June 20 Grassington circular

 Before launching into the doings of the day, I would like to "share" two observations:

One:  It is a fact that after 12 noon, your backpack gets heavier.  This happens even though you have drunk (what an unpleasant sounding past participle) water and eaten snacks.  There is a direct correlation, as well, between the heat of the day and the extra weight of the pack.  

Two:  People (not all, but some) in this part of the country  have jettisoned a number of consonants of the English alphabet and replaced them with glottal stops or just have not replaced them at all.

The first few miles of today's excursion followed tomorrow's start of the Dale's Way and then turned sharply to the left to territory not to be visited again.  

Heading out of town at about 6:00 a.m., I passed by this Polishing Shop; of course it was closed.  Later in the afternoon I simply had to return to ask what a polishing shop was!  They polish and repair furniture is what they do!  It smelled great!!

The scenery was gorgeous:

Mr Dignified:

These walls are a reminder of a VERY BAD thing I did today.  It was behind such a wall (see photo just below) that I decided to pee.  Wouldn't you know that a tractor went by while I was in the midst and even though I thought I was well hidden, the big, bright-pink-shirted lady driver knew what I was up to.  She soundly rebuked me because I had, unwittingly, to be sure, selected a spot that was reserved for making hay.  "Make your wee by the side of the road," she instructed.  I apologized and she roared off, no doubt looking for other offenders of the country code!

I have been thinking a lot about dry wall construction.  First, where do all the stones come from...the ones in the photo below were well embedded in the ground and it would have been a huge job to dig them out.  And these walls require SO MANY stones, and how do they get them to fit. Chatgpt suggests that these queries be referred to Dry Stone Walling Association, and Yorkshire Dry Stone Walling Guild for starters.  You can also search videos of Dry Stone Walls on YouTube if you really get into it!

By and by I came to the spot requiring the left turn. The marking on the app was pointing to a crevice that screeched, "suicide leap."  Turns out there was a track fairly parallel to the leap into nowhere, so I started down that way.  Then I thought, "Maybe I missed something," so I turned back to see if there was not a nice grassy way to go that I had missed.  There was not, so off on the stony track I went.

The views were still spectacular:

These guys did not run away:

Later on, when the app said "Take the road," I saw a sign that said "Foot Path," which seemed to be pointing in the right direction, so I took that instead and was richly rewarded by fields of buttercups:

Along the river, people were enjoying the perfectly beautiful day:

One perfectly perfect rose:

Back in town, I purchased a slice of fruitcake, two apples, a slab of Wensleydale cheese—Alex, this is so not the grocery store variety AT ALL!  It is way more smooth and delicious—a lemon, and some walnuts and one chocolate bar (not too big) and now I am so worried about the weight of my bag.  I started out with about 37-38 pounds (it is all that granola!  I really better stop saving it) and the limit is 44 lbs.  (20 kilos).  I think I can get away with the extras, but you know, those ounces add up!  

June 19, Grassington

 I ordered a taxi for 6:15 to take me to Bolton Bridge....this is where I left off the day before yesterday.  The taxi showed up on time, but the driver had no idea where the B 6160 was; that is the road that goes from Ilkley to Bolton Bridge.  This is like saying, "I don't know where I 91 is," when you want to go from New Haven to Home Depot (unless you are going to the Home Depot in Hamden or some other place).  I showed him a map.  I showed him 2 maps.  He called the dispatcher, and we got onto the B6160, and, with reluctance, he stopped where I asked him to.  By 6:30 I was on my way.

Who lives here?

Near the beginning, in some woods, there were a number of attractions for children.  Here are two:

Then there was this weirdo thing:

It looks like it has giant snails or brain parts or something all over it.  I tried looking it up, but did not get very far, but then again, I did not try very hard. Maybe I just don't understand art.

And there was another weirdo thing:

A tree stump converted to a seat...not weird so far...with a very large number of coins embedded into the wood and no sign giving you a story.

Oh, gee, I almost forgot Bolton Abbey:

Near Bolton Abbey is the Bolton Abbey Tea Room.  I did so want to use the bathroom, but the door to the facility was locked.  HOWEVER,

The defibrillator works 24/7!

One board for each foot:

which is all you really need.

The route today was absolutely gorgeous, every single step of it.

There was the river:

the sound of which was a lovely as the the look of it.  And there was birdsong.  And everything was green green green.

And there were big buttercups:

And a view across the river

And then there was this:

Umm, maybe named for this tree?:

Sometimes there are no words:

(Maybe he was groomed by a beauty school dropout)

The The Hebden Suspension Bridge admits a single file crossing in one direction at a time.  And yes, it does shake!!

