Walk Description

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.
We had arrranged to meet up at Buckden aprox 10:30 for a leisurely cup of coffee before we started the walk.   Although the skies were a little hazy when I left home, the weather was bright but breezy when we arrived at Buckden.  It wasn't long until everyone arrived and we settled down for coffee/tea at the small cafe behind the village shop.  When we were all suitabley refreshed Dave led the way back across the car park and through the gate to the start of the Buckden Rake path.  We turned off this almost immediately and made our way up hill and along the smaller path that leads to Buckden Beck.
Buckden Beck is a delightful stream that plunges its way down the narrow valley from the Buckden Lead Mine via a series of cascades, waterfalls and dark plunge pools.  It wasn't long before we began to leave the path and head down to the beck trying to find the best place from which to capture the essence of this beck.  The first waterfall was unusual in that the water appeared to curve towards the left.  From here on it just seemed to be one waterfall after another.  The path was fairly narrow and at times we had to do a little scrambling in order to get from the beck back up to the path.  At one point Steve and Roger decided to take a short cut and climbed straight up to the path via what seemed to me to be an almost vertical cliff.
We continued walking up the valley, criss crossing the beck as we climbed towards the Old Lead Mine.  At times the path was so narrow we appeared to be playing follow the leader as we made our way across the steep valley sides.  Eventually we stopped near some old ruins and enjoyed the warm sun whilst some of us got our breath back (namely me!).  Then we had a short steep climb up the old mine entrance, where Steve decided that he would explore a little way along the mine tunnel.   After Steve reported back re the condition of the tunnel, i.e. it seemed safe enough but quickly became wet underfoot, Roger also decided to have a closer look at the mine. 
We then walked up the hillside until we joined the main path from the village to Buckden Pike.  Once we left the shelter of the valley we quickly noticed the chilly wind that was blowing across the ridge and after a quick exploration of the summit area we decided to seek shelter on the other side of the wall for our lunch break.  It was very pleasant sitting in the warm sunshine taking in the hazy views of Great Whernside and pointing out part of the route we had walked last weekend.  All too soon it was time to put our jackets, hats etc on and cross the wall back onto the windy side of the Pike.  We had another quick look at the summit Cairn and unusual viewing pole.  This pole had small holes through it which lined up with named hills/mountain and therefore helped to identify the view. 
We then followed the main path down towards Buckden Rake, the first section of which was fairly steep and therefore needed a little care.  After this the path crossed a section of typical wet moorland before reaching some limestone scars.  From here we shortened the route by cutting across Cow Close and making our own way down towards Cray.  The water in Cray Gill was low enough to make the stepping stones unnecessary, however the flat gill bed was very slippery and the stepping stones were a much safer route.  From Cray onwards the terrain changed and we contoured along the top of a limestone scar, which gave us wonderful views down Upper Wharfedale towards Kettlewell.  When we eventually reached Scar House Ann and Josie decided to to take the path to Hubberholme, whilst the rest of us continued on out way to Yockenthwaite. 
From Yockenthwaite we followed the young River Wharfe to Hubberholme and stopped for a little while to admire the Parish Church of St. Michael and All Angels, which was originally the forest chapel of St. Oswald of Huberham (from which Hubberholme is derived) and dates from before 1241. Prior to the church an Anglo-Norse burial ground lay on the site. It's rood loft is one of only two surviving examples in Yorkshire. The church also has a rare polygonal font and the pews are by 'Mouseman' Thompson of Kilburn. The grave yard also has a claim to fame as the writer J B Priestley is buried here.
From here we followed the River Wharfe back to Buckden.  Although we were reliably informed that this particular stretch of the River Wharfe is the haunt of Grey Wagtails, I only managed to see a couple of cheeky chaffinches and a blue tit.  Maybe I'll have to come back here another day and try to see them then. 


Once back at the car park, I had a quick change of clothes and a freshen up and then joined the others at the Buck Inn, where we had arranged to meet for a post walk meal.  After a suitable amount of liquid refreshment had been absorbed, we left the evening sun and went inside for our meal.  On the way back to the car I noticed an usual headline from the Craven Gazette on the shop wall.  What is Scargill up to now and what is the problem with pasties?


This had been an extremely enjoyable walk and gave me the chance to see another side of an area I had not visited for quite a while.  Thank you to everyone from the OFC who took part on today's walk, especially those who had made a long journey.  Most of all, a big thank you to Dave for organising the walk and the wonderful refreshments.
 

Route & Planning

Details and Route Map

Photo Opportunities

Walk Profile

The route map shown here should not be used as a replacement for the appropriate map(s). Before attempting the walk you should check the suitability of this route in relation to your capabilities and experience.