The Dales Way - Ilkley to Bolton Abbey
Her Walk Description
Blah blah blah
Blah blah blah
His walk description.
Parking the car in the centre of Ilkley allowed us an opportunity to establish our prowess as serious walkers about to conquer the Dales Way. Unfortunately we didn’t have the correct O.S. Map for the beginning of the Dales way and had to rely on a sectional description from a very old guide book.
Arriving at the correct bridge we crossed over to an ice cream van and I asked if we were on the correct side for the Dales Way. The young lad nodded and pointed down the track as he handed us a couple of delish home-made cones (99 flakes of course).
After bashing across a couple of fields wet with early morning dew beside the river bank, and getting frustrated by Haitch stopping to stroke all the dogs and compliment the owners for being sturdy guardians of our canine friends, I simply couldn’t understand why we hadn’t arrived at the club house described. Nor could I understand why the path through the estate was not materialising.
About a mile down the track (our FIRST mile of the walk) I decided we should go back to the ice cream van and take our bearings again.
Back at the bridge Haitch noticed a sign post on the other bank. We ambled across looking for all the world as if we had just FINISHED the Dales Way. Of course we were on the wrong side of the river.
In my haste to navigate and direct I had neglected the obvious - read the signposts lad!!
Finally on the correct side of the river and heading in the right direction, the book became an awful lot more understandable. In fact it was accurate enough to get us along the way without the map.
After a few miles we forced our way through yet another kissing gate to arrive in the back streets of Addingham, where hunger overtook us and we headed into the centre of the village to find a pub and have some lunch...a very good lunch it was too. Roast beef and yorkshire pud, what else would you have in deepest Yorkshire on a Sunday?
We decided to follow an alternative higher route out of Addingham and once again struggled with the walk description of the book. I was incredibly frustrated not having the correct map and couldn’t wait to get onto the first OS 1:25,000 which would allow me to know precisely where we were.
After some weird stiles and most unlikely overgrown paths we turned around and trundled back down the hill into the village centre to get back to the river bank path.
It started to rain heavily, then thunder, lightening zapped around us and we took refuge in the pub doorway again, tempted to go in for a pint and say farewell to the Dales Way and all it entailed.
Eventually we plucked up some courage as the raindrops reduced to the size of tennis balls and we found a caravan park shown on the bottom of the OS map - yeeeehhhaaaarrr now we could walk at pace.
We smugly struck through the middle of the caravan park in the easing rain and passed several families sniggering at us from inside their warm and toasty caravans, guzzling lunch with wine and the tele on. At the far end of the site, where I expected to find a gate, we came to a very thick hawthorn hedge, solid as a brick wall, we casually meandered to the right searching for the gate, then a bit more and spotted the riverside path on the other side of the hedge! Hmmm...must have gone wrong somewhere Haitch.
A teenager sidled up to us en route go her luxury caravan and said, ‘The gate to the river is just by the entrance to the park...back there.’ She pointed toward another Dales Way signpost.
The rain stopped as we hastened up the river bank to our car at Bolton Abbey feeling quite useless and ready to stay in the Lakes to do our walking in future.
Parking the car in the centre of Ilkley allowed us an opportunity to establish our prowess as serious walkers about to conquer the Dales Way. Unfortunately we didn’t have the correct O.S. Map for the beginning of the Dales way and had to rely on a sectional description from a very old guide book.
Arriving at the correct bridge we crossed over to an ice cream van and I asked if we were on the correct side for the Dales Way. The young lad nodded and pointed down the track as he handed us a couple of delish home-
After bashing across a couple of fields wet with early morning dew beside the river bank, and getting frustrated by Haitch stopping to stroke all the dogs and compliment the owners for being sturdy guardians of our canine friends, I simply couldn’t understand why we hadn’t arrived at the club house described. Nor could I understand why the path through the estate was not materialising.
About a mile down the track (our FIRST mile of the walk) I decided we should go back to the ice cream van and take our bearings again.
Back at the bridge Haitch noticed a sign post on the other bank. We ambled across looking for all the world as if we had just FINISHED the Dales Way. Of course we were on the wrong side of the river.
In my haste to navigate and direct I had neglected the obvious -
After a few miles we forced our way through yet another kissing gate to arrive in the back streets of Addingham, where hunger overtook us and we headed into the centre of the village to find a pub and have some lunch...a very good lunch it was too. Roast beef and yorkshire pud, what else would you have in deepest Yorkshire on a Sunday?
We decided to follow an alternative higher route out of Addingham and once again struggled with the walk description of the book. I was incredibly frustrated not having the correct map and couldn’t wait to get onto the first OS 1:25,000 which would allow me to know precisely where we were.
After some weird stiles and most unlikely overgrown paths we turned around and trundled back down the hill into the village centre to get back to the river bank path.
It started to rain heavily, then thunder, lightening zapped around us and we took refuge in the pub doorway again, tempted to go in for a pint and say farewell to the Dales Way and all it entailed.
Eventually we plucked up some courage as the raindrops reduced to the size of tennis balls and we found a caravan park shown on the bottom of the OS map -
We smugly struck through the middle of the caravan park in the easing rain and passed several families sniggering at us from inside their warm and toasty caravans, guzzling lunch with wine and the tele on. At the far end of the site, where I expected to find a gate, we came to a very thick hawthorn hedge, solid as a brick wall, we casually meandered to the right searching for the gate, then a bit more and spotted the riverside path on the other side of the hedge! Hmmm...must have gone wrong somewhere Haitch.
A teenager sidled up to us en route go her luxury caravan and said, ‘The gate to the river is just by the entrance to the park...back there.’ She pointed toward another Dales Way signpost.
The rain stopped as we hastened up the river bank to our car at Bolton Abbey feeling quite useless and ready to stay in the Lakes to do our walking in future.
Walk Home Page
Why Walk
The Route in Brief
Dales Way
Source to Sea
Nuclear Beaches
Coast to Coast
England E to W
Cumbrian Odyssey
Hadrian’s Wall
Cheviots of Fire
Pennine Way Nth
Pennine Way Sth
What Next
What about a book
Wildlife
All Kitted Up
Why Walk
The Route in Brief
Dales Way
Source to Sea
Nuclear Beaches
Coast to Coast
England E to W
Cumbrian Odyssey
Hadrian’s Wall
Cheviots of Fire
Pennine Way Nth
Pennine Way Sth
What Next
What about a book
Wildlife
All Kitted Up