Grassington get a lot of hype as far as towns on the Dales Way go.  It is cute for sure.  The town centers around a square that has more coffee/sandwich shops (all with identical menus) and ice cream venders and chocolate stores and the like and everything closes at 3:00 except for the convenience store that stays open until 9:00.  I had thought that the grocery situation would be much better than it actually is.  You see, when you Google "grocery stores in Grassington" you get results that show supers 20 minutes away by car.

Anyway, today I was not as done in as I was yesterday.  Maybe the moors are just tougher than the dales although the hills start in earnest on the next stage.  Anyway, The Grassington House Hotel where I am staying looks like the Ritz in the pictures, and although it is not quite a dump, it is a bunch of ridiculously decorated rooms over a pub is what it is!  And way overpriced! And hte walls are paper thin. But the guy at the bar did let me access my suitcase before check-in time so that I could change my shoes and get organized.  And the wi-fi works!

June 18, Ilkley Moor Walk

 Today was a circular walk day.  Two walks out of many possibilities were appealing: one, 10.1 miles, the other, 14.  Since I know my proclivity for going off the derech (getting lost), I chose the shorter one thinking that I could supplement it with a 3+ mile walk later should I have the need and desire.  Smart decision because off the path I did go a few times.  Walking in the moors has unique challenges. First, the weather. There are no trees, so there is no shade, the wind can whip through fiercely, and if you go off the path at all—and there are so many of them criss-crossing and some that don't even seem like paths—getting back to the one you want can be a big challenge because it is impossible to tell what is underfoot:  solid ground, bog, holes, both shallow and deep, and such.  Great terrain for getting a sprained ankle! And one more thing, you do not want to get lost on the moors!!

 Anyway, I hit a great day weather wise until the last hour or so when it got uncomfortably hot and I had to take a detour because the route went through a scary, rocky patch.  (Well, that is what a couple in front of me, who had turned back, said, so I took their word and did not even try.) The app claimed I walked 20 miles; my watch said 10.2.  Since it was about seven and a half hours, it was most likely somewhere in the middle.

First encounter of the day:

The first landmark of the day, and I kid you not, "Swastika Stone:"

The lower parts of the hills were fern covered:

Punctuated with the occasional foxglove, so if you have a heart attack and there is no defibrillator, you can at least get some digitalis!

Higher up, it becomes like this:

A view from up high:

Dry Stone enclosure

Gap in a wall offering excelling viewing opportunity:

A feature of this route was some big rocks, all of which have names, but I couldn't tell you any of them.  Call this one whatever you like:

I will call these Ignatius and Sebastian, although I was thinking of Duro y Grande:

These offer a whole new look being rounded and all.  Doubtless, some archeologist would have no trouble assigning them a function in an important religious rite:

As already mentioned, moors can be very boggy, so paving stones have been set down along part of the route.  Note: you can see what very boggy looks like:

Back down at the bottom, a lovely lake:

Those flowers looked beautiful and smelled divine!

Needless to say, after going off the trail a few times and needing to divert and find an alternate route—so not my strong suit—I was not needing that 3 1/2 mile add-on.  I just wanted to take my boots off, take a shower, do the Spelling Bee, and cook something to eat. All in all, it was a great day, and I am happy to just relax and pack up for heading off tomorrow.  

June 17, Dales Way 1/4 of Day 1

 I did begin the Dales Way today.  The thing is, I did not do a FULL stage because Grassington, where I want to go from Ilkley, where I am, is about between 19-21.5 miles depending on who is measuring. SO, I walked to Bolton Bridge (which means nothing unless you are doing it) and back to Ilkley, about 12 miles.  One could not say that it was difficult except that for the first hour and a half or so, I had to put on and take off the rain gear about six times.  "Why bother taking it off," you may ask.  Because it is hot.  Doffing and donning is an annoying and time consuming business.  It really slows you down. But the walk was quite pretty.  Very pretty, I'd say.  We are in James Herriot country, after all!

Sign marking the offical starting point::

And it really is about that blurry!

First sheep of the trip:

And first cows:

 There were many sweet stone houses with gorgeous gardens, or, in this case, climbing roses:

Church and cemetery:

Oh, those dry stone walls!  They are fast disappearing because they are too difficult to maintain.  But they are the essence of the Dales, are they not...well, without the barbed wire!

Black sheep:

There were some wonky stiles for sure:

One knock-out gorgeous bridge:

Bird with orangey tuft:

There was a moment of panic today when I thought I had lost my battery pack and the money I keep aside for quick access.  Honestly, I worried more about the battery pack as I have already had occasion to use it.  A DEAD PHONE = DISASTER. I thought that with all that taking off and putting on the rain garments, both could have fallen out of the pack.  I was lucky! I simply had not looked in the right pocket, and I was luckier still, because in Ilkley, there is a small tech store that carries such items.  Organization of "stuff" is a challenge.  Hopefully, after a few days, I will be "all sorted!"