A Walk to Semer Water; Bedale

On our final morning, we went for a walk around Semmer Water, one of only two natural lakes in the Dales (Malham Tarn is the other). As in the Lake District, this lake is glacial in origin.

 

 

We set off on the lakeside road....the sun was shining...

The scenery was beautiful, and once again there were plenty of new lambs about....and daffodils...

There were plenty of stone walls and stone barns to be seen. The barns are generally disused now, but were originally used to store winter feed, and to protect stock from severe weather.

Also to the seen on this walk is an abandoned church, Old Stalling Busk Church.

A view across the lake. The latter part of this walk was very wet and our boots were covered with mud!

After our walk at Semmer, we headed home to Suffolk, stopping for lunch at Bedale. We had a good look around the church...

Most of the bollards had been "yarn bombed"...

A lunch of Northern proportions, and at a very reasonable price.....finally it was time to drive home.

On The Railway, Settle and Skipton

On one of our days in the Yorkshire Dales, the weather was not promising, so we decided to spend a day on the Settle to Carlisle railway.

 

The nearest station to Hawes is at Garsdale - there were others waiting for the train also, including walkers from the Pennine Way going home. This line was nearly closed some years ago, but was repaired, saved and is now very popular. Our train was a normal train, but there also are monthly steam trains run by another private company.

Our little train! We got off at Settle.....

 

We had plenty of time, so walked to Giggleswick, a village with a public school of the same name.

 

 

This cafe in Settle always causes amusement - it is not known whether it was an inn, or whether it was once an undertakers...

 

 

Due to a misunderstanding with the return times for the trains, it was easier to catch a train south to Skipton. After a wander about, we then caught a train to our original stop, Garsdale. Skipton has a lovely church with an excellent ring of bells. There is also a castle.

The main attraction on this train route is of course the famous Ribblehead viaduct. Being on the train, though, we could not see it! We will have to do one of the nearby walks  next time, to get a good view of the viaduct.

I have booked a visit for July, and expect that the area will be much busier in summer than at Easter.

A Few Days In the Yorkshire Dales

Over Easter, Mike and I went to the Yorkshire Dales for a long weekend. I was not familiar with this area, though when I was younger, the family did go to the southern Lake District often as the then in-laws lived there. I was very impressed with the Dales, and I think that we will be returning again this summer.

 

Rather randomly, I chose a B & B in Hawes, and it proved very pleasant. But how prices have shot up recently! The good part is, this area is easier for us to get to, it is straight up the A1 and across. Shame about the traffic at Cambridge, although I see that a huge new bypass of Huntingdon is now in progress...

 

 

On the first morning, we awoke to a light covering of snow - and it was made the fells look very pretty, though it did not last long. After a cooked breakfast, we did a walk from Hawes to Hardraw and back to Hawes. There are many old stone barns in this area.

 

Here, you can spot the snow on the fells. Many new lambs were in the fields, some with plastic raincoats on to keep them dry.

 

 

The waterfall at Hardraw - there is an admission charge of £2.50 to gain entrance. In Victorian times there was a flood and mudslide which destroyed the waterfall. However, the landowner pieced together the stones at the lip and was able to repair the waterfall.

 

 

After lunch, we took a drive up the spectacular Beggar Man's Pass. We then parked up and walked along the Roman road. This is still a navigable road and there were occasional bikers and 4x4 owners testing their vehicles ability to traverse the track. This walk produced some of the best scenery of the weekend.

 

Here, you can just see some of the snow remaining at higher levels, looking into the dale.

 

 

 

In the evening, we did a final walk from Gayle to Askgarth Falls. I imagine these falls must be packed with walkers during the summer!