Day 1
The first day of total peace and quiet that me and the dogs have had in 18 months and we were all happy as sandbags.
After getting the tent pitched and brewing a coffee, I sat on the grass and enjoyed the view up the hillside. The weather was gorgeous and life couldn't be better.
An hour later we saddled up and went for our first walk of the 4 day break and after half an hour I was sweating like a pig and feeling the pain in my legs. Despite all the walks we had done in preparation for this trip, my poor little legs were just not ready for all the ups and down in quick successsion. I was guzzling water like there was no tomorrow and the dogs just didn't seem at all phased by it. They were happily weaving from one side of the track to the other taking in all the new smells and interesting local oddities. Like Sheep Poo!
To them it was obviously a delicacy but there was so much of it that I gave up trying to stop them eating it.
Unfortunately we didn't come across a stream on the walk for the dogs to have a swim and after and hour and a half we turned around and headed back to the campsite.
I put the kettle on and fed and watered the dogs whilst the water boiled.
Now I know the dogs were worn out because they ate their food, lying down, after which they pronptly fell asleep right there on the grass next to their food bowl. I didn't have the heart to disturb them to walk up the hill to fill the water bottles so I joined them and had a nap myself.
A couple of hours later we were all three refreshed and played fetch. By 7pm I was making hot chocolate, thinking about where to go tomorrow and crawling into my sleeping bag.
Day 2
I had a horrible nights sleep. I couldn't get comfortable because the ground was rock hard. First lesson learned, buy a blooming inflatable mat next time. However it was lovely and warm so that was a bonus. The dogs slept straight through the night and never moved an inch despite all my shuffling and rolling around.
We were up at 5:30am when dog shoved his face in mine to let me know that he wanted to go out and after a liesurely breakfast we were on our way by 7am
Note to self: Forget porridge unless its really cold outside because it makes a mess of the pans and really doesn't taste all that good anyway.
The weather looked a bit dicky today so I decided to do a short round trip in case it turned really awful. We were in search of streams today but all the streams were dry as a bone and yes, I went the correct way following the guide. Not to worry though because it was a lovely walk because the weather brightened up a little bit, so we ended up going further than planned.
The dogs behaved very well when crossing the fields full of sheep and didn't go into attack mode a single time. They were just curious, as were the sheep. Sprout was more interested in finding and eating what the sheep left behind than the sheep themselves.
Things turned worse in the next field though. It was full of cows.
They all started looking at us as we approached and they were standing right on the track. As we got closer a few of them started moving towards us which was completely opposite the sheeps reaction. They moved off the track as we approached. Not the blooming cows. You could see in their faces that they weren't coming over to say "Hey there, how are you enjoying your walk today. Would you care for a drink of fresh milk?"
When they got a bit too close, I mean like 3 feet away and still coming, I started waving my map at them and saying, Hey, Ha, Ho,, HoooAhhh Gerron cow!
It worked, they moved away and what's more, Dog still wasn't in attack mode. Quite the opposite actually, he was 'cowering' behind me
Over the brow of the hill were more cows, all staring us, all with the same look on their face and this time even the outliers were heading TOWARDS the track. It looked kinda like they were setting up for us to run the gauntlet.
As I looked ahead and tried to assess the risk, I suddenly thought of the cowboy films and cattle drives. They would sing softly at night to stop the herd being freaked out and stampeding, right?
So I cleared my throat and softly sang 'Git along little doggy'
Bad move
They either didn't like my singing voice or preferred Mark Ronson and Uptown Funk.
An image of cows dancing over the track, mooing "Dales field cows gonna give it to ya, don't believe us just watch"
Anyhoo, my singing seemed to annoy them and they headed straight for us. I spotted a dark brown beastie with horns and got a bit worried because he was pushing past the others and another thought popped into my head.
Documentaries of Alaska and advice on Bear attacks. They recommend that you walk along shouting HEY BEAR, HEY BEAR in order to alert them to your presence and if that fails, you go to the bear spray and give them a squirt.
Well I was fresh out of Cow spray this morning so I switched from Git along little doggy, to HEY COW HEY COW
It was a little scary actually because one of the cows actually started mooin and pushing its head down towards Sprout and when Dog saw that he did attack. Teeth bared, snarling and in full on attack.
It was the worst part of the trip but we made it through again without harm
The bridelway wound up over the hill and over the crest were even more cows and I just deflated. We had been lucky twice, I wasn't going to risk it again.
Everything I had ever read about hiking with dogs and crossing fields of livestock advises you, if chased, to leave your dogs and run.
