The first three walks on the Summits and High Moors of the West Riding have been on my planning slate for more than two months, and the target for today had been officially listed before weather and ennui intervened, but the route I'll be taking today will be very different from the one originally projected. Having learned the lessons of adequate planning for walking days, my weather eye sees that the 13 mile loop from Ilkley, taking in Beamsley Hospital, is going to be rather too long for a day that threatens a very mixed bag of sunshine and showers, so some judicious trimming is necessary and if that means riding the bus out to Addingham to take a couple of miles off of the circuit, then so be it.
Beamsley Beacon: Addingham to Ilkley 9 miles
 |
Beamsley Beacon
from Addingham suspension bridge |
It looked like it might be a clearer day than forecast as I rode out to Ilkley, but by the time I hopped of the bus in Addingham at 9.45am, the day had turned and the sky split open, and my start is delayed as I waterproof up beneath the shelter outside the Memorial Hall. First steps are taken into the downpour up Main Street and turn off to Bolton Road, where the footpath carefully avoids the road and I start to feel uncertain about which turn off I should be taking whilst not wishing to look at my map whilst the rain tips down. The corner of Bark Lane is actually pretty obvious and from her we get our first view of Beamsley Beacon, shrouded by rainfall, and it's a big hill that somehow manages to hide from viewpoints in Lower Wharfedale, and paces are taken down a street of bungalows to meet the Dales Way path as the descent down to the suspension bridge is made as the hill disappears from view, not to be seen again until I am upon it. Over the Wharfe and I can be surprised how many dog-walkers and exercisers there are out and about in this foul weather, and the trail leads me away from the river bank beneath the shelter of trees to West Hall Farm and the on to the lane to dodge the speeding cyclists. Hit the bridleway that covers about 120m of ascent from the river, and through the first fields comes a break in the weather, and looking back there is sunshine falling on the High Moors of Addingham and Skipton, but as I move under the cover of trees, I find the path is narrow with sodden vegetation on both sides and within a few paces my trousers are soaked through and I wonder if I'm going to squelch all the way to the hillside. The path turn to farm track up to High Lathe Farm, but the weather turns to drizzle again as I arrive on the high road, and I start to wonder if this day of sunshine and showers is actually going to be resolutely miserable.
 |
| Beamsley Beacon |
The weather eases back as I ascend the road, with only stray sheep for company, and the sun comes out on the surrounding highlands, with the imposing bulk of Rombalds Moor to the south and Barden Moor looming up into the landscape to the north west, and beyond Beacon Hill house, we meet the edge of the moorland and the southern edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This is the moment that I wish I had brought my stick (left behind in haste, this morning) as ground conditions change and I stride out onto the moorland grass and rough ground, and again I'm surprised to see how busy it is out here, plenty of folk are already on the top and the wind carries the voices of the party ascending on the other path in my direction, which is slightly disconcerting. I take the slightly lower path, avoiding the spine of the ridge to shelter from the wind until the paths converge and I get the view into Upper Wharfedale, and this is another fresh perspective on a familiar landscape with Barden Moor and Barden Fell buttressing the valley, whilst to the north is Kex Gill moor, previously unseen on my walking travels and only previously encountered when pelting along to A59. It does all feel a bit remote, when you are mere miles from civilisation, and I've got a top to attain with only about 120m to ascend in the quarter mile from the road, and as grass gives way to heather, it's done at a pretty good speed as a look back shows more poor weather coming from over Skipton High Moor. The Beamsley Beacon trig point claims an altitude of 393m, but isn't the top of the hill, whilst the cairn stands 2 metres high and is probably of Bronze Age vintage, and this hillside has been regularly used as a signalling station from the Roman era to the Napoleonic Wars. It's a grand viewpoint, with an excellent 300 degree panorama from north to southeast, with all the surrounding hills obvious and the many meadows and pastures adding colour in the valleys, but not a spot to linger as the weather is about to come on hard.
