Length : 73 miles
Started : 25th May 2008
Finished : 7th March 2010
Companions : (in full) Mark Billington (in part )many but I wasn't keeping records
Guide : Mark Billington !
This is a different story again and probably the shortest one as it wasn't my baby.
Mark started this second LMDP project in the Group after the Cumbria Coastal Way had switched to weekends away rather than day walks. It was a fairly obvious choice as the one most central to the Group's base in Preston.
We started off in May 2008 with the stretch from Longton to Walton-le-dale which took in Preston itself. I got a bit lost as one of the drivers to the starting point but we got there in the end. I remember it most for being on the day before Rochdale's Play off Final at Wembley which perhaps doesn't say much for the walk. I also recall we got a bit of stick from some knobheads in the pub at the end; the perils of urban walking !
I realised that by the time the next one came round Julie would have returned to work from her maternity leave and my appearances at events would have to be curtailed. So when Mark appealed for help with "reccying" the next stage on a Wednesday I thought it would be sensible to answer the call as I might not be available on the selected Sunday. We met up at Ribchester then I drove us to Walton-le-dale. We hit a problem almost immediately where a section was closed due to works but we brazenly ignored the notices and none of the few guys on the site challenged us. After that it was plain sailing, the only challenge being the perennial one when walking with Mark, of keeping up with him !
I was available for the next stage when the Group did it in the autumn finishing at Bradford Bridge near Clitheroe. The only thing I really recall about it is hitting Colin square on the head with a randomly thrown conker near Edisford Bridge.
I think we did the next stage, the controversial one between Bradford Bridge and Paythorne the following spring because it was a very nice day. This was where , just beyond Sawley, the riverside route was successfully challenged in the courts in the late 90s and closed to the public and a diversion through the farmland above had to be arranged. I had actually walked that stretch with the Civic Trust a couple of years before the closure and it would have ranked as one of the scenic highlights of the trail if still open. I can't be polite about such selfishness so let's move on.
I did the next stage from Paythorne to Giggleswick again as a reccy with Mark during the week for the same reasons as before. This was a very good section with the view ahead ever improving as we went on. The only snag was not finding an open pub in Giggleswick when we finished.
That just left the section in the Dales to do and Mark was thinking of making a weekend of it in the end of February slot now no longer neeeded for the CCW. I encouraged him in this and suggested a possible venue at Gearstones Lodge near Ribblehead which I remembered from the Settle-Carlisle Way. Mark investigated it on the web and obviously liked what he saw as an advert for the weekend soon appeared on the Group website.
Julie grumbled a bit that it wasn't suitable for her and Simon but that couldn't be a consideration if I wasn't organising it and I got her assent to go. For a long time there were only 4 of us booked on it but eventually the numbers got up to 17 (though one had to pull out at the last minute) which brought the cost down nicely.
We only booked a one night stay which meant a very early start to get up there on the Saturday morning. I arrived at Ribblehead quite early so I went to the burger bar there for a butty noting how cold it was and hoping the heating worked OK in the lodge.By the time I got there some others had arrived then Mark appeared and let us in to drop off provisions and bag beds etc. The plan was to walk down to Ribblehead station for the train down to Settle but it took us so long to work out how to take the key out of the door we had to drive there where we met up with two more of our party.
Nearly all of Saturday's walk was also the route of the Settle-Carlisle Way so it was pretty familiar but certainly worth doing again for the outstanding scenery. The only thing that spoiled it for me was the discomfort from new boots that weren't showing any signs of willingness to be broken in. At Horton-in-Ribblesdale we lost two who opted for an easier afternoon and the train back and these were replaced by a couple who hadn't fancied the early start and had taken the later train down instead. The walk had the unusual advantage that the trail actually passed through the back garden at Gearstones so there was no road trudge to get where we were staying.
Mark's timing was excellent in that I ended up driving the drivers back to the station to retrieve their vehicles just as the football scores were read out on the radio. Without TV or mobile reception there was no other way of finding them out (Dale drew 1-1 at home to Lincoln since you ask ). After a shower and change some of us went playing pool in the games room until it was time to go down to the Station Inn for our evening meal. There we were joined by Colin and Helen who had been reccying for another LMDP project which, God willing, will feature here in due time. The meal was pretty good. After it I was feeling pretty tired so I walked back to the lodge on my own, a good mile's walk during which only one car went past. It was a cold clear night, and with no light pollution nearby, the starscape was just awesome causing me to stop frequently (i.e when I'd warmed up from the last pause) to admire it.
I had a good night's sleep rolled up in the king size duvet I'd taken up. The final stage plus the walk back to the lodge along the Dales Way was only eight miles so Mark wasn't starting it until 11. There was plenty of time to make myself some breakfast, discover I'd left my sandwich filling at home, then return to the pool room for a few games.
The two couples on the weekend both opted out of the walk and returned home. It was a glorious day for the walk with brilliant sunshine and crunchy snow underfoot. Etched in snow the Three Peaks looked magnificent. At the end of the Way there was no prospect of finding the source of the Ribble under the snow so we moved on after lunch and enjoyed an easy stroll back to the lodge. Mark was very impressed that everyone helped tidy up after which a few of us went back to The Station for a drink before dispersing.
Despite the boots problem it was an excellent end to a worthwhile project. In truth the early stages of the trail were a bit featureless but it does improve as you get beyond Clitheroe and the finish is excellent.
And that's it at the time of writing. I have two more on the go, one with Julie and one with the Group but neither will be completed in the very near future. But don't despair. I will be back.
