I thought it might be a good topic to blog about to give any walkingy people ideas of locations and places to eat. Again if anyone can think of a better title than 'Walking wanders' for this blog series, let me know.
Walking Wanders 1 - Swaledale and Wensleydale
Who: 3 jolly hikers from Newcastle; Myself, Hannah and Anne
Why: Returning to a part of the coast to coast walk, I looked for a route that could be done in 2 days and this is what I came up with.
The walk: (I won't provide a copy of the map, but I'll describe the route so it should be work-outable) Starting at Muker in Swaledale, we walked along to Thwaite where we picked up the Pennine way and followed the flagstone path up to the summit of Great Shunner Fell. At the top they provide a very convenient seat that is in 4 sections so you can get shelter whichever way the wind blows. We continued along the Pennine way to Hawes where we pitched up for the night. Day 2 we walked along the not very flat valley via the little villages Burtersett and Bainbridge along a dismantled railway to Askrigg where we stopped for lunch. We continued through Askrigg, discovering many more open-on-sunday tea shops. From Askrigg we took the road up the hill until turning left to follow a curvy path to the descriptively named 'beacon'. From there we aimed to a point in the road between a river and a wall and picked our way carefully, and successfully, across peat bog and down a very steep hill. We followed the road down until we took a path off to the left which led us nicely back to Muker. And thus ended the walk
Food and Drink:
Dinner, day 1 - We were in Hawes, known as the 'little capital of Wensleydale', thus we had the choice of a grand total of 4 pubs. We opted for the old board inn and found a nice table in the corner. I went for lasange, good standard pub food and they didn't skimp on portion size! I followed this with Rocky Road hot chocolate, which interestingly did not come topped with marshmallows but did taste of them.
Lunch, day 2 - We stopped in the first tea shop we came to on our way into Askrigg (can't remember the name, but was adjoined to a shop) I had parsnip soup and a pot of tea. The soup came with a roll, you could almost call a scone and portion size generous all round. Roomy tea room with enough space for our bags without us feeling like we were causing an obstruction. Friendly lady who ran the place, and we had a little chat with some other customers who passed us later in their car as we were having second lunch!
Dinner, day 2 - only one option in Muker, so off to the very over crowded 'The Farmer's Arms' Despite the obvious busyness and me having to order over the top of someone's head, it's a good pub. It's monopoly is not the only reason for its busyness! They have a little dumb waiter that brings the food down, and despite initial denials have games on request (we forgot to bring our own pack of cards!) Foodwise, I had the chicken and chorizo stroganoff special which I was able to swap the rice for chips. Very yummy and arrived quickly despite the claimed 30-45min waiting time. For hot drink as afters I had a lime and ginger cordial which was better than the hot squash I expected.
Breakfast, day 3 - The tea room at Aysgarth falls. The national trust cafe was closed so we headed down to the upper falls and passed this on the way. Although we arrived a bit before opening time the lady let us in and so we were the only customers. We opted for the morning coffee which comprised coffee, 'chocolate, lime and chilli bread', sultana scone with jam and cream and a selection of homemade biscuits. It was shared between 2 but could easily have fed 3. All homemade and very yummy, but we were so stuffed we couldn't finish all the biscuits so the lady gave us a bag to take them away in. She also advised us to go see the lower falls, which was advice worth taking! If you ever go near Aysgarth, I recommend this tea room.
Campsites:
Night 1 - Bainbridge Ings, Hawes. Quite a large campsite about 5 mins walk outside Hawes. Essentially set in the gardens of a farmhouse. Friendly couple who run it and we were given a tour on arrival. They keep part of the caravan field free for hikers so if you're walking you can be guaranteed a pitch. It wasn't full so we pitched up near the loos to minimise walking distances. We had zero problems getting pegs in, which did make me wonder if the tents would remain pegged in if it were really windy! We had fairly noisy neighbours on their annual camping trip, but was all in good spirit. The facilities were all you need and clean. Thumbs up from me.
Night 2 - Usha Gap, Muker. Campsite set about a 5-10min walk from Muker, towards Thwaite. We pitched across the road by the river, so it did sound like it was raining all night! Only once were we disturbed by the road when a car came tooting along it in the middle of the night, but generally very peaceful. A few stones on pitching, but not too bad. Facilities were very basic, but they had plans up for a much larger facilities block. Not quite as good as Bainbridge Ings, but still thumbs up.
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