Thursday May 4 Cowling to Malham
There is a promise of sun and a warm day, but it
started off cloudy and hazy. A lady walker was
asking directions of a local so I stopped and talked
with her briefly and pointed the way. She was ahead
of me yesterday but took a wrong turn at Ponden
Reservoir and I wondered where she was heading. She
is walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats, the
full length of Britain. Whew!!
Over hills and fields to Lothersdale, then up over
Thornton Moor to Thornton-In-Craven where I ate a
banana on the village green with the John O’Groats
(JOG) lady. The sky is clearing. More high hills,
then down to meet the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.
Walking along the towpath is a pleasant change of
pace. The boats anchored here seem to be mostly
owned by retired people. Of course, I passed under
the famous double bridge, the upper one built to
accommodate modern traffic.
After leaving the canal, I lost the path and had to
backtrack to a footbridge that I knew was on the
path. Hopkins skips over details so it is easy to
lose where you are, but I could locate my mistake by
studying Wainwright’s detailed maps.
At Gargrave, I refilled my water bottle at a pub and
left town on a country road. While crossing a
pasture, the path completely disappeared. I came to
a fence, but no stile. Where to go? Then I spotted
several walkers coming my way across a distant field
and I could see where they would meet the fence. I
turned right along the fence until I came to a place
to climb through and rejoin the path. Later, I was
dive-bombed by a squawking bird who was protecting
her nest in the grass near the path. But really! She
should be used to walkers by now.
The walk was delightful along the River Aire to
Hanlith Hall where I met two girls practicing their
horse riding techniques. They said I should go to
Kirkby Malham instead of Malham, “its a better place
to visit”. Maybe another time. Its a steep climb on
the road past Hanlith up onto picturesque cliffs
over the river, then down into the village of
Malham.
Mirefield B&B is a nicely restored old building,
fairly comfortable, but with a commercial feel to it
and an abrupt manager. The village is incredibly
picturesque, bisected by the river and has two
lovely connecting bridges. The Lister Arms was
highly recommended and has a great selection of
ales, but the menu was uninspiring. Eating with a
couple doing the Malham circular walk, I had Timothy
Taylors Landlords (again), smoked salmon with
asparagus and cream sauce in pasta. Actually, that
sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?