For the first time in my walking odyssey, we meet a day when I actually considered not walking on the grounds of it being too hot, rather than too grim or wet, and having gone to bed for a night of restless sleep brought on by excesses of heat and a rough headache, walking prospects for the Saturday looked grim. On rising the following day, my mood was much more resolute, mostly because of the realisation that we are having a proper hot and clear summer for the first time since 2006, and it would be wise to make the best of it as we might go another seven years before the next one. Plus good long days are needed when you are still delving into upper Wharfedale, and whilst Grassington Moor is a much vaguer upland mass than the High Moors previously explored, I'm sure that my investigations will show that there is still plenty to see up there, so get the bag loaded with liquids and set out for the High Moors in the heart of Limestone Country, on the hottest day of the year, taking with you the idea that you might well be insane to do such a thing.
Grassington Moor, via Hebden Ghyll & Bycliffe Road: 12.6 miles
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| Grassington Park Estate Meadows |
Off the bus at the National Park Centre, having your fourth walking encounter with Grassington, making it the third hub of the years walks after Ilkley and Ribblehead, and after donning the sunhat, it's off up Hebden Road and on through the familiar scenery of the Market place and even at 10.30am the heat reflecting off of the buildings is pretty intense, and the ascent up Garrs Lane has me feeling it pretty early on, and I seek out the well-hidden shortcut that takes me to High Lane and the route away from this most desirable of country towns. Eastwards we go as the lane leads out into a walled track between the fields, offering views down towards the northern edge of Barden Moor, with the pike of Simon's Seat in the distance. The heat is already harsh, and earl steps are made as I enjoy the company of a local walker, who enthuses the many routes he has picked out in all weathers around Grassington, and 'all weathers' is certainly something I have experienced too in this area. I wonder if he'll be company for a longer stretch of the day, but he's headed towards Burnsall, so 'good walking' is bidden as he moves on rapidly and I get to field walking alone again. First point of interest is the Grassington Park Estate Meadows, located in the grounds of the former TB sanatorium, which because of its unique untreated soil conditions has rendered it as a wild flower meadow and SSI without equal in the Dales, but this being mid-July means that the best of the growth has passed and I'll have to file this location away for a visit in optimum conditions (as with Sulber Nick). Field walking down the main road offers some entertainingly wild and ungrazed fields, before meeting the enclosed track that drops us on the edge of Hebden, which seem to consist of a bus garage and council houses on first observation, before offering some older buildings and a pub, the Clarendon, which has a picture of itself on its sign, and this amuses me more than is reasonable. The village also seems to be completely deserted as I see no signs of life in the minutes that I am passing through!
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| Hebden Ghyll |
Swing north on the lane which hangs above Hebden Beck and starts the ascent to the moorland, I'm sure a beckside walk should be available but all the branching paths all lead to Edge Top, above the high scar on the opposite bank, so I'll be sticking to the rising road and dodging out of the way of the passing tractors. Depart to road by the nicely placed holiday houses at Hole Bottom and cross the beck to meet the track which leads into the rapidly changing landscape of Hebden Ghyll, gone is the rural idyll of fields and into a rougher landscape of grass and bracken with rising piles of rocky escarpments above. It all has a bit of a Langstrothdale feel actually, and the rock composition suggests we are still in gritstone country here, despite my conviction that this is the land of limestone. Even though there are no signs of other people up here, we are not super remote though, as there are a couple of underground reservoirs hidden amongst the wildness. Soon enough, the track leads into what appears to be some former industrial buildings, completed ruined but distinctly not agricultural, almost certainly related to the lead mines which once thrived higher on the moor, and I'd imagine that this would have been one of the access routes, back in the day. Not having any literature to refer to (somewhat foolishly) means I can't expand further on this, but my eye is drawn into the signs of spoil heaps spilling into the ghyll as the track gets a bit sketchy, criss-crossing the beck and rising over a pile of loose rock which has probably been here for more than a century. At the top of the ghyll, the moorland landscape rises on all side and further access along the beck is blocked by a dam, but the track winds its way sharply up the western edge to we might explore further the remains of the lead mines which occupied Grassington Moor for than 250 years.
