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.
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