Kilometres Walked – Sunday – 4, Monday – 8.6

Monday 3rd April, 2023.

Finally four years later we found The Ribblehead Viaduct. On our last jaunt in 2019 our satnav took us on a wild goose chase trying to find the viaduct. I’m not sure exactly where we ended up but it certainly wasn’t at Ribblehead 😆 And what a day to find it. Big blue sky and sunglasses needed😎 Very impressive indeed. Parking up and going for a stroll around and underneath it, we stood there in awe at the sheer size of it. 24 stone arches rise above the moor 32 metres. So many people lost their lives during construction of the line that the railway paid for an expansion of the local graveyard. Beautiful rolling hills surround the structure making it easy to see why there were so many ramblers out and about. 🥾

Taking the long scenic drive back to West Burton we found another pretty little market town called Settle. There seems to be no end to pretty, historic villages in this beautiful part of the country. Lambs dotted in almost every field, daffodils reaching for the sky, dry stone walls dividing paddocks, narrow bridges and winding roads, bluebells starting to show themselves, mad March hares and beautiful stone cottages. The Yorkshire Dales are a perfect postcard😊

Saturday 1st April, 2023.

Kilometres Walked : 27 km

With blue sky trying to squeeze out from behind the grey clouds we began the first leg of our ramble to the tiny village of Horse House ( population 13 ) and it’s adorable little pub The Thwaite Arms. Bruce the Proprietor poured us our first pint of the day ( yes it was after 12pm ) and after about 12kms through lush green paddocks, heather laden moors and fields of sheep we definitely deserved it🍺

After our lovely refreshment Aunty & Uncle joined us on the next leg. Another few kms through the very green but boggy fields, over cute tiny bridges, down slippery slopes and right through the middle of a dairy farm. We arrived at the edge of Carlton with one last little paddock to cross, mmm I don’t think the horses are supposed to be in here. We’ll be fine we all said 🤪 What could go wrong? We all said 🐎 Well all I can say is we won’t be going through another paddock with horses again. Luckily three of us had walking sticks to help keep them at bay then we realised Aaron was still in the paddock without a stick. Jason threw his stick javelin style just like an Olympian and Aaron caught it just like an Olympian. We all just made it out unscathed ( I wish I had recorded it ). This pub stop was definitely going to be a two pint stop now🍺🍺

Two well deserved pints later we were off again to the third pub stop. The Fox at West Witten. More moors, more Grouse flitting about and of course even more lambs. Tiny little brand new ones💕 We were several kms in now so a sneaky stiff drink along with a couple of pints was definitely in order. Yet another very cute quintessential English pub. Timber beams, a copper bar, stone fireplaces and little tables all tucked in together.

And off we went again for the last leg back to the cottage. 27 kms, five pints and sneaky stiff drink later we arrived home just before dark and perfectly in time for a hearty dinner. Another fabulous ramble in The Dales with the family🥾😊

Sunday 2nd April

Kilometres walked : 6

A feast fit for a king! A proper English pub lunch today😋 Bright blue sky, a short stroll to the Street Head Inn, beautiful vistas the whole way, rolling green hills, lambs and more lambs, crystal clear streams, another dairy farm, daffodils reaching for the sky, new blooms waiting to burst open, yet another picturesque village and of course the cutest yet quintessential English Pub🍺

Yorkshire Pudding, Roast Turkey with all the yummy trimmings, chocolate & orange brownie for afters, great company, fantastic location. A slow waddle back to the cottage. Breathing in all that fresh air. Siesta time😴

Kilometres Walked : Thursday – 4.8, Friday – 11

Friday 31st, March, 2023.

All Creatures Great And Small. First stop, Grassington, Aka Darrowby. Such a captivating little village. Just like a postcard. Tall grey stone buildings lining the narrow laneways. Spring flowers brightening up every bend. Warm inviting coffee shops. The aroma of freshly baked scones😋 And yes you can see exactly why they filmed the tv series here, it’s oh so very picturesque. I can confirm the fruit scone we had with the lot was absolutely delicious. Mmm not sure how bad this habit is becoming? Four scones in the last three weeks ( with the lot! ) Oh well, ‘When in Rome’ they say.

