A windy walk in Yorkshire

Hiya. Just back from a two day trek in the wilds of North Yorkshire with my buddies. Think we've done about 28 miles in total, the first day was longer at 17, the second day not so long at 11. I will check that on the bike hike web site tomorrow. The first day was quite strenuous, a lot of up and down hills, with some scrambling over rocks, a lot of wind to do battle with, and lots of steps around Malham Cove. 

We set off from the car park about a mile north of Skipton and it wasn't long before we were trekking over Flasby Fell. The first climb took us to the top of Sharp Haw. Lovely views from the top. The weather was sunny but windy. 

Off the Fell and into Flasby, a small hamlet with a Beck running through it. We came across a field of very contented looking cows, basking in the sun.

Then it was footpaths all the way to Winterburn Reservoir. This was the closest the path went to it on our side. The dam and weirs were hidden behind the trees.  

 More footpaths, over Boss Moor, to Bordley.

This handsome chap was munching his lunch as we passed by Bordley House Farm.

Over the moors past a Roman Marching Camp, nothing left of it now, and over the stream.

We made a short diversion to Malham Tarn, which is a national nature Reserve, and England's highest freshwater lake. It is owned and managed by the National Trust.

From there we joined the Pennine Way down to Malham Cove. This is typical of the stunning scenery in this beautiful part of North Yorkshire.

A lot of scrambling was needed as we headed for the famous Limestone Pavement at the top of Malham Cove. To the right of the picture out of shot we did a u turn through a gate and proceeded to scramble down hill along that stone wall you can see trailing into the distance. 

And here is the Limestone Pavement. Huge massive boulders to walk across, or should I say hop from one to the other, with two to three feet crevices in between them. You wouldn't want to get your foot trapped down there. Here is an interesting site from the  Limestone Pavement Conservation Society.

A selfie at the top of Malham Cove.

Marvelous views from up here. It was about 5pm by this time, so we almost had the place to ourselves.

We came down the steps at the side and this is what the cove looks like from the bottom. Here is a bit more information on Malham Cove. 

After that great day's walking, the Cove was the icing on the cake. It was a short walk to the village where we checked in at the Youth Hostel. I was given the key to a four bedded dorm and was pleased to find I had only one person to share with.

The local hostelry provided us with much needed refreshments and food, although at one point I wondered if I was going to get anything to eat. There were two vegetarian dishes on the menu, and neither of them were available. I asked for a plate of chips. Then the barman suggested I had a starter of mushrooms stuffed with goats cheese. OK, I went along with that, after all it was only £5.20. Then as a goodwill gesture he said they would add the chips free of charge. Sounds good I thought, given that the meals were around £12 to £15 each. I didn't want a full meal anyway, knowing that I was going to get a good breakfast at the hostel.

When the mushrooms came I was gobsmacked. I was expecting some of those big round flat ones with loads of filling piled in. On the plate was four tiddly squat smallish to normal size mushrooms, the sort you get in a punnet for £1. Four chuffin mushrooms with a squiggle of soft cheese in them for £5.20. They must have cost all of 50p, I suppose the rest of it was payment for sitting in a country pub in a popular tourist village.

Someone has asked me what the hostels are like inside. I took some photo's and will make a separate post of that so please bear with me. I have some photo's from day two to post as well, so come back later for more. Thanks very much for popping in. I'll catch you tomorrow.
Toodle pip