Captain's Log

A Morning Of Strategy Meetings

Today’s intention was to drive to Ingleton from our digs in Hawes, and then complete the Ingleton Waterfalls walk. I needed my car headlights on as we drove across the top of the pass at Widdale. It didn’t look any better on the other side of the pass. Rain battered the windscreen. I convened a Strategy Meeting with the Kapitan, Cabin Boy and Ted, and suggested that an alternative to the Ingleton Waterfalls walk might be to sit in Ye Olde Naked Man Café in Settle, having a coffee and bun, and then deciding what to do next. They jumped at the chance and 20 minutes later we were ensconced at a window seat in the café, watching people struggle with the weather outside. I convened another Strategy Meeting and suggested that we could drive to the Strid carpark and follow the River Wharfe to Bolton Abbey. I informed them that the trees along the path might provide some protection from any rain. They agreed that it was worth a try.    

40 minutes later I drove into the Strid carpark. It wasn’t immediately obvious whether we had to pay a carpark fee. I approached  an elderly couple who had parked up and were about to set off on a walk, and asked them where to pay for the parking.

‘You pay in the café. It’s £15 for the day though’ the man replied.

‘Can you pay by the hour?’ I asked.

‘No. I believe you have to pay the full £15’ he responded.

You couldn’t see us for dust as we skidded out of the carpark. I convened another Strategy Meeting and suggested that we might find a free offroad parking space at Barden Bridge, a little further down the road. Inevitably though, all the parking spaces had been taken and so I convened another Strategy Meeting.  I suggested that we could park at Burnsall and do a walk along the River Wharfe from there. As we approached the village, I got cold feet since the River Wharfe looked very high and I wondered whether there might be a chance that it might overflow into the carpark. I convened yet another Strategy Meeting and suggested that we could park at Linton Falls near Grassington and walk along the River Wharfe to Burnsall. It was a Dales National Carpark too and so I could use my annual pass. It would also be well above the level of the River Wharfe and so there would be no chance of the carpark flooding. The Kapitan was dozing on the rear site of the car and the Cabin Boy was concentrating on picking her nose; it looked liked they’d lost interest in the day. 

Linton Falls

It actually turned out to be a very good choice. I’d never seen so much water flowing over Linton Falls; normally there seemed to be more limestone rocks than water. It was spectacular. Even the gloomy Kapitan and Cabin Boy brightened a little. The Dales Way trail runs alongside the River Wharfe between Linton Falls and Burnsall and this would form our out-and-back route for the day.    

We headed downstream from the waterfalls. Gradually the roar of the water reduced. The noise must be deafening to the inhabitants of the houses directly at the side of the waterfall. The Dales Way bypasses the loop of the river around the Sewerage Works which is probably a good thing. Although the trail was well made as a stone path, there were still some sections that were flooded after the recent heavy rain. There then followed a long, straight pretty section with the river lined with an occasional tree. Some cows mooched about at the junction with the Hebden footpath, but they were more interested in eating grass than bothering us.

Hebden Suspension Bridge

I crossed the Hebden Suspension Bridge with the Cabin Boy kicking my heels from behind. The bridge was built in 1885 by a local blacksmith, William Bell. It does tend to sway a little as you cross, and the barriers along the side would be better if they were a couple of inches higher at its centre. Even so, it was safe enough. I turned around once I’d stepped off the bridge and was surprised to see the Cabin Boy with a look of thunder on her face. Apparently suspension bridges shouldn’t swing! I looked along the bridge to see the Kapitan gingerly stepping along it with white knuckled hands grasping the cable handrails on either side. His face looked pasty. Once he reached us, he also complained that the bridge was swinging as he crossed. I told them about suspension bridges in Nepal that were much longer, swung a lot more and some had missing planks, so you could see the glacial waters roaring directly below. They weren’t impressed. We’d have to cross the bridge again on our return journey. The Cabin Boy wasn’t happy. 

Burnsall

The river did look quite menacing. It was fast flowing and gave the impression that there was a large volume of water being moved rapidly downstream. The Cabin Boy got nervous when several cows on the other side of the river came down to the water's edge.

‘Are they coming across?’ she asked. I told her that I didn’t rate their chances if they attempted it. They’d soon find themselves in Ilkley.  They probably wouldn’t have survived a kilometre since the Wharfe dramatically kinks at Loup Scar via a series of rapids. The footpath provided a good view of the white water through the bend. We started seeing a few more people on the footpath as we approached Burnsall. Buildings started to appear and then we found ourselves next to the Red Lion’s gardens. A few people were braving the outdoor seating area. We reached the road and walked to the centre of the road bridge. It provided a great view along the river and up to Barden Moor. This would be our turnaround point. 

Return

Disappointingly, the suspension bridge didn't present as much of a problem on our second crossing. We crossed it one at a time which reduced the sway and the Kapitan made sure he didn’t look down at the dizzying water. Some cows had meandered nearer to the footpath on the other side of the river, but they weren’t interested in us. It started getting quite dark as we got further upstream and I thought we might be in for some more rain. It managed to hold off though. Linton Falls looked just as spectacular on our second viewing. 

At a smidgen over 6 miles, the walk had been more of a leg-stretcher. The footpaths had been good too, although rather damp after all the rain. It wasn’t the walk we set out to complete today, but sometimes you have to let the weather conditions dictate.