Next stop, Skipton. Another historical market town but much bigger and busier. Catch up time with more family☕️ A short but sweet canal boat ride. A swan in disguise as a goose🦢Lovely lunch with the family. Meandering over cobblestone streets. A medieval Castle perched on the edge of the village.

Rolling green hills and Fells surrounding us on the drive. Blossoms brightly blooming. Waterfalls cascading down hillsides. A glut of twin lambs in almost every paddock. Blue sky trying to show itself. Narrow Stone Bridges in every village. It’s All Creatures great and Small alright.

Today

Slow and steady today. Stock up on supplies. Endless cups of coffee☕️ To much chocolate 🍫Netflix movies. Reading on the lounge📚 Watching the Tups🐏 Wandering around the village. A glass of wine and enjoy the view🍷

Kilometres walked : 19km

Floors climbed : 130

Wednesday 29th March, 2023.

Let’s just do a short walk today he said🤪 19 kms later and several very steep climbs, we made it back in one piece😩 The sun was definitely trying to poke its head through the clouds and it felt warmer than yesterday. ‘Okay’ I agreed, let’s go exploring 🥾 .

Making our way over the little bridge in West Burton next to Cauldren Falls we headed straight up towards Morpeth Scar. Muddy tracks and slippery rocks made the slog slow but the view from the top was well worth it. We could see straight over the village and around to Bolton Castle. Rolling green hills surrounded us and of course more lambs dotted the fields.🐑

Exploring the track to our left we kept on going for a few kilometres, high above the villages below. Dry stone walls divided paddocks, abandoned stone sheds and sheep were spread between them. Fluffy 🐇bunnies raced across the fields and pheasants chased each other.

Finding a non muddy path up through the paddocks to Black Scar, we started our ascent. Fields of thick moss replaced grass and the mist got thicker the higher we climbed. Slowly but surely we made it to the top. Wow! The mist and fog obscured our view slightly but it was still amazing. It was like the top of the scar had its own micro climate. And just on the other side of the dry stone wall was the moors with heather spreading out for miles.

Carefully making our way back the same way we had come, we tiredly trudged back into the village. With stiff legs we made it back to our favourite window seat along with a stiff drink🥃

Monday

Kilometres Walked : 7.1

We pack up our belongings and load up our little hire car ( thank god it is small so we can park it out the front of our cottage) and head for The Yorkshire Dales. With a big blue sky above us we wove our way through walled narrow lanes straight into James Herriot Country.

Leaving the many slate villages of the Lake District behind, we pass vibrant rolling green fields and The Pennines rise above us in the glorious sunshine. Stone cottages almost sit on the road. Single lane stone bridges cross over crisp clear water. Daffodils reach for the sun and hedgerows show signs of new spring growth.

Have we driven into a story book? Is that James in the field tending to the lambs? There’s no doubt that the sunshine and blue sky make everything appear even more beautiful and bright. Twin lambs are around every bend. We’ve lost count now. Their little wooly stumpy wobbly legs are just too cute.

West Burton appears around a long winding narrow lane way. We spot our first Mad March Hare in the field beside us. Stone cottages almost on top of one another line the village. Bluebells start to show themselves. The Reading Room envelopes us like an old friend. The view is just as magical as we remember. The two Tups out the back entertain us. Little birds flit around the shrubs and the sun is still shining. Going for a stroll around the village we see many more sets of twin lambs and even a set of black faced triplets. How very special and super adorable. With the Fells surrounding us and the sun starting to set we sit down and soak up the natural splendour.

Tuesday

Kilometres Walked : 3.7

Today has been a super slow day. Reading books, drinking endless cups of coffee and getting lost in the views over the fields. Imagining James and Helen living in the next village. Watching the Tups ( male sheep) Noticing ramblers go past in all their waterproofs. Spotting a pheasant and some large quails. Enjoying the grey drizzly day tucked up inside.

Kilometres walked : Saturday – 7.5, Sunday – 15km

Floors climbed : 160 (Sunday)

Sunday 26th March, 2023.