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Lead Mine Workings
on Grassington Moor |
Our first sight of the lead mines proper is just after emerging from the ghyll, a large area of spoil heaps which could easily be mistaken for a quarry, and I don't investigate it more closely as the more substantial features are to be found higher on the moor, but finding the indicating markers of the Lead Mines trail has me cursing the fact that I didn't seek out additional knowledge of the area before I chose to plot my own route. Join Duke's New Road, built sole for the purpose of access to the moor, and set of purposefully for the visible remains distant uphill, and by now the sunshine has gotten really hot, so I'm glad for the breeze and scudding cloud as this wouldn't be a fun place to overheat. The track crosses the ghyll, over the embankment and pipes driven through it indicates that the completely dry beck might become a raging torrent at some times. Depart the track for the fist major feature, the Cobalt Smelt works of 1792, and it's not obvious how the site worked but the noticeboard provides a handy overview of the mining history, starting out as something of a cottage industry as the start of the 17th century before turning into a major industrial site in the late 18th and enjoying its boom years in the mid 19th, before ceasing to be economically viable in the 1880s. I love the fact that such a large ruin has remained and it presence here is as fascinating to me as it would if it were of Roman vintage. Carry on up the track, and meet a party coming off the moor, just when I though I might be alone all day, and I choose not to walk the extra distance over to the tall chimney isolated up on the moor, and instead stay on the track to meet the largest ruin on the moor, but I've no idea what it was in industrial terms, a large circular structure with associated buildings, and plenty of concrete plinths which are now slowly decaying; this reportage isn't actually very informative is it? I'll have to come this way again, loaded with knowledge, I guess, but for now I'll seek the available shelter from the sun in order to get in lunch, and to enjoy the desolation and isolation far from the eyes of the world.
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| Howgill Nick |
Carry on northwards post feeding and watering, with a careful eye on my 3 litre water supply, and the roads fan out as the moor ascends, leading to various shafts and reservoirs about the place. I don't take the Old Moor Lane back towards the workings at Yarnbury, instead taking the track to the highest route on the moor, and that's a steady rise amongst a mess of spoil heaps and capped shafts. It's initially amazing just how blasted the terrain is, until you remember that moorland grass does not grow quickly and the tips contain no nutrients to sustain plant regrowth, meaning that this landscape must look a lot like it did in the 1880s. It's also a landscape that can be seen clearly on satellite imaging, even at low resolution, and the pale spoil also reflects a lot of heat, so it's not the most comfortable of environments on a day like today. I'm aiming for the high track which loiters above the 450m contour, and for a well-made track, it's surprising that it does not feature on the 2002 imprint of OL2 that I am following, so maybe it's not that old and post-dates the era of Right to Roam. You don't need a map to follow it, but it's useful to have prior warning of the steep descent to traverse the dry valley of How Gill nick, and beyond there it's a pretty steady and mile with grass and bracken to the expanse of moor to the south and heather to the north, and I didn't think you got heather on limestone moor, so the geology of this area gets just that bit more confusing. The broken rock that appears to be forming like limestone, but the moorland character suggests grit, so I'd need to take a closer look, but the higher moor is all trackless, and I won't be making a bid for the summit at Meugher anytime soon. Instead I'll carry on until the path starts to wander slightly and the view over Conistone Moor opens out, with Great Whernside appearing to be much closer than it really is, and that's another trackless moor to frighten off the amateur walker. Still this track seems to be the busiest section of the moor, as i pass a whole six people coming the other way, out to enjoy the sun and terrain in this remotest of spots.
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| Bycliffe Road |
The descent off the moor comes as we meet the track that leads into Mossdale, and a long winding path has to negotiate its way around a couple of prominent escarpments and the formation of these is definitively limestone, and it's good to feel geographically certain again. This is yet another of those dry valleys where the beck has disappeared into a swallow hole and the tiny streams running over the unusually level terrain seem somewhat out of place, and there's a dramatic scar to be seen if you follow this track north, eventually leading over into Nidderdale; now there's some territory that you only seek out once you've become a serious walker, to paraphrase Tolkein
'One does not simply walk into Nidderdale'. Back on the trail at hand and heading south again, it's the flattest half mile in a long time, along Bycliffe Road and it's a good point to note that Wharfedale is looking a lot greener than it did back in April, at least before the summer dries it brown again, and that steep path out of the southern side of the valley over Mastiles Moor must surely be considered for the High moors slate in the future. This dirt track also has the odd feature of being littered with many dead rabbits, the first couple are just a curiosity but I lose count of just how many there are once I've passed ten, and each one is just a shell of skin and bone with all the soft tissue decayed away, surely they aren't killed by traffic as the most dangerous vehicles coming this way are bicycles, is this the road where rabbits come to die? Another feature is thistles, which on rough ground seem to grow feet apart and almost to shoulder height, it can feel like you are wandering through a field of triffids at times, there's something slightly unnerving about them, and it's not natural to get freaked out by plants. The descent to Kelber Gate marks the end of the grassy moor, and below we wander into the land of pasture, and the sharp decline is accompanied by a field full of ponies, and also an increase in temperature as the wind influence is lost and I start to worry about running low on water again, despite still having over a litre left in my bag.
