...nothing but footprints

"Do you think we'll ever do this?" I asked Tom, holding up a copy of a guide to the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge.  It was my birthday and we were midway round one of our favourite walks in the North York Moors National Park, visiting the popular Lordstones Cafe and shop on the edge of the Cleveland Hills.  "Just get it," Tom replied.  "We're sure to have a crack at it one day." Little did I know, as I added the book to my purchases of fudge and flapjack, that we would be undertaking our very own Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge (Y3P for short) within the month.  In that moment it seemed like an ambition for the distant future.  Something that really athletic, determined walkers would do.  I was nowhere near fit enough.  Was I?  That question was about to be answered sooner than I thought. The incentive to undertake the challenge came in the shape of our eleven year old nephew, Cameron.  We'd been promising to take him walking with us for...

Ordinarily, we don't like staying in guest houses.  Especially the kind that are clearly someone's home.  It's somewhat ironic, then, that we enjoyed the best night of all on the Dales Way in just such an establishment.  But then Lakeland Hills isn't just any old B&B.  Far from it.  Every single aspect of a stay in Tony and Caroline Hill's lovely home is tailored specifically for Dales Way walkers, right down to the information sheets provided for you to read over breakfast, detailing highlights and advice for what is, for most, the final day on the trail. I'd had a fantastic night's sleep and after we'd eaten our fill of Tony's amazing American style pancakes, we relaxed with a coffee whilst he talked us through some of the main points of interest for the day ahead.  He also suggested a couple of worthwhile diversions from the route.  One of his recommendations was a cafe in the nearby village of Staveley.  Wilf's Cafe, he told us, was a fa...

It's true what they say.  When you're having fun time just flies by.  Even though I'd made a conscious effort to stay mindful of the present moment (and thereby, I hoped, slow time down), all too soon I found myself sitting down to breakfast on the penultimate day of our Dales Way journey.  It couldn't possibly be day six already.  Could it?  After checking out of the Dalesman Country Inn we made our way along the side of the main road to Kendal, calling in at the local Spar shop to buy sandwiches, crisps and chocolate.  Once again this would be another day without any pubs or shops along the way.  As we left the shop it began to rain, just a gentle drizzle but enough to send us dashing across to a nearby bus shelter to put on our waterproofs.  These were quickly removed though when, after we had only walked for another hundred yards or so, the rain stopped as quickly as it had started. We met up with the Dales Way again by the banks of the Rive...