Our last ramble in the lovely Lakes District today. And what a beautiful day it turned out to be. The sun was shining and it started out several degrees warmer. One less thermal was worn😆 It was only a short walk at 15 km, but I can tell you the steepness of it more than made up for the shorter distance! We started by heading up past the Ambleside Waterfalls which were just magical, especially with the sun shining onto the green moss everywhere.💚 It was then after following a farm road for a little while we started the very steep and quite long ascent up to the top of Wansfell Pike ( which we can see from the back window of the cottage). With a few breather stops and of course to admire the view, we finally made it to the top where it instantly became about 5 degrees cooler. Pulling on the gloves and beanie and zipping the jackets back up we stood on top of the world to take in the 360 degree beautiful view. With the sun out we could see fells for miles. What a fabulous day.

It was then time to head straight down the other side to a little village called Troutbeck. With hoards of people coming down behind us ( where did they all come from ) we kept to the left and enjoyed the scenery as well as plenty of tiny lambs 💕 and then some very special calves. After asking a local farmer we found out that these beautiful cattle were Luing Cattle originally bred in The Inner Hebrides of Scotland. With fluffy red coats and little stocky legs the tiny calves were just adorable. ( Their mums were just as beautiful ) We then arrived into the very cute small village of Troutbeck where we indulged in a coffee and extremely yummy scone with the lot😊. It seems that around every corner is another tiny village that just oozes cuteness here in the lakes.

After filling our bellies we headed off for the last leg of our loop. More amazing scenery, more tiny lambs, more cute farmhouses and of course more mossy dry stone walls. What a special part of the earth The Lakes District is, especially Ambleside. Very magical indeed.

Kilometres walked : Thursday – 11, Friday – 21 km

Floors Climbed : 64 (Friday)

Friday 24th March, 2023.

After having a much needed rest day yesterday we were up before the birds this morning. Getting ourselves organised and packed up with lunch 🥪🍏🍌 and snacks we set off at 7am for a ramble to Grasmere, a neighbouring village. Also home to the famous Gingerbread 😋. The route there took us past Rydal Hall, set amongst 30 acres of land with beautiful gardens. Then after crossing the road we followed what seemed like a magical path past Rydal Water. It was here the rain became heavier 😬 . We soldiered on past pristine water and magical mossy tree’s and of course more Herdwick’s. Fells and mist surrounded us which really did make it feel like we were in a fairy tale 🧚‍♀️🧚. Soon another body of water appeared and we were approaching Grasmere Lake and the super cute village.

With slightly damp pants and wet socks we stopped at the first cafe that we came across. With a steaming bowl of soup 🍵 and a much needed coffee ☕️ we soon dried out and warmed up. And then of course the rain finally stopped and the sun started to come out 👏. What a picturesque village Grasmere is. More slate cottages and the cutest little church and graveyard where William Wordsworth is laid to rest with his family.

Heading back on a different route we first pass by Dove Cottage where Wordsworth lived with his family. Another pocket of cuteness. You can totally understand why authors and poets loved the area. Then off we go to follow the coffin track back to Ambleside via Rydal Hall again. The coffin route is an old corpse road that was used in medieval times to carry the dead to St Oswalds Church in Grasmere. ( It certainly wouldn’t have been easy😱) Yet another magical walk with the sun trying to shine through the clouds. Passing through Rydal once again we stopped in the garden to eat our lunch before pushing on back to Ambleside. Another fabulous walk with more amazing scenery. And yes the Gingerbread was amazing 😊

Kilometres walked : 26km

Floors Climbed : 86

Wednesday 22nd March, 2023.

With the blue sky showing itself we set off on an adventure to Hill Top. The home of Peter Rabbit🐇. We started with walking down to the Ambleside Pier to catch the ferry to Bowness on Windermere. The 20 minute boat ride across the largest natural lake in England was glorious with the sun popping out regularly. Landing at Bowness we meandered around to the car ferry ⚓️ which would take us across to the west side of the lake at Sawrey. From there it was a 3.2 klm walk to Hill Top. Of course even though the sun was shining the wind had picked up and we were fore warned that the ferry may not be running in the afternoon. So if we missed the ferry we would have an approximate 13 klm walk back to Ambleside along the lake. Yeah we’ve got this we thought, it’s all part of the adventure we said🙄.

