Day 42: Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Malham
? 23.60km
?812m
Felt pretty hungry when I woke this morning, so gradually ate breakfast a bit at a time as we packed up. Only felt able to eat a bit at a time, not huge appetite like normal, despite the hunger. We got going at 0730 and left Malham for the long ascent to Pen-y-Ghent. It was already warming up but we had a nice breeze to keep us cool on our way up. The views back across the dales to where we had walked yesterday were pretty damn good! We passed quite a few people on Yorkshire 3 Peaks days out coming the opposite direction. After the obligatory selfie at the trig point on top of Pen-y-Ghent, we started the descent which was much steeper than the route we had ascended, and soon left the the 3 Peaks route to continue on the Pennine Way where we hardly saw another soul until much later in the day.
We crossed the valley and climbed up over Fountains Fell, great views again on either side as the cloud had continued to lift and it was getting warm and sweaty!
We started to cross paths with other humans again at Malham Tarn, a National Trust area. The foot traffic reached a crescendo at Malham Cove, with the jeans and trainers gang joining in, and we were just on a mission to get to camp now, both feeling pretty whacked. Malham Cove was kinda cool, some interesting rock structures and impressive to see, but we didn’t feel like hanging around.
We pitched and showered, then realised our camp spot had no mobile signal for the football later. I discovered a spot with better signal on the other side of the field so we picked up the tent and moved house. ? We both felt like something cold to drink and eat as it had been a warm one, and found it just round the corner at Beck Hall in the form of lemonades and ice cream. It was way over priced but we didn’t care!
Back at the campsite we managed to watch England beat Germany although we were a good 30 seconds behind some D of E lads who were also watching, so we knew when goals went in before we saw them ?. Had dinner, did the usual routines and zonked! ?
Day 43: Malham to Cowling
? 30.19km
?754m
The sun was shining right on the tent when alarms went off at 0600. We were packed up and on the move by 0710, things already warming up and a nice day ahead. I felt much better, my appetite and energy seemed to be back after a short hiatus the past couple of days.
We followed Malham Beck, then the River Aire for a few km and then across farmland, up hill, down dale, to Gargrave. We passed a nice eclectic little cafe/sweet shop and stopped. It was 1000, nearly elevenses! ?♂️. We had crumpet/teacake and coffe, got some sweets from the myriad of jars behind the counter, and I took an ice cream to go.
Back on trail, the glorious weather continued (sure it’s hot but i’m not complaining!) as did the views. We were entering Cravendale country and there sure were a lot of cows! It was rolling Yorkshire countryside and we barely noticed the ascent and descent racking up. There was also a nice section along a canal, much nicer than our prior canal path experiences on the trip.
We crossed Elsack Moor, met two couples on the way, both excited by our journey and wishing us well. The temptation of the pub in Lothersdale was almost too much but we continued up and down a couple of steep hills including Cowling Hill, and met another fellow hiker who was on the Pennine Way northbound. We chatted for a few minutes and discovered he had also planned to do the PCT this year, but had postponed to next year. Shortly after that we reached Squirrel Wood campsite in Cowling.
It’s a nice quiet campsite, walkers only. The guy who owns it is a bit of a chatter so I’ve not investigated the ‘Bar’, I think it’s a honey pot trap and I might never get away. It was getting late so we went halves on a £1, 5 min shower and then sorted dinner. I had a bit of a stretch whilst my gourmet noodles and cous cous ‘cooked’.
Day 44: Cowling to Hebden Bridge (Old Chamber Farm Campsite)
? 28.83km
?798m
We got going by 7, aiming to get to Hebden Bridge around lunch time, get some shopping, then continue 1 km or so to our campsite in the hope of having time to do some clothes washing and drying. It was a nice morning again and promised to be another warm one. We climbed out of the dale, on to the moor, and had great views back down with atmospheric haziness in the valley. The top of Ickornshaw Moor was bleak, flat and brown, such a contrast to the green fields and meadows of the dales.
Next up Withins Height, sharing some of the way with the Brontë Way, and passing a derelict farmhouse rumoured to be the inspiration for Wuthering Heights (apparently! ?♂️).
We skirted Walshaw Dean Reservoirs and then followed Alcombden Water, later Hebden Water, all the way in to the busy town of Hebden Bridge. We’d had good paths much of the day and made good progress until we joined the path at Hebden Water which was narrow, rocky and undulating to begin with. It settled down and improved, and was a nice walk along the river in a deep gorge with some shade from the woodland lining the river.
In the end we made Hebden Bridge by around 1415, picked up some food at Co-Op, and sat by the canal to eat a late lunch. I grabbed an ice cream to go and we started a steep ascent up the hillside south of Hebden Bridge to our campsite for the evening. The camping field is on quite a slope and they have created some flat ledges for pitches. It was already very busy and we got the last flat pitch. Unfortunately the washing machine was out of action, it transpired that someone had stolen the plug off the back of it within the last day or so! It’s by far the best view we’ve had from a campsite, looking back over Hebden Bridge and the hills beyond.
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