6.86 miles 1394' ascent

As I had a couple of days off work, I headed north and met up with with Steve near Witherslack.  Today's walk was the first of two walks that I had in this short break in the Lake District.

Whitbarrow is a prominent limestone ridge just north of the A590 and forms the western boundary of the Lyth valley.  Wainwright describes this walk as the 'most beautiful' walk in his Outlying Fells of Lakeland guide book. 

8.45 miles 1000' ascent

This walk starts from the White House on the A58 between Littleborough and Ripponden.  Before the M62 was built, the A58 was one of the main crossing points in the South Pennines and is often closed during bad winters.

It was a glorious day for walking and the walk took just under 5 hours.  I had plenty of time for exploring the area and watching the wild life.

9.45 miles 2081' ascent

Today I met up with a group of friends from the OFC.  Dave had arranged this walk to show us some of the delights of Upper Wharfedale.  We were not disappointed.  This was a delightful walk that visited the waterfalls in Buckden Beck and the old Buckden Lead Mine before taking us up on to the broad ridge to Buckden Pike.

Thank you to everyone from the OFC who took part on today's walk, especially those who had made a long journey.  A big thank you to Dave for organising the walk and the wonderful refreshments.

9.01 miles 2131' ascent

Today’s walk was from the beautiful Wharfedale village of Kettlewell.  This is a very popular area for walkers and this area of Upper Wharfedale was the location for many of the scenes in the Calendar Girls film.

Thanks to Dave for planning the route, Josie for keeping me company most of the way and to Steve for his usual whit and banter.

7.57 miles 933' ascent

Kingsdale is a classic example of a glaciated valley and a glacial lake once covered Kingsdale's very flat valley floor.  Part way up the north side of Kingsdale is an old peat road.  There is a long string of potholes and caves either side of the Turbury Road. 

Today's walk followed the line of potholes and caves whose delights culminated in a visit to Yordas Cave, an old Victorian showcave.  The walk took just over 6 hours, which gave us plenty of time to explore the caves.

5.24 miles 1131' ascent

Today I was joined by Jeanette and Julie.  I decided that we would visit Malham, as there is plenty to see there even if the weather is not at its best.  This is an ideal setting for an introduction to some of the best of our countryside.

The walk took approximately 4 hours, which included plenty of time for photographs and some exploration.  Thanks to Jeanette and Julie for their company.