The walk to Hill Top was a little boggy but very picturesque. Herdwick sheep dotted the fields and slate cottages were on every corner. And yes there were even a few Peter’s along the way! You can definitely see why Beatrix Potter chose the area and Hill Top Farm for her inspiration. It’s a quintessential country village will rolling green hills all around. You can totally imagine Peter Rabbit running through her garden and Jemima Puddleduck waddling across the lawn. Her cottage is filled with her original pieces of furniture and collectibles which we just loved. Her love of farming and the Herdwick Sheep saw her become the first Woman to be President of the Herdwick Sheep Breeds Association. She bequeathed most of her property to the National Trust stating that they continue to be working farms that breed pure Herdwick Sheep. As a result she is often credited with saving the breed and The Lake District. What a wonderful, hard working and creative Woman.

After browsing through the cottage and garden we set off back to Sawrey to see if the ferry was running. I think you can guess the outcome 😮 so off we went following the path along Lake Windermere back to Ambleside. Pretty as a picture was our return walk. Crystal clear water lapped the shore line as we kept our eye out for an otter🦦. ( we didn’t see one unfortunately ☹️) Wray Castle sat atop the hill beside the lake and cute slate boat houses dotted the shore. After taking a slightly longer route than we anticipated we finally staggered into the Ambleside Inn for our daily afternoon pint🍺. 26 klms is along way, but we made it, even though now we are on the lounge lathered in Tiger Balm already nearly through a bottle of Red🍷. REST DAY TOMORROW 😴

Kilometres walked : 12kms

Floors climbed : 85

Tuesday 21st March, 2023.

Welcome to The Lake District, one of the wettest areas in the United Kingdom. Surrounded by spectacular scenic fells that overlook the many lakes giving the area its name. Ambleside, a beautiful little village full of slate buildings on the shore of Lake Windemere is where we have chosen to base ourselves for the next week whilst we explore the area.

We braved the wet weather 💦 and set off with all of our waterproofs to 🥾 walk up Loughrigg Fell, right on the edge of Ambleside which we are also lucky enough to see from our cottage windows. With our glasses fogging up we battled the wind and cold to be totally awe inspired by our surroundings. Magical Fells rose up out of the mist and mossy dry stone walls went on for miles.

It was boggy and hard going but once we arrived at the top and the mist sort of disappeared, the views were just amazing. Looking out over Lake Windemere, Ambleside and the other surrounding fells, you really just felt like you were in a magical place.

A few Herdwick Sheep were dotted here and there. Quite an amazing creature as they are one of the most hardy of all the British Hill Sheep Breeds, withstanding the cold, relentless rain and harsh winter conditions of The Lake District.

And yes we kind of took a wrong turn, but in the end it worked out for the best as we were able to take in more views and found a different beautiful mossy steep track down to the harbour. We finished off with a pint at the Ambleside Inn 🍺

Kilometres walked : 13kms

Sunday 19th March, 2023.

The last few days have been spent relaxing and catching up with more cousins. The weather has been much warmer aswell, getting to double digits 👏. On a stroll back into the town on Thursday for a little bit of shopping we were surprisingly stripping the layers off on the return. Finding more amazing architecture and a few more op shops we soon clocked the km’s up again. We’ve become quite adept now at weaving our way through the throngs of people everywhere without losing each other.

Friday saw us spend a few hours exploring Jesmond Dene. ( A Dene is an area of land which has a creek running through it ) With some blue sky and warmer temperatures again we explored the many pathways, bridges, little tunnels and ruins throughout the Dene. The delicate snowdrops were still hanging in there and with the sun shining above us all the Crocus opened up. Blossoms were blooming and the moss shone brightly in the sunlight. Once again we easily clocked up the kms. (It’s helping to work the food off😜)

Friday evening more cousins arrived from out of town and we all headed out for a few pints after dinner to catch up🍻