Having skipped a bit of the Pennine Way I travelled down to Gargrave on the 10th of June to join Sue and Megz the dog for a two day walk to Hebden Bridge. This little campsite (Eshton Road Caravan Site) in Gargrave is part of a small, quiet caravan park, we were one of only two tents. The other tent was also occupied by people walking the Pennine Way. This site plus the various pubs, cafes and shops make Gargrave an excellent overnight stop. The following morning we packed up and walked into the centre of Gargrave along the Leeds-Liverpool canal.
We didn't go far, just to the excellent Dalesman Cafe for a cooked breakfast.
This display of second hand baskets for sale was on the railings outside, I was tempted to buy at least one but didn't really want to have to tie it onto my rucksack.
The cafe also sells sweets in the lovely old fashioned jars.
Outside is a Pennine Way milepost - the only one like this that I have seen.
After leaving Gargrave across the fields it was then back along the canal. Easy walking but not for long,
This bridge was amazing - two bridges one on top of the other, this is where the A59 crosses the canal.
After leaving the canal we then passed through fields which led to moorland, alternately dropping down into valleys before climbing up onto moorland again. On arriving at Ickornshaw to find the toilets (and possible source of drinking water) closed we made a detour into Cowling to stock up on water and ice lollies. It was getting on towards late afternoon by now but Ickornshaw was on a busy main road and there was no sign of anywhere to camp so we decided to press on to Pondon.
When we got to Pondon, however, there was no sign of a campsite there either so we had no choice but to slog on up the hill to Upper Heights campsite which we hoped would be open. It was now about 7.30pm and poor Megz was on her last legs. So just imagine our reaction when we got to Upper Heights to discover that it had closed two years ago!! We spoke to the guy who used to run it, at first he suggested we go to the site in Pondon!?! but after we said we would rather wild camp than go back down the hill said that we would be fine up on the moor, he would OK it with the gamekeeper. Another mile up the track was Top Withens a ruin that is said to be the inspiration for Wuthering Heights, he thought that might be a good place to set up camp. We walked on up the track looking for somewhere to set up camp, the ruin was too spooky to camp next to but a bit further on was a small enclosure with a wooden bench which gave us a flat area to set up the tent. By now it was about 9pm, thank goodness it was the middle of summer so we still had light to cook dinner. I was a bit nervous about wild camping but Sue has wild camped a few times and assured me we would be fine, plus we had the dog - she would lick people to death!
These pictures were taken the next morning and as you can see we survived. The night was not without incident however, at some point in the middle of the night I was woken by torchlight. The light was bobbing about and then swept across the tent, I sat up quickly, heart thumping, and then the light disappeared. After a while I must have gone back to sleep again because the next thing I knew it was morning. I told Sue what had happened and she said she was glad to have been asleep. I think it was probably just someone night walking (why I don't know) with a head torch on and must have just looked towards the tent as they passed. Anyway the experience of waking up on that high moorland with such a fantastic view more than made up for any scares I might have had.
This is the view from our tent looking across the valley to the North, with the ruins of Top Withins to the left. Wild camping was a great experience and one I hope to repeat sometime. It also meant that we started our second days walk from the top of the hill.
We were quickly down into the valley on the other side and walked along the banks of this reservoir with the glorious Rhododenron bushes flowering on the other side.
After another stretch of moorland walking, and a slight detour because we missed the path, we made another detour to visit May's Farmshop at Highgate Farm. This is a gem of a place, I asked for a pot of tea so the lad running the shop took the money then shut the shop door and went down to the Farmhouse Kitchen to make it! It was lovely sitting outside in the sunshine. They also have a toilet which is an original composting toilet (a deep hole in the ground) with a bench like seat with a hole in (we had one just the same when I was a child living in Leicestershire, as an outdoor toilet, we had a proper one in the house). When I went in and shut the door it was completely dark, no light, so I had to use the head torch.
After our refreshment stop we continued over the fields for a few more miles before dropping down into the town of Hebden Bridge.
Thanks to Sue and Megz for walking with me and sharing some great experiences. At the end of July I will be returning to Hawes to fill in the gap from Thwaite to Gargrave. I am really looking forwards to this as it is supposed to contain some of the best bits of the Pennine Way - Great Shunner Fell, Pen-y-gent and Malham. Fingers crossed for good weather.
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