Captain's Log

Stainforth

It was the first day of a 2 week Dales campaign. It was a grey day too with the weather forecasters predicting occasional showers. Given the unpredictable weather conditions I decided that we should do  a lower level walk . We’d start at the small village of Stainforth and then have a look at the nearby Stainforth Force. The route would then take us up and over the shapely Smearsett Scar to the village of Feizor. From there we’d walk our way around a  wooded area to Dry Rigg quarry nearHelwith Bridge. A bridleway would deliver us to the lower, southern end of Penyghent and a field-hop would take us back into Stainforth. 

The Kapitan and Cabin Boy were with me today and we followed a muddy path to the white water of Stainforth Force. It looked very impressive as it shifted a massive volume of water downstream. Rain does have some benefits. On the single track road through Little Stainforth I came across a community notice: ‘ Calling All Hookers.’ It kindled my curiosity, but I was disappointed to find on closer inspection that it was a recruitment notice for the local crochet club. The path took us to a field with cows on the other side. The Cabin Boy looked nervous. I sighed; this wasn’t a good start to our Dales campaign. 

Smearsett Scar

We made a detour around the cows and they couldn’t be bothered to follow us. The Cabin Boy looked happier. On reaching the brow of the field, Smearsett Scar came into view. It formed part of a longer fell and looked quite impressive close up. Its southern ramparts formed the scar and looked unclimbable from a walker’s point of view. Instead, we followed a stone wall along its western edge and then climbed up to the summit when the gradient seemed achievable. The top was crowned with a summit trig and it offered a fine panoramic view. The high tops to the east were dotted with mist, but the weather looked better to the west. That was useful since we headed west along the top of the scar. We reached Pot Scar with its large circular collection of stones on its summit. Somebody must have spent a lot of time collecting and positioning these stones, but I’ve no idea as to its purpose. They did provide a good shelter from the wind though and so we sat down for a coffee break. Looking down the hill to the west we could see a collection of houses. This was the village of Feizor, our next port of call. 

Feizor

The direct descent to the village looked too steep and scrambly and so we lost altitude by dropping down the easier slope to the north. This brought us to a footpath and bridleway that skirted the western end of Pot Scar and then descended into Feizor. The activity in the village came as a bit of a shock. There were a dozen or so people standing around a man with a Falcon on his arm and some aged motorcyclists revving their engines. There was also a bustling café with a few patio tables outside. I commandeered one and the Kapitan went into the café to order some coffees. Research showed that the fellow with a Falcon must have been part of Settle Falconry, a local company that offered ‘...birds of prey experiences…’ You can buy an hours ‘experience’ and so it's maybe something that could be incorporated into this walk. The motorcyclists must have been having an engine problem since one of them had a toolbox out and was persistently revving his engine. Coffeees finished, we left the noise behind and set off on the Pennine Bridleway out of the village. 

Moughton Nab

The day was all sunshine now and it had turned into a very pleasant walk.  As the bridleway turned from west to north the OS map said it went from the Pennine Bridleway to the Pennine Journey. Maybe the bridleway serviced both trails. The path turned to the northeast and field-hopped its way across the valley. We joined a road for a short section and then headed up the hillside on the other side. Sitting down on the grassy slopes for our lunch we watched a rain cloud travel up the valley from the west. It reached us and a downpour started and remained with us for the rest of the walk.   

We climbed to a fence that we could see on the ridge line of the hillside and was surprised to find a sheer drop on the other side. This turned out to be the active Dry Rigg quarry. Looking down into its depths I could see excavators and lorries. The scale of the operation was quite surprising and a bit intimidating. It seemed like half the hillside had been chopped away and come to think of it,  it had. The path descended down the southern edge of the site and we eventually hit tarmac. Road plodding took us to the small village of Helwith Bridge and we crossed over the River Ribble using the road bridge. 

Return

We crossed the B6479 and headed up the stone track on the other side. Some motorbike trail riders followed us up, but we diverted off the track onto Moor Head Lane and they continued along Long Lane towards Penyghent. The top of the ridge was flat and we turned off onto a path that headed southwards towards Stainforth. It was a shame that the weather was miserable since I’d walked this path before and there were usually fine views over Smearsett Scar and Stainforth. It was a wet field-hop down to Stainforth. I showed the Kapitan and Cabin Boy the small walled area in Stainforth that used to be the old pig pen. They weren’t really that interested though and the rain was still persistent and so we walked the short distance back to the carpark. 

The route hadn’t looked that interesting on the OS map, but it had been well worth the outing. Smearsett Scar offered great views and the bustling village of Feizor proved to be an excellent pitstop. Dry Rigg quarry was an eyesore on the landscape but was very impressive despite all that. It was a shame that it rained on the latter part of the walk, but we had reasonable weather for most of it.