Difficulty: Difficult/Long
Walk Source: Ordnance Survey Explorer Map OL30 and gps-routes.co.uk
A couple of weekends ago I decided to get my (new) tent out and go for a long walk - to get away from all the stresses of the city and to get a bit more time away than just on a day's walk. So on a rainy Saturday morning I packed my rucksack and set off for my great adventure. I had hoped that maybe the weather would improve as I drove north, but no such luck.
After about 60 miles (just north of Scotch Corner) I turned off the main road and headed towards the village of Barningham, carefully navigating the small lakes that had formed on the country lane. I drove though the village, and found a lay-by just where the houses ended, where I was assured by a very friendly local man on tractor that it would be ok to park for the weekend.
After some last-minute rearranging of my rucksack I was ready to set off in the rain, only then realising that the fog was moving in closer. I considered for a moment the wiseness of my walk, but decided that since there were no steep cliffs involved, and since there are houses and villages scattered everywhere, I was not in any immediate danger even in the fog. And if it got too bad I could always turn back.
So off I went, past an old gentleman walking his dog who assured me that the weather could only get worse, and past a few remote farms. The bridleway soon took me into a wood and past a horse-farm, where I met a beautiful little dachshund and his two owners who were out hunting pheasants. They looked a little bewildered by my rucksack, then looked at the clouds and shook their heads, but were very friendly about it. In their eyes I must have looked like a typical crazy city-dweller; after all, who would want to be out in the rain if they didn't absolutely have to?
Now, according to my map, I should be cutting through the woods to join a road on the other side. The only problem was that someone had stolen the forest. There were plenty of forestry-machines, and piles of logged trees, but not so much in the way of trees still standing. So I guestimated my way though what can only be described as a mud-bath, before finding solid ground again and setting off in search of the road supposedly located on the other edge of the missing wood. Unfortunately the fog was so thick at this point that it was impossible to see any further than a couple of metres ahead, but suddenly, to my great relief, the road was there before me. I turned left, and followed the road over a little hill and past a bend, and then I set off into the rather wet undergrowth again.
What was supposed to be little streams were now quite a lot larger rivers, so I made a small detour on my route towards the top of a ridge, where I had planned to spend the night. The hill was quite steep for my already tired legs (am not used to carry a backpack), but I eventually got to the top, and started looking for a place to bed down. Avoiding the scariest-looking sheep, and also the wettest part of the bog, I managed to find a rather lovely and sheltered spot where I erected my tent and dived in (the rain was properly chucking it down by this time).
The next morning I awoke to beautiful sunshine and a stunning view (the fog had been too thick for me to appreciate this the previous evening). And after breakfast I set off again on my trek. I kept to the top of the ridge, and then gradually turned inland on small paths over the moors, before joining a bridleway that took me first over a beautifully purple moor then through a lusciously green valley. I then climbed the other side-wall of the dale, and decided that this was such a beautiful spot I couldn't possibly walk past it. So I set up house and sat down to enjoy the sunset and my dinner.
After a good night's sleep I peeped out of my tent to discover that the lovely sunshine of the day before had gone, and instead I had a cloudy day ahead of me. By the time I'd had my breakfast and was ready to move on the first raindrops were falling, but by this point I really didn't care. I felt more relaxed than I had done all summer, and with such beautiful views who can get upset over a few raindrops? Sadly the few raindrops turned into sheets of sideways rain, but wandering through the fields and past derelict farms I couldn't help enjoying myself and the solitude.
Eventually I made it back to the car, and had to face the real world again.
