Well, they say that you should save the best to last… say no more. Having said that, 35 years of sailing has taught me that the best days are the ones when others are put off by the weather forecast. Today it wasn’t the wind that got me, but the lack of visibility and the wet… but I still had a great walk even though I didn’t get to the top.
The guide said: “A fine walk of no great difficulty (unless you fall into Gaping Gill)…” After the previous instructions for mountain goats and their ease of climbing, I was a little concerned. When you see the video though this time they have gone the other way as it has a great big fence around it… I suppose that is their idea of a joke.
You leave Clapham (which is a really sweet village and there is a station there) at the beginning of the walk. At every turn it is tastefully decorated with old stone bridges, waterfalls, white cottages and lots of really large trees. Today I saw no walkers… which was a bit concerning when in truth many had said perhaps I should not have gone… especially when breaking the cardinal rule by walking on my own. I learned (again) that your equipment makes a very big difference. I must have changed my clothing around at least half a dozen times… ranging from very cold to overheating… and also very, very wet. Lesson one was take your map in one of those plastic wallets. I did laugh when being reminded about the biggest issue in this weather is the fear of getting disoriented in the mist, as one of the sodden pages of my guide book fell out and wasn’t readable! The second lesson was that my gloves were not waterproof and started to get cold as I got higher. My sailing jacket however performed well and so did my boots and gaiters… to think that I was going to do all this in jeans!
I got lost, very early in the walk as it said… “go as far as Clapdale farm where a sharp descent, right, back towards where the beck meets up with the estate grounds”… what it should have said was walk through the farmyard and then turn right. So, having retraced my steps to try and find the footpath that I missed, I then walked back as I was sure that I hadn’t… and lo and behold there was one of the little acorn signs nailed to a far post with an arrow… COVERED IN COW S**T!…
Highlights of the walk… it was very slippery and a bit disconcerting in the mist. The first interesting rocky bit was the scramble up Trow Gill. You will see it in the video, it’s the narrow gully… and of course Gaping Gill, which I am sure would be even more stunning in the sunshine. In my enthusiasm to film the view to the bottom I slipped a little… if you look in the video I lent out a little far.
Sorry for the inappropriate words at the end… I was a bit disappointed in not reaching even Little Ingleborough, which is the start of the ridge. On getting beyond Thack Pot, which is covered over by what looks like two big old doors I could only have done half of the walk. I must come back and see it in the daylight.