June 25 - Burnsall to Kettlewell

We awakened early in Barnsall after a good nights sleep at the Devonshire Fells Hotel and then headed downstairs for a early breakfast. We only had 10 miles to go today but the last half promised to be "interesting" since we will be walking for the first time on high open dales once we go through Grassington. After we left the little center of Burnsall, we walked right alongside the river and it was so peaceful and quite. Occasionally there was an "open & shut" gate, a kissing gate but mostly one of the those unique types of fence-crossings endemic to walking in England called a stile. 

Here's how a stile in Yorkshire works. One climbs carefully up a series of stones protruding a few inches from the stonewall face (perhaps steadying oneself by grabbing a wooden post placed strategically nearby) and upon reaching the top, either stand or sit on top, swing around and then carefully step down onto a similar series of protruding stones on the other side of the wall, eventually reaching the ground (which hopefully is not covered in stinging nettles!) Not too tough on a low wall; on a 7" monster like this one, it can be be both daunting and tiring.

But I digress. We made good progress and reached the town of Grassington around 11 AM, emerging into civilization smack in the middle of a ongoing bike event - The Tour of Yorkshire - and got ourselves a little turned around finding the town center. Joan wanted to buy a warm hat so we found a coffee shop on Main Street, right across from the Mad About Mountains shop. I had a latte, Joan her tea, we each drank lots of water and then bought a sandwich to take with us. The Scottie dog salt & pepper shakers on the table were worth a picture, so here it is: 

After making our way through the festival crowds on Main Street, and steadily climbing the gentle road-grade, we left the town behind and started up the big hill ahead. The grade wasn't too tough but it continued for a long time. We finally emerged high above town, into a vast area of high plains, broken by limestone stone walls and pathways trod into the grass. The wind started to pick up a bit and we occasionally ran into other walkers, most seemingly out for a nice Sunday walk. It was reminiscent of being on the high plains of Wyoming or Montana, since the horizon was the only boundary one saw in all directions. 

This high plains area looks deserted now, but there were Stone Age burial cairns and a long-buried medieval village remains near the current town of Grassington  We stopped for a quiet lunch next to an ancient burial site and only met one other walker while we were there.  The day was perfect for walking, maybe just nudging up to the lower limit of Joan's comfort zone but it was clear, with high mixed clouds and low 70's temp. We passed an 19th century lime kiln that had been used to make quicklime for fertilizer to spread on the plains; the limestone that forms these Dales makes for rich grasslands and good grazing. Even today, most of the pastures we walked through were covered with flocks of sheep.

We soon passed by a highly visible landmark, an height of limestone known as the "Coniston Pie", (Coniston is a nearby town) because of it's resemblance to a cake or piece of pie, and then a few miles on, started to head down off the dale towards our destination of Kettlewell. 

 

Now for my money, this little town is high in the running for "Most Photogenic Town". We followed the aptly named Maypole Lane right into the town center - and what was there but a maypole! 

We were staying at the Blue Bell Inn but as we approached, the sounds of 1950's music increased and when we turned the corner and started over the bridge towards the inn, there was a crowd of motorcyclists gathered around a big loudspeaker blasting "You'll Never Walk Alone" (??) out over the scene. Luckily (for us) the cyclists were leaving and the Sunday sing-along was just ending but it was a scare. One of the perils of staying in pubs is that the late night drinking crowd is usually just under your room and while last call is at 11 pm, "all out" is at midnight. That's tough when you're getting up at 7.

We ate at the Blue Bell (as we did at most pubs where we stayed) and I had my first authentic steak & ale pie of this trip. It is a tasty treat and after walking off more than a thousand calories during the day, it was well deserved. We even split a rich desert!