Survey Trip - Reflections

Back in the studio now and looking back at last week's trip to Upper Wharfedale. Well it was successful in the number of geocaches found and most were of the 'waterproof' lunchbox type and a similar size to the containers proposed for GeoArtCache. Identifying locations for my caches was another matter.

I was surprised by how difficult it was to find suitable locations and this is made more difficult by the fact that I'm trying to let my research dictate the location rather than the other way about. I think though that I will have to be a little more creative with the locating and combine some of my facts and themes into less caches.

The caches have to be hidden thoughtfully and must not damage any structures or involve burying the boxes. There are a lot of stone walls around Buckden and they are tempting sites for caches but they are off limits - the farmers have a difficult enough time keeping these structures in good order without geocachers pulling them apart looking for a Tupperware box.

Staying on the subject of walls, it always amazes me the lengths landowners went to to identify the limits of their domains across rough ground. Massive walls were built or heavy-posted wire fences strung across some of our most inaccessible landscapes - the walls on Birk's Fell ridge for instance. I tried to imagine the army of workers that must have been employed to build and maintain them. Massive feats but dwarfed by the larger scale of the fells and skies.


These land divisions would have been laid down in the nineteenth century I assume but how much of what we see there today is original? Stone is being replaced by the more flexible medium of wire and wood post but there is still much to maintain and I imagine that if you have a wall in fairly good repair you don't want to spend money on new fences if you can get away with occasional rebuilding of gaps. On Birk's Fell there were certainly marks indicating that stretches of fallen wall may be rebuilt soon. A quick look around the Internet will show that there are plenty of people interested in the craft of walling (e.g. the Yorkshire Drystone Walling Guild offers courses and advice). They are also convenient features on which to explore the secret world of lichens and mosses so treat them with respect. To find out more the National Park also has a detailed introductory page.

Back to the geocaching. I did find enough sites to consider but I will now have to get these organised and find out if there are any landownership issues before I can fully commit to them. The locations will help to inform the artwork for the 'prizes' but I will make a start on developing this. So, lots to do but still seven weeks left before the official launch of GeoArtCache. Must get on...

Survey Trip Stats.

Getting to know my GPS I found the trip computer facility which I feel lends a suitably cold, technological foil to the physical walking experience:

Day One
Overall distance: 12.3 miles
Moving time: 3h 28m
Moving average: 3.5mph
Stopped time: 1h 3m
Overall average: 2.7mph
Total ascent: 1588m
3 geocaches found

Day Two
Overall distance: 16.9 miles
Moving time: 4h 41m
Moving average: 3.6mph
Stopped time: 1h 37m
Overall average: 2.7mph
Total ascent: 1168m
6 geocaches found

If there was a calorie counter on there too I'm sure I would be about evens after all the cake, ale and casserole consumed!

Survey Trip - Day 2

The weather forecast the night before had promised a nice day (albeit still with a strong wind) today so it was disappointing to watch the grey clouds whizzing past while I ate breakfast. I didn’t hurry to get away and by the time I had my boots on and was ready to head out of the door the sun was out and everything looked much more appealing!


I had a loop up Langstrothdale and back along Birks Fell ridge planned but first I climbed up past Buckden Rake and over to Cray to discover further geocaches and survey potential sites. The wind pushed me quickly away from Buckden through the wood bare of leaves but with primroses flowering.

After signing the logbook at the Buckden Rake geocache I continued along the Rake. A curlew called its digital notes and was flung about by the wind. I dropped down to the stepping-stones and crossed round to the back of the White Lion before winding down through to Stubbing Bridge via the Packhorse Way geocache.

This is a pleasant little valley and the signs of spring and the bright sunshine really added to atmosphere. Amazing to think that there could have been a railway just across the other side of the Gill.


A short road walk brought me to Hubberholme. I wanted to have a look around the church here but unfortunately it was locked again. Several people have now told me the lock is on a timer but what time it is set too is anybody’s guess – somebody suggested it was once a week on a Sunday! The churchyard was familiar with names from my research in the archives and online – Beresfords, Tennants and Fosters lie in this quiet spot.

At Hubberholme I joined the Dales Way for a pleasant few miles up Langstrothdale. The cache here was quickly found as I walked alongside the river through fields of sheep and young lambs. Everything seemed very green. A clump of toothwort was obvious amongst the green.


At Yockenthwaite I broke away from the Dales Way for a look at Raisgill Flush for potential cache locations, a lovely view of the farm and its buildings and for a ‘coffee’ break.

The sky was looking a little more ominous as I continued up the Dale past a well-preserved limekiln, a stone circle and Yockenthwaite Cave. Each wall to cross had a similar but different solution to keeping it open to walkers but secure for stock – steps, little gates, stiles, etc. At Deepdale the path crosses to the south bank of the river before continuing up past Cowside to Beckermonds.

