Yorkshire Dales

Gareth    General Outdoor     North York Moors, Ribblehead, Yorkshire Dales

This weekend saw me heading up to the Yorkshire dales with a group of friends I have been walking with for some time. With the birth of our son Ellis over Christmas, it has been a bit of a busy couple of months in the Jonesnow household and I have not had as much hill time as I want. The double bonus on this occasion was the fact I didn’t have to organise the weekend (cheers Andy!) and we were going somewhere I had never been before, the North Yorkshire Dales. Usually when I go walking I head up to the Peaks, Brecon’s, Lakes or Snowdonia most of the time as I live in the South. Andy has been rabbitting on for years though about how glorious the three peaks were in the dales so it was time to discover the area for the first time.

Driving up to the Peak District on Friday, I left the wife and kids with the outlaws and headed up around Manchester and on to the moors. It’s amazing how the sight of moorland and it’s wildness, not just farmland can uplift the soul. Driving through the villages on my way to the Station Inn at Ribblehead viaduct, I watched the steady flow of walkers in to the pubs on my route as the sun went down gently. Andy had organised the bunkhouse at the pub so we had a spot of luxury with the bar some 20 metres from my bunk, and as we were to appreciate later, a dry place to come back to.

Sometimes I wish predictions were untrue and that despite the reputation for unerring accuracy, the Met Office had got the weather wrong for the weekend. Alas this wasn’t the case, and the gear came out in a major way on our first walk on the Saturday up Ingleborough. The walk through Trow Gill was relatively sunny, but just as we left Gaping Gill, the first drops began to fall. By the time we were near the top, my Marmot Mica and Essence waterproof trousers were on in response to the sheets of rain sweeping steadily towards us, bocking all views. Sometimes though, just being in the rain reminds me of why I love the outdoors. We spend so much of our life cooped up, and the chance to experience weather, even rain, is just a great feeling.

Getting back to a Bunkhouse rather than a tent was also a total bonus, particularly when we cranked the heat up on the Baby belling to cook a mean chilli. Our clothes were warm in no time, and combined with the beer, the night fuddled away quite nicely. Sunday saw a much better day, we started with Pen Y Ghent and Andy slipping in to the most battered set of Targhee shoes I have ever seen.

Although abused by a large Yorkshireman for quite some time, they were still waterproof! What I want to know though is how did a hill in the Yorkshire Dales come to have a welsh name? Questions aside, for me it was the best looking of all the hills, rising in stark contrast to its surroundings with a sharp face and distinctive outline. The hordes were out as usual with a Bank Holiday weekend, but strangely enough I didn’t mind. It was great to see so many people, particularly first timers, out enjoying the countryside. Moving swiftly onwards we went off to do our final hill in our own lazy version of the three peaks, Whernside. By the time we got around to doing it, the crowds had gone and as we moseyed to the top, traffic became less and less until we reached the summit with only one other group to share it with. Without doubt the best views of the viaduct were to be had from this climb and it’s an impressive piece of engineering, the last Navvy bridge to be built in the UK.

The dales left a warm glow for me, and I’ll definitely be back. Were it not for the three peaks, I’m sure they would remain a lesser known gem like the Cheviots, hidden away from walkers interested in just climbing the big hills. Next time I will be keen to get back and ignore the three peaks, and check out the lesser known hills.

If you want to see more photos from the weekend, head over to our Facebook page and take a look at the album

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