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Showing posts from February, 2014

Sutton Bank and Rievaulx Abbey

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Apparently, this year we have had the wettest winter since records began.  So, even though the weather forecast was for clear skies and sunshine, I knew that the ground underfoot would be sodden pretty much anywhere we went.  Moors, Dales or Wolds, it wouldn't make much difference.  With that in mind, I plotted out a 12 mile route which involved  a good bit of walking on quiet country lanes, starting and ending at the Sutton Bank Visitor Centre in the North York Moors National Park.  Once again, I plotted this route myself and, if I say so myself, it was excellent. It occurred to me after I'd written about my last two walks that incorporating the directions into the blog about the walk probably wasn't very helpful to anyone who wanted to follow in my footsteps.  Therefore this time I'm going to describe the walk and then add the directions at the end, along with a map.  That should enable anyone wanting to follow this walk to just cut and paste the text.  I hope this h

Great Givendale & Millington (Yorkshire Wolds)

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February already!  The second month of the year and only our second "proper" walk.  I'd hoped to have done at least a couple more by now, but although I don't mind walking in bad weather, I have a tendency to stay at home if the forecast is bad.  When deciding to walk in the Yorkshire Wolds this time we took two factors into consideration.  First of all, we thought the ground might be firmer under foot.  There'd been a lot of rain and whilst a certain amount of mud is inevitable, it's not much fun slipping and sliding for mile after mile.  And secondly we thought a bit of a "Wolds Way Warm-up" was in order. I'm becoming a bit better acquainted with my Garmin GPS and the associated "Base Camp" software, and so for this walk I plotted out my own circular route of around ten miles, starting and finishing in the East Yorkshire market town of Pocklington.  We parked in the centre of Pocklington and then headed eastwards, along Kilnwick Roa

Planning for a National Trail....The Yorkshire Wolds Way - Part 1: Route & Accommodation

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Seventeen years ago we set out to walk the Wolds Way.    Starting from the Hessle Foreshore by the Humber Bridge in East Yorkshire, this National Trail of 79 miles winds its way through the Yorkshire Wolds, ending by the North Sea at Filey in North Yorkshire.   We set out full of energy, expecting a long but comfortable amble through the tranquil Yorkshire countryside.   We thought we had prepared well, by walking distances of up to 12 miles every Sunday leading up to our departure.   And so, with a couple of borrowed rucksacks, we struck out with confidence on a hot afternoon one Sunday in June 1997.   However, we hadn't planned for a walk in a heat wave which, after leaving the foreshore took us through woodlands dripping with humidity, resulting in very sweaty feet and almost instant blisters.   Our first day entailed a walk of only 12 miles but ended with very sore feet.   By the end of the third day it seemed as if we had blisters on top of blisters and I simply co

Goathland and Sneaton High Moor (North York Moors)

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The North York Moors was the destination for our first walk of 2014.   It was a cold but dry weekend and not too windy when we left home, although up on the moors the wind always blows more strongly than on the lower ground.   There had been a frost so we thought perhaps it wouldn't be too soggy underfoot.  At this time of year though it's probably best to forget about keeping your boots clean! I had just treated myself to a Garmin Etrex 20 GPS in the January sales and wanted to test it out with an eleven mile circular walk which I had devised and plotted.   Like all new gadgets, it was all a bit confusing to begin with but overall I think I managed quite well.   And so, from now on, as well as writing a general blog about a walk, I'm also going to try my hand at providing a route map and description. The start and finishing point for this walk is the moorland village of Goathland, famous for its role as Aidensfield in the once popular television series "Hear