Here I turned away from the more frequently trodden Way to ascend towards the ridge. A group of walkers coming down warned of wet going on the top. Feeling tired today I stopped often to admire the view behind me and to pick out the ribbon of tarmac over Fleet Moss.

There was a track of sorts to follow but it was very wet in places. It always amazes me how wet the side of a hill can be! As I neared the ridge the wind started to battle with me and I was pleased to reach the wall on top and sit down for some lunch in its ‘shelter’. The walls here are built to allow a certain amount of wind through otherwise they would be thrown over. This means that they aren’t the best of shelter for weary walkers and you can end up with a cold back!

There was a softly defined path to follow along the ridge and the wall gave me enough shelter to make the going comfortable. The ominous clouds seen from the valley had given way to a more general blanket of wind-smoothed altostratus and lenticulars with a hint of clearer skies in the distance.

More looking for potential cache sites before taking in the cache near the summit of Horse Head Pass. The sulphurous yellow of the squat sedge flowers stood out against the other grasses. By the time I was cresting Sugar Loaf there was lots of blue sky above. Dropping down slightly much detouring was needed to bypass a large area of eroded peat bog before the bend round towards High Combe Stoop, its tarn and associated cache.


The views from the ridge were good. A distant haze didn’t matter much although the wind still wasn’t conducive to hanging around. Waves rippled across the tarns and curlew and grouse took flight. At Firth Fell a cache just beyond the trig point signalled the end of the ridge walking for today.

Walking back down the path I dropped into the shelter of the hills and the sun soon became very warm on my neck. Buckden, and the promise of afternoon tea, was obvious ahead of me. Before this there was another potential cache site to explore. This was a beautiful downhill stretch and the spring weather of today contrasted sharply with the end of yesterday’s walk.


I was down in the village in no time and rewarded myself with tea and cake (brack and honey today!) at West Winds before walking back towards the car park and the bus back to Skipton. I decided on one last detour (as I had a little time to spare) to look at a last possible site for a cache.

Survey Trip - Day 1

The weather had been improving on the train journey up from the West Midlands and by the time I reached Skipton there was even some sunshine. I got the bus up to Buckden via Grassington courtesy of the useful Pride of the Dales service.

The weather had evidently been bad for the last day or two as the River Wharfe had overflowed and there seemed to be water running off of every available hill. I dropped my bag off at my B&B and was heading out for an afternoon’s walk before 1:30 to check out some of my potential cache sites, think about some of the history I had uncovered and to find an existing cache or two.

New to walking in the Dales (and more used to hill walking on Scottish granite) I slithered up the slippery limestone climb above Eshber Wood. The day wasn’t cold but the sun had gone and I climbed towards cloud. I zigzagged up and cut across the head of Cam Gill - Cladonia were brilliant with their scarlet spore bodies and there was scurvygrass flowering on old mine waste. A small waterfall was being blown back uphill such was the strength of the wind.


On round Starbotton Out Moor to Cam Head and good views across Park Rash towards the lower slopes of Whernside - the top was lost to the cloud. I struggled to locate suitable sites for a cache round here and will have to look higher up. Rain was beginning to come in now although there were glimpses of brightness further afield. Unfortunately I was headed up towards the cloud.

A springy walk across Starbotton Peat Ground got me up onto the southern end of the ridge leading to Buckden Pike. The wind now was strong and quite damp making for quite a miserable trudge towards the Fox Memorial - a journey not improved by the atrocious conditions underfoot. Broad expanses had become quagmires due to the passage of many boots and the extreme weather.


At the memorial I quickly located the geocache and struggled to sign the book before quickly moving on following the fence along the ridgeline. Here the Park Authority had relocated the path to the west side of the fence to allow the other side to heal. With every leap over boggy patch the wind forced me almost into the wall and at the viewless summit of the Pike I forced my way into the wind to (successfully) find the geocache. Returning to the path the wind pushed me along across the slabs that had been laid here.

Not a day to hang about I was off again and keen to head back down to the Dale. Following the engineered path my map was torn from my hands to be saved by a wall. It wasn’t easy trying to re-fold the map in the strong gusting wind. Dropping out of the cloud at about 450m I was pleased to see some views again although the path turned me into the wind which made for hard-going.

I took in the geocache at Cow Close and then dropped down towards Cray to look out for potential cache sites before wearily and gratefully heading back to Buckden, my B&B, a bath and dry clothes. I would highly recommend my B&B – the West Winds in Buckden – if you plan to stay in the village. Tea and cake on arrival, chocolates and fresh fruit and flowers in the room and a lovely breakfast all at a very reasonable price. They’ll even do you a packed lunch for a small extra charge… with more cake in it. If you are not planning to stay I would still recommend you go to the tearoom to sample their range of homemade cakes (the liquorice one was unusual but nice).

The pub in Buckden is closed for the time being so I strolled up to The George at Hubberholme for dinner – a very filling affair accompanied by a nice drop of Askrigg Ale. The twenty-minute walk back to Buckden helped with digesting before bed!