 |
| Beamsley Moor |
It's now time to strike out onto the moorland proper, with nicely obvious track to take out to the Old Pike, the 400m top of this end of the moor, which gives the hill its distinctive profile when seen from the northwest, and there's another ancient cairn here too, albeit harder to discern amongst the natural outcrops of gritstone. Pause here as the downpour comes on for the third time today, waiting to see how long the rain lasts before I head to the centre of the moor, and it passes surprisingly quickly and a look back suggests no rain for a while afterwards. So onwards into the moor, descending from the Beacon end of the moor and losing many of the surrounding viewpoints as the level is crossed between the two higher rises, and it's admirably dry as I'd anticipated some soft going, and even where the path peters out into marshy land, there's still no risk of any sinkage. A mile of solitary moorland is good for the walking spirit and I have a bit of a spring to my step as I try to get familiar with moorland flora and scare some grouse out of the heather, and they make so much noise when trying to escape it's no wonder that they are popular for being shot at. The path starts to rise as we veer towards the centre of this moor which doesn't seem to have a cover-all name, and I'm guided along the way by following the boundary stones, indicating the split between the parishes of B(eamsley) and L(a)N(gbar), I especially enjoy the one that has been carved into a boulder. Meet the only bit of soft going on the entire moor, before hitting the last rise to meet the bridleway and track that cross the moor from north to south, and if I were feeling bold I'd be continuing east onward Otley but all indications suggest that the path over Denton Moor is no fun at all, so I'll go to the top of Round Hill / Black Fell / whatever this lump is called, where a very small cairn stands at 409m, actually higher than Rombalds Moor, and I'll look towards the Menwith Hill listening station, the Washburn valley and other points east before turning south to head back to Ilkley.
 |
| Landbar Moor |
To make a shorter day of it, I choose to eschew lunch and make for the firmest track off the hill, noting the cryptic MM 1734 boundary stone before heading off the top. The best track hangs close to the boundary wall that separates Middletoon Moor and Langbar Moor, and it offers a better view of your progress points than the bridleway would, which is vague on the map and even less obvious on the ground. Having hairpinned back on my previous route means that many fine views are opened up on Beamsley Beacon, and it's quite puzzling how this hill is so hard to see from further south, and it all looks inviting as the sun shines, and especially nice when you catch a large patch of cottongrass to breakup the monotony of the heather and rough grass. It's a pretty long walk to Loftshaw Gill, one of the feeder becks which leads down to March Ghyll Reservoir, down to the south east, and making the beck crossing drops you into a nicely secluded and sheltered spot, where quite to most prosaic shooting huts have been built, and following the track means a pointless ascent back uphill before resuming the descent that features sheep and the feeling that Ilkley isn't getting any closer. The track and ground undulates some as the becks running down to the reservoir are crossed, and another fine view can be had to the Beacon across rock strewn fields before it recedes from view behind the crinkles of the landscape. Then you can spot how the character of the moorland changes as the sheep give way to cattle and the moorland grasses slip away, as you move back into regular farmland, and the moor ends at the top of Parks Lane, where a jogging mother and daughter can be met as they ascend at speed (well, the daughter does), and with farmsteads appearing on both sides you feel that the end of the walk can't be far away.
 |
| Myddellton Lodge |
I choose to not descend to Ilkley down Hardings Lane, instead striking out across the fields on Primrose Hill, to pass wood where the bluebell carpet is still in place, before meeting the secluded lane that ambles downhill to meet the old estate houses of Myddelton Grange, where a postman is using his van to do door to door deliveries. This track bring us to the back of Myddelton Lodge itself, a 17th century house with a long association with Roman Catholicism in Wharfedale, and indeed a church retreat, in a much less inspired architectural style, resides next door and very sizable Passion sculpture resides by the roadside just to make its point clear. Join Langbar Road to descend to the town and the ominous clouds that had been gathering over Rombalds Moor for the late stretch finally open up and bring on dousing #4 and as the road turns to a stream I'm really glad that I chose to abbreviate today's walking schemes and the run through this expensive corner of Ilkley is made before the skies brighten again, and I can cross over the Wharfe at Old Bridge and re-encounter the start of the Dales Way in sunshine. Having arrived in the town from a direction that didn't involve coming off Ilkley Moor for once, I move up to the A65 to pass the Box Tree, the poshest restaurant I've ever eaten in, to make my way back to Ilkley railway station, which seem to be this year's major walking hub. Timing says 1.50pm, right on cue and there's enough time to drop into the tourist information to get my Dales Way pin badge, and then lunch can be devoured on the ride home, as I did the whole 4 hour stretch without stopping for food or watering.
Next on the Slate: The top of the year, and the county; Whernside!
1,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 684.4 miles (2013 total: 219.1 miles)
No comments:
Post a Comment