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| Lucky was having a daft half hour on Helms Knott |
Now, I'd already been up Aye Gill Pike, almost 40 years earlier during a particularly hot summer, but Lucky hadn't and neither had the Bro. So we included it.
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| On the climb up Helms Knott |
We started off by following the Dales Way and a bit of road as far as Helmside where a chap doing "things" to a stone wall advised us that Aye Gill Pike would be sloppy.
Undeterred we slogged up the steep footpath and around the back of Helmside Gill for a final steep flourish up to the lovely, green lump that is Helms Knott. I expect there's a really nice view from up there, but today was a bit murky with the promise of rain later. The chap interfering with the stone wall had, though, assured us that it wouldn't rain till teatime at least. What he failed to mention, of course, was that he usually had his tea in the mid-afternoon...
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| Murky stuff |
After bog-trotting away from the very lovely Helms Knott, we bog-bashed our way over to the wall which runs all the way over the top of Aye Gill Pike and, together with a clear but boggy worn path, navigation into the snowy hill-fog would be easy. It's just a slog, really. The ground was mainly frozen anyway, so the wallophile down bellow's prediction of sloppiness wasn't quite realised.
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| Foggyness on Aye Gill Pike |
So, we plodded over the top in the icy snow and down the other side where, at some point, the rain arrived. I'd fitted Lucky with his cosy coat at lunchtime and fitted myself with waterproofs just then in readiness for the forecasted downpour. Our additional wet afternoon planning included marching quickly back to Dent on the road instead of following the Dales Way, which should be quicker, drier and not muddy.
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| Lucky in his new coat - The Bro in front. |
This proved to be the case. We still got wet, though.
The whole walk was just about 13 miles. And there is a map, just in case either of these lovely lumps appear on Brenda's List Of Things To Do 2016. (I have a similar list by the way and so does LTD, although his mainly involves snoozing in his dog-bed whilst completely covered by a thermal blanket.)
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5 comments:
It certainly looks wetly wet Mike, claggy even!
Thank you for the map Mike, I like a map! Both hills are on "Brenda's List Of Things To Do", but had not been put onto her "2016" list, albeit that list has not yet been finalised, so they may well now be promoted. The trouble is the "List" has too many things on it for the few days each year we can get up North from Suffolk. Perhaps I should send you a copy of the "List".....?
That bit of route that runs parallel to the Dales Way looks rather nicerer than the Dales Way proper. And you still get the chance to sup some Kamikaze ale in Dent....although it would probably stop you getting much further that day.
Nice.
I remember that bit of the Dales Way being incredibly yucky....the worst part by far, in fact....
It's a bit of a trudge along that lane. My brother and I had to sprint it last spring when we had a couple too many at the Sun Inn thinking we'd catch the bus to meet with the train at Dent Station, only to realise it wasn't running that day. The last climb up to the station saw us off.
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