Day 49 - Haworth to Thornton-in-Craven

A day of jumping in and out of the van, or it seemed that way after I had dropped The Walker off at his starting point, drove up to Penistone Hill, then on to the meeting place at Lothersdale (at the pub), then on again to Thornton-in-Craven, to the pub at Elslack and, finally, to the camping place at Gargrave. The threatened rain only happened at the start of the day  & we are now basking in sunshine as the food cooks gently on the barbecue.

We met an interesting man at the first pub who said that his camper van was nearly 15 years old and on its last legs; he thought they were a great thing. He had, however, just spent 3 weeks in Corfu and goes abroad a lot, presumably without the van.

The second pub was called "The Tempest Inn "  and had lots of signs saying that it was Pub of  the Year 2011! Apparently Annie Tempest, who illustrates books and draws cartoons with very funny captions, used to own the pub. There are framed drawings covering the walls and we spent an amusing half hour reading "The Toddingtons" postcards. Definitely a good pub which served Crabbies Ginger Beer with lemon slices -  thanks to Jamie for introducing me to this fine drink!

From Bernie:
Today's walk  14.0 miles     :     Cumulative  625.8 miles

High-level, open moorland walking was again a feature of the day but with a fair bit of enclosed farmland thrown in for good measure. The views from Elslack Moor, towards the end of the day, were as good as anything on the walk so far & it's a pity it was all a bit hazy by then.

Looking out over the Head of Ponden Reservoir from Crag Top

I'd been looking forward to a leisurely walk with a couple of nicely-spaced pub-stops: imagine my horror when, arriving in Ickornshaw, I discovered that 'The Black Bull' now sold kitchens instead of beer! I could go on for hours about the decline of the English pub.....

Wolf Stones - quite a wild location; my guidebook suggests they were named to deter young children from straying too far out on to the moor

Whilst on the subject of decline, I was amazed by the number of crumbling & abandoned farmhouses below Eller Hill - I think the only places I've seen anything on this scale has been in the Scottish Highlands where communities were the victims of forced Clearances. Here, farm-workers gave up their struggle with the land to move to mill-work & the industrial towns below them in the valleys. It is ironic that opposite 'The Hare & Hounds' in Lothersdale, where I met Les at lunchtime, is a huge, empty mill with chimney & a water-wheel which was once one of the largest in the country. Cue.... Song of the Day!

Village of Lothersdale & its old mill

Highlight of the Day: quite simply, the weather! Forecast to be wet virtually all day with heavy rain in the early afternoon - I walked in tee-shirt & shorts for most of the day & couldn't believe my luck as banks of black cloud rumbled past me to the west. Could have been a tough day's walking... turned out to be quite comfortable!

This one wouldn't tell me its name; I didn't have a biscuit & couldn't find its chin. I'm afraid I wasn't the highlight of this pig's day!

Beer of the Day: not sure whether 'Moorland' is the name of the beer, the brewery or both! It comes from Oxenhope, 2 miles from our overnight stop, & appears to be stocked by 'The Hare & Hounds' because 'a lad in the village works there'! Strong & smooth,  a very good beer

Song of the Day: 'A Dalesman's Litany' - lots of versions of this old song around - I like Tim Hart's, he adds one or two bits not in the original &, I think, makes it more of a human story

Di: I was only there yesterday & I'm struggling to remember the names of all the pubs I passed! I don't know about you but I found Haworth much calmer, gentler & quieter than I remember from when we were younger; as kids I recall heat, crowds, ice-cream & shouting!!!! In a perverse way I'm glad that everybody's Sunday was a bit of a wash-out!


Terry & Pauline: good to hear from you again - I don't know why the comments link works sometimes & not others but please persevere, otherwise I'd feel as if I'm just writing for myself! Glad to hear you're settling in.... & that your weather is very similar to ours! Hope to see you soon.


Ann: pleased you enjoyed Dorset & hope that Cornwall is just as good - I've found that if you ignore the weather, it'll leave you alone! Sorry to hear about Barry's knees &, other than stronger beer, I don't know what to recommend.