Use it or Lose it!

I walked around 12 miles a day during the Ride2stride Festival in April, much of it in the snow.

Ride2stride 2016

In May I tackled 90 miles of the Cape Wrath Trail with my worldly goods on my back. 

Cape Wrath Trail

In June I walked from Hebden Bridge to Horton-in-Ribblesdale on the Heart of the Pennine Way. 

Pen-y-ghent on the Pennine Way

Not bad eh!

But since then I've been under house arrest, tethered to home by a series of domestic responsibilities so when Tony suggested a couple of days away this week I couldn't get my boots on quickly enough. We walked from Macclesfield to Edale following the Cestrian Link path - a route created in 1983 by John N.Davenport to join the northern end of Offa's Dyke to the start of the Pennine Way. Tony has walked his own updated version of it as part of his End to End project and this 25 mile section was the last leg.

We got the train to Macclesfield and set off along the canal towpath then climbed up through the Macclesfield Forest. 

The climb through the forest

By 400 metres I was knackered - done for. Shamefully after 2 months of making tea for builders and sharing their hobnobs I was so out of condition I could barely crawl up a tourist trail. Clearly a daily trot around Robert's Park with my elderly dog wasn't quite the exercise I had kidded myself it was.

Lesson learned! Whatever is going on at home, whatever the weather, I'm going to make sure I get onto those hills this winter. Use it or lose it is an old cliche but so, so true!

Heading into Castleton

PS The trip was fantastic, especially day 2 which ended with a sunny climb from Castleton over to Edale with spectacular views of the Pennine range and the Pennine Way ahead.

Edale and the Pennine Way ahead

Happiness is ....

A few weeks ago the lovely Susan Briggs @Dales_Tourism asked "What makes you happy?" She's writing The Yorkshire Dales Guide to Health and Happiness and was looking for stories to feature in her book.

And it got me thinking. What makes me happy? Well in no particular order (or there is a particular order but putting the dog first might upset a few people) my family, my friends, the dog, hot baths, cold beers, growing stuff, cooking stuff, eating stuff - and walking.

Any sort of walking.  It doesn't matter if it's an early morning dog walk, an afternoon stroll or a full day's hike.  I love 'em all. But the walks that make me feel happiest in a deep, lasting and profound way are long distance walks. Walks that take weeks of planning and thinking about. Walks where I leave home with my pack on my back knowing I won't be back for a week or more.  I have done lots of these walks and the magic works every time. I set off with my head crammed full of everyday worries and concerns and my body tense with anxiety.

Within a day or so that's all gone. My mind empties and my life slows down to the pace of the walk.  The purpose of each day is just that - to walk. There is no other task. No other jobs to tick off or goals to achieve. I eat, I walk, I sleep and tomorrow I do it all again. I begin to experience the true beauty of the landscape I am walking through, to notice the tiniest speedwell, the highest skylark. Every day brings a new adventure. My days are spent in splendid isolation on the fells, walking to a soundtrack of bleating sheep and the call of the curlew. At night I head for civilisation, to pubs and B&Bs, to warm baths and good food and real ale, and I return home at the end of my walk happy and at peace with myself and the world.

We are lucky here in the Yorkshire Dales to have some of the finest long distance footpaths in the British Isles. There’s the gentle riverside Dales Way and the exhilarating, challenging Dales High Way, the world famous Coast to Coast Path and the fascinating Lady Anne’s Way. There’s the granddaddy of them all - the Pennine Way and many many more. Go on – try it yourself.



A Spring in my Step

Like many people I think of long distance walking as a summer activity, best undertaken between Easter and the clocks going back. Long days to make the most of the light evenings, better weather, lighter packs with less jumpers to carry...

I've changed my mind.

This winter we've been walking both the Dales Way and A Dales High Way to check on the state of the paths and note any changes along the way. We publish guide books to both walks and like to make sure that the books and the websites - www.dalesway.org.uk and www.daleshighway.org.uk - are up to speed.

We've been walking both routes in smaller chunks to make the most of any decent weather and we've had some fantastic days out.

Barden Tower (Dales Way)

There have been snowy days and sunshine.

Taking a break on Coniston Pie (Dales Way)

The ground is has been generally firm underfoot, either with frost or more recently as it's begun to dry out.

Ingleborogh and Whernside from the Watershed Alternative Route (Dales Way)

The shapes of the fells are stunning in their naked state before the trees come into leaf and the waterfalls have been magnificent. Routes are quiet and accomodation easily available and the joy of watching the landscape begin to wake up has been immense.

Snowdrops and crocus coming off Frostrow Fell (Dales High Way)

And of course there's the lambs!