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11/11/05 to 13/11/05 |
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For all of you that decided the Yorkshire Dales was too far, too cold or just had other things planned here are the details of what you missed! We arrived in Kettlewell late Friday evening, with about five minutes to spare till the last food orders. The pub was The Racehorse (as seen in the film The Calendar Girls) and the food was fantastic. The boys sampled the local ales whereas I (the only girl - where were you all!?) stuck to lemonade due to a bout of tonsillitis, something I played on all weekend, trying for some sympathy. Didn't get much though! The Youth Hostel was much better than I had expected, not being au fait with Youth Hostels. I came out well here being the only girl (perhaps you are forgiven for leaving me alone with all those boys!) as I had a room to myself. The six boys had to share a rather small room and I believe the snoring was award winning. In fact, on occasions, I believe I could hear it through the walls! We thought Clive had brought his friend Andrew along for the walking but it turns out he was just there to compete in the snoring Olympics. It was a close contest for Gold between him and Andy! Saturday started early with a full cooked breakfast for those who fancied it. Clive even stretched to venison sausages with grapes!? And a quick stop in the village shop (as seen in the film The Calendar Girls!) saw us all stocked up with flapjack and old fashioned sweets to see us through the day. And what a day it was! The wind blew and blew throughout the morning and the higher we got the colder and more miserable it got. We stopped at the top to put on more layers but still felt the need to keep moving quickly to prevent hypothermia setting in! We headed to Great Whernside and then along to Little Whernside where the terrain turned to troughs in the peat. We had lunch at the top here in John's shelter. Nice and warm and very friendly…see the photos! On returning to Kettlewell (how pleased was I to see those lights appearing through the dusk!) we stopped for tea and cake at the teashop (as seen in the film….!) before returning to the Youth Hostel. The plan was to shower, change and head to the pub though Andy slowed us down somewhat by getting stuck in the shower room! Luckily most had already showered but as Andy tried to unlock the door, the lock which had appeared to be fairly dodgy all weekend finally bust. The YHA staff managed to find a tool box but after some 45 minutes of DIY we were still no closer to letting Andy out - would we all have to leave him and head off to the pub for some beer!! As a last ditch effort (before bashing the door down) we passed a screwdriver under the door to Andy and he managed to force the door open from the inside and so he emerged wearing not much more than a strategically placed towel!! So we all(!) got to spend another evening sampling the fantastic food in The Racehorse. Some of us retired early, shattered from the exertions of the day (once again I brought the tonsillitis card into play) but the others managed to move in and take in all the village pubs (and a lot of local beer I believe) before staggering back! Sunday morning saw clear blue skies and the wind that had battered us the day before had largely disappeared. The group divided into 2 - Clive, Andrew, Andy and Tim walked from the youth hostel up onto High Cote Moor to get glorious views for miles around. Lunch was taken at the end of the ridge, there was no need for John's shelter today (there was literally no wind at all - Andy), and then they headed back down into the valley for a pub stop in Buckden. 'All' that was left, was to follow the River Wharfe back to Kettlewell, but once again it was dusk before they were back! Meanwhile Erica, Mark and John headed off to Malham, a very scenic drive along some narrow and steep country lanes providing some beautiful views of Littondale and Arncliffe. Their walk started by following the river past Janet's Foss waterfall to Gordale Scar. This was where the adventure began, we left the Sunday morning strollers for a river crossing (wet feet!) and a fun scramble up a waterfall. Next stop was Malham Tarn from where we headed down to the limestone pavement above Malham Cove (past a disappearing stream) and joined all the tourists for the walk down into the cove and then back into the village of Malham for more tea and cake! Thanks to Clive for organising the weekend…..and to Andy for providing the amusing shower episode (amusing to some! - Andy) Trip Report by Erica |
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Northants20s30sRA |
