Dav’s bit o the web

Yesterday was particularly good fun, experiencing some of the best that Yorkshire has to offer to the casual tourist. I got across to Ikley to catch up with some friends I hadn’t seen in a while and we took the opportunity to stretch our legs along the Wharfe for a couple of hours. Bolton Abbey wasn’t terribly busy, but the overcast clouds were probably keeping more than a few people away. The Pavilion cafe was doing reasonable trade though, so it can’t have been all bad. I didn’t see the field that the Hairy Bikers took over though, I’ll just have to go back.

Bodgers Workshop at Bolton Abbey

One new addition between the Pavilion and the Strid were a few carpenters demonstrating traditional woodworking techniques in the appropriately named Bodgers Workshop. They had some good approximations of Stags made out of a few logs and appropriate branches and had a few foot powered tools, including a lathe.

The Strid

P and H produced some excellent banana cake at our half way point by Barden Bridge, a recipe I intend to approximate soon, and the remaining miles just raced past, though I remain uncertain whether we were propelled by conversation or the banana cake. Still, about 7km in about 2 hours was a good morning’s stroll by one of my favourite rivers.

The Wharfe

What better way to continue proceedings than afternoon tea at Bettys Cafe in Ilkley, which to my shame I didn’t know even existed. The queue for tables was surprisingly short, shorter still because we kept just popping back to the shop counter at the front to get just another two Fat Rascals or an accidental Stem Ginger Cake. Yorkshire’s little corner of Switzerland delivered as great an experience as ever, the breakfast Rosti was a popular choice, although the Macaroni looked very comforting and the triple decker club sandwich was impressively presented. A pot of their own tearoom blend tea was a lighter and most agreeable accompaniment to the meal and went well with the sweet onion chutney I had (expertly dolloped by our waitress) with lunch.

The afternoon was spent with a bit more 6 nations on the tv and discussing cameras and a few details of P’s epic cross-Switzerland walk he’s planning later on this summer, so it’s looking like my holidays are pretty well sewn up for this year.

Getting to Robin Hood’s Bay was quite fun, for no apparent reason I decided to go over the tops of the Moors instead of going round the boring way on the main roads. Dodging piles of snow notwithstanding, it was very very attractive to look at. This is the Hole of Horcum:

Hole of Horcum, without snow

Hole of Horcum, with snow

In the years since I first started walking this stretch of the Cleveland Way with the Outdoor Society when it was one of the first Big Two walks of the academic year, the route has changed little on average, but plenty up close and detailed. The cliffs have slowly but surely given way to the weather and elements battering in from the North Sea. I would surely be getting my feet wet if I tried to walk the original cliff top path.

The height graph, though it really should have stayed flatter than that

It still a fantastic route as an opener to the year, with no navigation required and little climbing, it lets you take refreshment from the onshore winds whilst stretching out all the post holiday excesses.

The weather today was that typically British drizzle that was a test of how waterproof your equipment is, but the clouds went away as we emerged from the cafe in Whitby opposite the Co-op and wandered back towards the cars in Robin Hood’s Bay. The lights from the village projected through the dusk well, guiding us down the old railway line.

Interestingly, the waterproof jacket I got 13 years ago (eek) still does a grand job of keeping the world out, although the reasonably good “mountain” gloves I picked up in Aviemore rather more recently were about as waterproof as a sponge. Excuse to go shopping perhaps?

Here’s the full walk, along with photos:

Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby