Day 6 - A shorter day with a damp finish but a great youth hostel
Saturday 17th May
Near Gargrave to Malham
10 miles
We both slept well and Catherine returned to
serve breakfast in the gracious dining room overlooking the fields
full of lambs. We watched a squirrel run along the top of the garden
fence looking as if he was a champion huddler. Being only 2 miles
away, we decided to shop for lunch in Gargrave. Walking along the
towpath, we encountered wafts of sizzling bacon emerging from many
of the narrow boats moored along the canal side but our excellent
breakfast at Newton Grange inhibited any drooling. The short detour
into Gargrave enabled us to visit the post office, the public loos
and the local Co-Op. I wrapped two hot pasties in my hat and buried
them deep in the rucksack hoping to keep them warm until we stopped
for lunch. Today’s walk was undemanding so we made a second detour
from the path into the village of Airton where we found, completely
by chance, an excellent farm shop and café. On arriving we expressed
our surprise that the establishment was not advertised and
signposted from the Pennine Way – the owner explained, with distain,
that it was because we were now in the Yorkshire Dales National Park
but he was very glad that we had managed to find it . I promised to
give him a mention in my journal. The café was very welcoming,
furnished with large rustic furniture and full of diners enjoying a
Saturday lunch. We just had coffee and sat in some very comfortable
leather armchairs. For the first time in the trip I could of happily
stayed there all afternoon so sensibly we did not linger long and
headed back for the trail.
As promised here is the advert….
Town End Farm Shop in
Airton
www.malhamdale.com/townend.htm
Just before reaching Hanlith we stopped to eat our pasties, and yes,
they were still just warm. We perched on a fallen log by the
entrance to a wood carpeted with wild garlic and watched a scout
troop mess about in the river.
Just before reaching Malham the rain came down, not enough to
warrant waterproof trousers but it did obscure any onward view to
Malham Cove. Walking into the village we saw several wedding guests
scurrying between their cars and the hotel. All the B&Bs were fully
booked so we had to stay in the Youth Hostel but this proved to be
an excellent choice. We arrived at 3 pm and as the reception desk
did not open until 5 pm we took advantage of the comfy sofas in the
quiet room and dozed in
the warm until the hostel was fully open.
Deciding to eat at the hostel was a good move and luckily we only
had to share our dormitory with one other person. A lovely lady
called Shelia who was celebrating her 60th birthday by
enjoying 5 days of walking with her husband George.
We shared a dining table with Shelia & George and Brian, a man in
his 60’s hoping to walk from Lands End to John O’Groats in 10 weeks.
He made us feel very humble as he was carrying all his camping gear
and walking alone. As Brian’s progress was faster than ours we
didn’t see him again but we stayed in some of the same places
further along the trail and heard he was going well – hopefully he
achieved his goal. We relaxed with coffee in the lounge and Mum was
in bed by 9.30. I stayed up to chat to some moutain bikers from
Newark. Two of them had been Nottinghamshire miners during the 1984
miners strike and as I was studying at Sheffield University at the
same time it was interesting to compare our different experiences
and memories. It was late before I finally crept upstairs to bed;
the bunkbeds were comfortable but very squeaky so I tried hard not
to move around too muchThought for the day:
Deb –
Despite the short day I was surprisingly tired, perhaps it was due
to the changing weather
Mum
–
Still feeling good. Returning to Malham reminded me of a previous
walking holiday with my rambling group from Welshpool but that time
it was in deep snow!
Pictures
The locks at Bank Newton
A new family on the canal
A crossroads at Gargrave
Flood damage on the banks of the River Aire
How much further to Malham?
Cherry blossom at Town End Farm Shop, Airton
Warm pasties for lunch
Approaching Malham in the rain
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