There is a choice of three walks the main one being approx 10 miles, the next being 6-8 miles and for the ones who like to go faster and further there is one that is usually 14-16 miles. After the walks we all meet up at the coach again and go to a pub for a pre-arranged meal.
Today we went to Kirby Lonsdale in North Yorkshire which is also close to the Lake District. It's been raining all weekend and it was raining this morning too. The planned walk today was supposed to be 11 miles but because of the rain and over- flowing rivers the leader rearranged it so that it was 8 miles.
We set off from Devils Bridge in the rain and soon encountered our first obstacle - water! The bridleway was deep in water and so we turned back a little way and followed the small road instead. Then we came across another problem - water again. The road was flooded and no-one fancied going ankle deep in it so we changed our route again.
We stormed up some hills and down again and then encountered some.....water! (Are you seeing a theme here?) We eventually took shelter under some trees and had our lunch standing up.
Setting off again we followed a track which had large, sometimes deep puddles all along it. After a while Isobel and I gave up trying to keep our feet dry and just walked straight through whatever water came our way. Several times our leader tried to get us across fields but where there should have been just a trickle of water it had turned into torrential rivers (okay slight exaggeration, torrential streams) or water would be gushing from walls.
At one point we did cross a very swollen stream and I put my foot right in the middle of it so I really couldn't get any wetter after that. I think it should be counted as cross training as my boots were so sodden that they must have weighed a kilo each.
The leader eventually conceded defeat and set us back on the return journey early. We got back to the coach having done 6.5 miles of walking, slipping, sliding and paddling. The strange thing was that no-one was miserable and moaning about the weather. Everyone enjoyed themselves and most went to a nearby town to celebrate with a hot drink in a cafe.
The coach took us a few miles to the pub and a superb meal was soon disposed of. There was plenty of banter going on before hopping back on the coach for the return journey.
sounds like a nice day. Those days are to be put in the memory bank and taken out and aired occasionally. Of course, being in a bank, the streams and rivers will collect interest and grow in the telling!
ReplyDeleteWell done on the walk.