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| A Very Novel Walk |
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Date : 20th June 2010
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Leader : Nigel Brooke |
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Report by : Phil Bedson |
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Photos © : Phil Bedson |
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| St. Oswalds, Arncliffe | |
Kettlewell in the Yorkshire Dales was the destination for Nigel Brookes’ first walk as a leader for Hyndburn Group and attracted 7 other people. It was warm and sunny as the group left the small car park near the river and headed through the village. Taking a small path behind a cottage a small gate led us onto a good path which would lead us up the Wharfedale valley. Keeping to the contours just above a wall the views both forward and back to Kettlewell were very clear. We paused as Nigel pointed out our route ahead, crossing the valley and ascending the opposite side. A good pace was being set and before long we dropped into the village of Starbotton. After crossing the road a narrow path would lead us to a substantial bridge across the River Wharfe where a drinks stop was called.
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left:
Starting out up the valley... |
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right: Bridge over the Wharfe |
With the group suitably refreshed the way forward was undeniably uphill. The narrow path up through the trees was a steady climb but the shade provided was a welcome respite from the sun as we went. As the path came out into the open the views were grand and one could only imagine how the glaciers of old had carved their way down the valley. There was still quite a steep drag uphill to the crest of the ridge and a brief pause was had by all before the top was reached. Arrival at the top was greeted by the sight of lots of other walkers who had taken the traditional path up from Kettlewell which follows along the length of the ridge to Firth Fell (see this walk). Our route however was straight back down the other side which was quite a comparison to the ascent for after walking over short grassy Yorkshire Dales we were on a path through brown heather covered moorland! The clear path made for good walking and as we went our lunch venue of Arncliffe came into view. We also spotted a long line of tractors winding their way towards the village and we prayed they would be passing straight through - it’s only a small bar at The Falcon Inn at Arncliffe! We crossed the bridge over the River Skirfare into the village and wound our way through the lanes to the village green outside The Falcon where lunch was taken accompanied by a local beverage.
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Back down the valley to Kettlewell |
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right: Arncliffe from on high |
At the start of the day Nigel had posed a couple of literary questions for us to ponder upon as we walked. The first was where Arncliffe featured in regards to The Water Babies whilst the second asked why the village is related to Lady Chatterley’s Lover. As we ate various discussions took place as to the answers with the common consensus being that Charles Kingsley (who wrote The Water Babies) was buried in the churchyard and he had in some way been instrumental in the censorship of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Nigel revealed the answers saying we were close in Charles Kingsley had written his novel whilst staying in the area although he wasn’t buried there BUT a person who was instrumental in the trial for Lady Chatterley’s Lover is! Bishop John A T Robinson campaigned against the books censorship and his involvement greatly helped in the verdict of Not Guilty. When he died in the 1980’s he was interred within the grounds of St. Oswalds in Arncliffe.
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Outside the church... |
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Inside the church |
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As we left the village after lunch our route took us by the church so a quick look around was taken. All agreed it was a lovely village church as we proceeded along the banks of the River Skirfare on the last leg of our journey. The field paths were pleasant as we proceeded and we barely noticed the sky clouding over slightly. At a point where the river had eroded the bank we watched as the sand martins whizzed back and forth to their nests with mouthfuls of food for their chicks. Soon we arrived at the footbridge which would take us over the river and into the tiny hamlet of Hawkswick. This signalled the start of another climb to take us back over to Kettlewell although this wasn’t to be as high as the first climb.
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Field paths... |
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right: ...and riverbanks |
The nice clear path hardly varied in its inclination as we climbed and soon we had reached the top where once again it was time for a quick drink. The descent was tricky in places due to the numerous rabbit holes everywhere and the occasional bit of a rock scramble due to the exposed limestone. We continued our descent to go through the trees on the lower slopes and before long the road came into view. A concessionary path keeping us off the narrow road led us on to emerge near the bridge and the small car park from where we had started out. The clouds had once again cleared to reveal the blue sky and everyone thanked Nigel for a great and interesting walk.
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| The final descent | |
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