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| Above Conistone Dib |
The track continues to descend, losing some 70m from the moor's edge, and the destination of your descent is never in doubt as the limestone buttresses of Conistone Dib loom large in the landscape. It's a bit like being above Malham Cove or Goredale Scar with all the limestone pavement, but it lacks any sign of a water course, which suggests that this was a post-glacial runoff which had a very short but very active lifespan, leaving a deep cleft in the landscape, and the track I'm taking leads right through it. I loves me some limestone landscape, and it would probably be wise to follow the path down through the Dib to Conistone village, by the Wharfe, but I've got a different target in mind, so future plotting around Grassington will have to be put aside as I rejoin the Dales Way route to start back towards the town. Steps are only retraced as far as the first wall though, as I take the path that branches eastwards and starts back uphill, and after only a couple of fields of soft pasture, the terrain turns to that rough grass with lots of spiky limestone poking through to make the going hard on tired legs, and a time check has me discounting the possibility of catching the 3.40pm bus as I'd have to hit the jets from here after a day of barely getting out of second gear. The sheep look at me quizzically, wondering what I'm doing in their field, and some are bold enough to attempt to block my path before remembering their true nature, and I guess this isn't an often used path, as I see no one else out here at all. A bit of level walking presents some trees and the first bit of shade since lunch, and that's good spot to refresh and chill for a few minutes before pressing on and after all those hard surface, it's a surprise to suddenly wander into some very soft going, and the quick check on my map indicates that a natural and concealed spring will easily trap the unwitting walker. Fortunately, it's not wet enough for me to sink and I easily extract myself, meeting the firm path which swing sharply uphill to regain most of the lost altitude to meet the farmstead at Bare House, a building that looks like it hasn't been used in years and lacks a metalled access track, but still appears sound enough to use as a bunk up and party location, if it wasn't for the fact that the area smells strongly of sheep poo.
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Ancient Enclosures on
High Close Pasture |
Over the wall and descend again, heading downhill to seek out the excitingly ancient portion of Grassington Moor, and despite the confusing mess of tracks amongst the drystone walls, it's strangely easy to keep on the right path into the heart of some ancient field enclosures, almost certainly Iron Age and Romano-British in vintage and one of the most extensive ancient sites in Northern England. For the first couple of fields of the High Close Pasture site, it's fun to see how apparently unrelated rocks resolve into clear straight lines that the untutored eye probably would recognise, but the later fields seem to be grassed over and my amateur eye sees nothing despite the riot of lines illustrated on OL2, so my career as a junior Stuart Ainsworth comes to an early end. The high wall also prevents we getting a good look at the settlement site at Kimpergill Hill, and I only find one good spot to take a peer over the wall at what might be an ancient henge before the local cows start to object to my presence volubly. So add this site ot the list of ones to visit with and antiquarian as I could really use some clearer illustration of the histories of Grassington's ancient settlements and lead mines. For now it's time to meet the Dales Way track and take steps back into the town, and the daytripper throng is found not very many steps back among the houses. It's 4.20pm and baking hot, and I've plenty of time to kill before the 5.40pm bus, so a trail is blazed to the Black Horse, where I fancy copious soft drinks but find myself ordering beer without thought. So a pint of Grassington Best is to be enjoyed in the pleasingly cool lounge, looking at the sports on TV and earwigging the conversations of the family party out to celebrate a landmark birthday. It would be grand to snare a room and take a shower right now, but the trail has to lead home, back to the National Park Centre and a wash up can be had in the toilets and lunch remnants are consumed before the bus arrives to take me homeward and that extra water proves most welcome as I sup all the way back to Morley, having easily survived the hottest walking day of the year so far.
Next on the Slate:
Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee?
1,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 720.4 miles (2013 total: 255.1 miles)
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