Well I'm sorry but theres no way on earth I am going to leave my babies at the mercy of any livestock, so I scanned the landscape and decided to detour across the scrubland, well out of their way and if any farmer had a go at me for being off the public pathway, then so be it.
When we made it to the road and stopped for drinks and a snack, the cliuds started to roll in quickly so I decided that instead of crossing the main road and continuing the walk, we would head down the road and back to camp.
It was a wise decision because we had no sonner got back and settled down with a cuppa when the heavens opened and down it came. This was going to be a good test for my £30 Tesco tent hee hee
After an hour the rain hadn't abated, in fact it was worse, so I joined the dogs in deep sleep.
Considering that they are both Border Coliies you would think that they would be livelier after a walk and still full of beans but each time we come back from a walk they fall fast asleep, bless 'em
Sprout worried me actually because she looked poorly rather than tired and I wondered if it was all the sheep muck she was eating but the farmer who owns the camp site says that his collie does that all day long and hes ok.
We awoke from our afternoon nap and the weather still hadn't improved so when there was a lull in the storm we ran to the car and headed into the local village and had a couple of hours trawling the gift shops and stocking up on supplies from the local co-op before heading back to the tent for some tea.
My whole body is aching so I will relax for the rest of the evening and play with the dogs on the campsite, plan the walks for tomorrow and go have a shower (yeah I know, really roughing it arent I? :P )
My evening meal tonight was superb. woohoo. Egg fried rice with spring onion and scrambled egg, to which I added a Vesta sauce of some description. Not quite sure what it was but it certainly added something to the overall flavour. I also added a sachet of soy sauce and some chopped up Chorizo. Mega yummy. It's definitely going onto my camping food list for the future.
7:15pm and just made a coffee before taking the dogs for a short evening walk to get them settled for the night.
I have to say that powdered milk tastes bloody awful and when I get back home I'm going to do powdered milk taste test trials to find the best one. Failing that I shall be bringing sachets of capuccino on future trips.
Today was also the day for injuries. First I trapped my finger in a gate when closing it and ended up bleeding all over the place and then I stabbed the end of my penknife into the palm of my hand when closing it and ended up bleeding again haha
Never mind, it was another great day
Day3
Awoke this morning at dog 'o' clock. He's getting really good at clambering all over my head to let me know he wants to go out for a wee and by 5:15 I had a coffee in my hand watching the dawn appear over the top of the hill at the campsite.
I skipped the porridge (yeuch) and just had a couple of cereal bars along with a hot chocolate for energy. Dog ate brekky but Sprout didn't and by 7:30 we were on our merry way.
Having seen no babbling brooks or raging rivers yet, I decided to guarantee water and do the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail.
The walk is ever so rocky and uneven and there are steps up and down a lot of the hills, but it was a spectacular walk through woodland right by the side of the river.
The water in the river had a very red tinge and it made me think of the gangster movie I watched years ago where one of the cast said "Rivers of blood Ma. Rivers of blood"
I'm still not sure what caused it but from now the river Twiss is known to me as Blood River
The sound of the river to my right as I walked along had a cooling effect and I picked up the pace. I might add that 'picked up the pace' as far as me and the dogs are concerned, is more akin to a normal persons walk rather than our usual foraging shuffle.
The trail guide I bought at the gift shop said that after the second kissing gate, you should look out for the money tree on your left but I was so captivated by the woodland flora and fauna and the river bubbling away gently that I thought I had missed it. Not sure what a money tree is anyway. I will consult my Collins tree guide later.
The dogs were struggling a bit with the rocky track and the uneven surface of roots and pebbles and wotnot but we moved along slowly, stopping by the river for them to have a drink and a paddle to cool their feet and seeing what I could find to munch in the undergrowth. It was turning out to be an absolutely brilliant walk. Definitely more to my liking.
Up ahead was a fallen log so I stopped to photograph it and then walked up to it to get another shot from a different angle. Well whaddya know. The money tree
It seems that for years and years, walkers have been picking up a stone and whacking a few coppers into the fallen tree. The whole thing was covered in pre decimal coins. So many that it was difficult to see the wood any longer. Further along the trail were some tree stumps carved into mushrooms and they were covered in coins too
Continuing along the trail, the scenery just got better and better and the constant sound of the river just added to the ambience.
As we strolled through Pecca Glen I could hear the sound of the waterfalls and when they came into view, WOW!
Now, we aren't talking Niagra Falls or anything here, but it was still breathtaking and I stood there for ages taking it all in.
There are a series of five falls in total, each with its own beauty. The last one is a little further up than the others and is a hell of a climb up staircases, one after the other which are very tiring on the legs.
Even the dogs hated them and at one point, Dog tried to climb a near vertical bank, rather than do another set of steps, bless him. But when you arrive at the top, Oh my god, it's beautiful.
