Shout it from the Roof Tops

I love Can-Do people.  People who get an idea and run with it without stopping to write strategy documents or call meetings or develop policy. People whose enthusiasm takes everyone they meet along with them, whose smile draws the doubters in and whose upbeat message infects us all. 

I met someone like that this week. His name is Cameron Gordon and he's had the brilliant idea of promoting the North Pennines as "The Roof of England". It's a clever way to market a beautiful, remote part of the country that is often overlooked, surrounded as it is by the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors and Scotland. 

The North Pennines is already a designated area of outstanding natural beauty but that doesn't exactly trip off the tongue does it:

"Where shall we go for the weekend? - the Yorkshire Dales? the Lake District? Oh I know, what about the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

But "Let's go to the Roof of England" - now that does have a ring to it.

The name has already been taken up by cyclists who love the quiet open roads, the swooping hills and killer climbs. The B&B's and cafes are starting to use it and when Cameron talks passionately about the simplicity of it you can see the nods and smiles in the audience.

For walkers the area is a joy. Wild and remote you can spend all day with only the curlews for company. 

Ettersgill Common

The landscape is dotted with the remains of a rich industrial heritage, lead mining and iron ore extraction were prevalent in the mid 1800's, and much more can be done to help visitors understand and appreciate the history and culture of this region.

Sikehead Lead Mines

Bolts Law Engine

Bolts Law today

One of the best ways to explore the Roof of England is on foot - well I would say this wouldn't I. Take a train on the Settle Carlisle line to Appleby then a short 3 mile walk to Dufton where you can join the Pennine Way. Climb out of the lush Eden Valley and onto the Roof where the next 20 miles will take you over Dufton Pike, Great Dun Fell, Cross Fell and on to Alston. Spend the next day in South Tynedale before reaching Hadrian's Wall and train links home.
 

Cross Fell

It's a great way to spend a long weekend. Away from it all in the Land of the Natural High.

My Dales Way Week

This week has been largely devoted to the Dales Way. 

I'm on the committee of the Dales Way Association, a small charity set up almost 25 years ago to promote and support the Dales Way long distance path. The route was created in 1969 by Colin Speakman and the late Tom Wilcock just four years after the launch of the Pennine Way, and like Wainwright's Coast to Coast Path (1972), has attracted walkers from all over the world ever since. Unlike the Pennine Way neither the Dales Way or Coast to Coast are National Trails so receive no funding or support from the government. Instead they are both designated Regional Recreational Routes and each section is the responsibility of the local authority it passes through. In the case of the Dales Way, travelling east to west, this is Bradford District Council, North Yorkshire County Council, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Cumbria County Council and the Lake District National Park. 

The existence of the Dales Way Association means that there is a single body that can be contacted by anyone interested in the route and liaise between walkers and the numerous authorities. On Wednesday 4 members of our small committee attended our annual meeting with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. This is an opportunity to meet with the rangers who are responsible for the path on the ground and share problems, ideas and successes.

A new section of path to keep walkers off the road outside Sedbergh

Three days later we were all together again, this time in Ilkley for the Association's Autumn Walk and Annual General Meeting.  Most of the committee, including Colin Speakman, who led the walk and chaired the meeting, were there. It was great to meet members and a tribute to their commitment that so many travel so far to join us for the day, including from Essex and Shropshire.

Colin greets walkers in Ilkley

Heading for Addingham

Finally on Monday I walked a section of the Dales Way, the climb over Cam Fell. I was with my sister-in-law, a walking newbie, who is walking the 80 miles from Ilkley to Bowness in bite sized chunks. The Dales Way is an ideal beginners long distance route, with its easy to follow riverside paths, the many villages offering refreshment and accommodation and the possibility of accessing sections by public transport. 

The river Wharfe near Burnsall

This summer we have walked from Ilkley to Buckden, catching the bus up and down Wharfedale, until this last leg over Cam required a lift to Nethergill Farm and the train home from Ribblehead. 

This section of the Dales Way is often the most daunting for walkers, including as it does the climb over wet and boggy fell to the highest point on the entire route at 520m. 

Told you it was boggy!

It is also one of the most rewarding as the watershed of England is reached and you get your first glimpse of Ingleborough, followed quickly by Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and the mighty Ribblehead viaduct.

Whernside and Ribblehead viaduct from the forestry road

I wonder what next week will bring.

Where did May go?

It's June 1st today and I last posted on April 30th. What happened to May? 

One minute I was shaking with worry about Ride2stride the next the garden's a hayfield and the festival is a distant memory.

More about Ride2stride later. In the meantime we've had a mini-hols in the Lake Dstrict where I took this photograph of Ennerdale Water. As I walked up from the village I thought I'd take a wrong turn - where was the lake? The reflection of the fellside in the water was so clear the whole valley was greened out