or local seafood, a pier, a Heritage Centre, which you pass on your way towards the harbour and, not surprisingly, all kinds of boats. The coastal path leads to Peveril Point and the coastguard station before circling back to Durlston Head, passing over hillsides, alongside imposing Victorian villas and through woodland, with an optional detour to see a much-heralded "large globe", before returning to the Castle.

If you haven't been to Swanage before, this is a really good way to get a sense of the place, blow a few cobwebs away and get a strong dose of sea air and fantastic views.

 

Ashford-in-the Water and the Monsal Viaduct

 

Date: Saturday 3rd August 2013
Route: Ashford-in-the-Water Circular via the Monsal Viaduct, Monsal Dale and Deep Dale
Distance: 5.5 miles

Our second walk of a long weekend in the Peak District was the better of the two walks, starting off in the picturesque village of Ashford-in-the-Water and a steep climb up to the hillsides above the village. After passing alongside fields of waving corn and weathered grey stone walls, the path meets up with the Monsal Trail walking/ cycle path to cross the impressive viaduct at Monsal Head (derided by contemporary critics as a blot of the landscape but now looking perfectly at home amongst the greenery).

The path then descends to follow the River Wye through the valley, alongside waterfalls and through green fields before heading back to Ashford on the other side of the A6 on a woodland path that kept us shaded from a short, sharp shower.

The final section of the walk heads over Ashford's Sheepwash Bridge (complete with a pen where the sheep were kept before being dunked in the river in bygone times and multiple ducks).

This is a highly recommended walk and definitely the perfect way to spend a pleasant valley Sunday/ Saturday/ any day. 

The "Stonehenge of the North"

Date: Friday 2nd August 2013
Route: Arbor Low Circular on the outskirts of Youlgreave
Distance: 6 miles

A fantastic weekend in the Peak District earlier in the year made us hanker for more of the dramatic landscapes and wide-open countryside views, so when we had the opportunity of a long weekend, we couldn't resist going back.

This was the first of two walks we did over the weekend, taken from the AA's 1001 Walks guide (a huge folder, with helpfully removable pages). To be honest, this isn't the world's greatest walk, although it is pretty straightforward.

The first section takes you through fields to the ancient gathering site of Arbor Low with its 42 limestone pillars in a 40m circle (not exactly Stonehenge, more like Stonehenge after a tornado has passed through, but with great views across the countryside). Once you get to Arbor Low you can walk around the perimeter of the stone circle, but you probably get a better sense of the place from aerial photos than on the ground.

Also on the site is the even old burial site of Gib Hill, which contains two barrows and is thought to have been a ritual gathering place for 6,000 years - unfortunately this is all sealed and grassed over, so unlike the impressive barrows near Avebury in Wiltshire, there is very little to see.

The remainder of the walk follows the road back to the car park (and the welcome sight of the ice cream man!) - it's a shame that there isn't an alternative path back across the fields, as frankly the road is a bit dull.

It was interesting to see Arbor Low at first hand but this wouldn't top a list of the best walks in the Peak District. The ice cream was good though.