If it had been mid afternoon on a scorching day I would have been straight into that pool fully clothed after the climb up those steps but it was still early morning on a dull day so I let the dogs paddle instead
After half an hour here we turned to continue the climb to the top of the hill and guess what? Yep. More steps but we finally broke out onto the top and had to stop for another rest.
Somewhere along the way I had lost the little trail guide but knew this was the halfway point before heading back to Ingleton. Nevertheless I pulled out my map to make sure which direction I should be heading.
I remembered from the guide that further along, we had to go through a farmyard and then through a field of cows, which after yesterday was a bit worrying. Also, farmyards have dogs and mine dont get on with other dogs, so I was looking for a way to bypass this section.
I have realised two things.
Firstly, Sheep are nice placid animals. Curious, but placid and get out of the way calmly after they have had a look at you and also, they do nothing but eat and provide delicacies for dogs.
Secondly. Cows are evil.
There are two types of cow. The first are like sheep, they eat, enjoy the scenery and aren't bothered about hikers and their dogs.
The second type is the Battle Group. Those buggers huddle together in two's and three's and plan which country to invade next. When they see hikers, they incite all the other cows to riot.
I don't like the second type of cow.
Where was I? Oh yes...
Whilst I was standing there I saw a head appear down the steps and a few moments later and old lady came past with with two terriers out in front of her and she was walking quite briskly considering the climb she had just made. I did a double take as I looked at her and back down the hill, wondering if she had somehow just materialised on the last flight of steps and not really walked all the way up at all.
I'm stood there puffing and panting, the dogs are laid at my feet dying of heat exhaustion and there she is, striding along like she had eaten three weetabix for breakfast.
I read in a pamphlet somewhere that record time for completing the 3 peaks challenge is two and a half hours. I bet it was her.
The next part of the walk was very pleasant. No steps, no steep climbs, just a gentle stroll down to the farm.
When we arrived at the farmyard there was no dog and the cows were in their own field behind a locked gate. Yaaaaaay and stuff.
Down the hill I could see the Roman road. When we arrived there was a convenient rock for me to sit on and shelter from the stiff breeze whilst we had a mid morning snack and a cup of tea.
After our break we had the choice of crossing the road and walking up past the quarry to see a hillside Lime kiln and another waterfall, or turning right along the Roman road and heading back to Ingleton.
The trail past the quarry came back to this point anyway and considering that if I had gone to the quarry i would have been yelling obscenities at the workers and throwing rocks at them for ruining the landscape, I thought it best to just head back to Ingleton. The weather was closing in again anyway.
It was a nice walk along the Roman road. A farmer was herding sheep in a field so I stopped at the gate to watch, hoping the dogs would pick up a few tips from the working dogs.
"See?" I asked, "That's how you are supposed to behave"
They weren't the slightest bit interested because I had my left hand in my pocket so they thought they were about to get a doggy treat.
Onwards we went and the Roman road turned into a tunnel of trees with banks either side full of Blackberries and Rosehip. We snacked on the berries as we made our way down the road and I was going to collect the hips to make some fruit leather but didn't bother.
The even tarmac was welcome on the feet but the up and down sections were playing havoc on my knees. Going up hill was okay because the dogs were excited and pulling on the leads which dragged me along with them which was nice and thoughtful of them hee hee but the downhill stretches they seemd to forget that i was tied to them at the waist and I had to steady them so I didn't fall flat on my face.
Arriving back at the car we had a drink of water and then I popped into the Tourist info centre to pick up some leaflets and found one for a nature reserve and two for local caves.
The weather being as it was I decided not to do another walk in the afternoon but went to look around the area. The first of the caves wouldnt allow dogs because most of the route was via metal grid walkways which isnt good for doggy paws and claws but the second cave is pathway all the way through so tomorrow we may go there. Its a mile walk through the cave which should be pretty good.
When we got back to the tent I made a cuppa and brushed the dogs and checked them over. Dog's paws were a little bit red and Sprout was looking a bit lackadasical, so I gave them the rest of the day off. If they are ok in the morning we can do the cave walk and then in the afternoon, go for the big climb to the top of Whernside and see the view from the top. Apparently you can see all the way to the west coast if the weather is good.
Day4
Unfortunately Dog's paws are no better and Sprout is still looking very tired. She also has a slight limp on her left rear leg so I am calling it a day and packing up to go home.
I had a fantastic time here and will be returning as soon as I can to explore more of what the Dales has to offer. I feel very refreshed and contented and the dogs both seemed to enjoy it too.
Powdered milk sucks
Cows are evil
Cheap Tesco tents are cool
