Rat In A Maze

A decrepid fingerpost pointed into the mist. It said that Birkwith was 1 and 7/8 miles away. I was impressed by the implied degree of accuracy. I had been along this path before and a vague warning materialised in my brain and then just as suddenly disappeared. It was something about route-finding, but the initial track looked so obvious that I felt that I could safely ignore the alert. Maybe on such a misty day I should have been more cautious. In one sense, you can't go too far wrong on this route since there is a limestone scar that provides an obvious navigational handrail on your right. The problem is that there are plenty of stone walls to provide cul-de-sacs and a dearth of any useful signage. I felt a bit like a rat in a maze. On a clear day, when you can see the stiles and gates it wouldn't be too bad. At Overground, the large letters 'PW' and a vague arrow pointing to the right had been painted on a rock. There was no path indicated on the map, and the arrow just seemed to be pointing to a unclimbable gill. I'm not sure whether this was just a malicious intervention from the landowner. I carried on along the scar and got to a tree plantation with no way through. Looking at the map, I'd drifted too far west and so had to climb up over the scar to get back on to the path again. Getting to the end of the trees I found a fingerpost pointing towards me. It said Sell Gill 1 7/8 miles. Well, I'd add another 5/8ths of a mile on to that for all the mistakes you'd inevitably make. 

Alum Pot

The next part of my route crossed the Ribble valley from east to west. I followed choppy Coppy Gill beck down to where it met the River Ribble in the valley bottom. The mist had now gone from the valley and there was even some sunshine and a bit of blue sky. A couple of wooden bridges transferred me across the beck and then across the Ribble. One more field hop and a country lane delivered me into the small village of Selside. I walked along the B6479 for a 100 yards and then headed off another country lane. A couple of lads in pot-holing gear were ahead of me and so I guessed I was on the right path to Alum Pot. I then reached a sign saying that Alum Pot was on private land and that if you wanted to go and have a look at it then you should go back to Selside, find the specified farm and pay them £1 for the privilege. I'd now walked about a quarter of a mile from Selside and so the prospect of making a return trip to the place wasn't that appealing. I decided to wing it and follow the pot-holers up to the pothole. If an irate farmer appeared on his ATV demanding £1, then I'd just have to claim ignorance. I thought it was a nice idea though. Maybe I could charge my neighbours £1 to take a tour of my garden, back home. 

Alum Pot was well worth the 20 minutes out-and-back to see it. It was a massive gash in the landscape into which a waterfall disappeared. There didn't seem any obvious way down into it and I wondered where the pot-holers had gone. Photos taken, I made my way back to the public footpath. I returned without any GOML encounters, and so my pension fund was £1 higher than it could have been.

Sulber Nick

Some field hopping brought me to the Ingleborough National Nature Reserve. For once on today's walk, I had regular posts on the route to indicate the way. Ironically, the path was obvious and there was no need for them. I gained some height and got a wonderful view of Penyghent that had managed to shed its morning misty coat. It had turned out to be rather a pleasant day. The landscape felt wilder with broken limestone pavements and scars. Eventually the path brought me to the crossroads at Sulber Nick with the Horton path continuing upwards to my right, to the top of Ingleborough. I turned off left towards Horton. As might be expected, there were a few more walkers on this path since it is used by those doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks (Penyghent, Whernside and Ingleborough). It was all downhill from here to Horton and there was that glorious view of the ramparts of Penyghent immediately ahead of me to keep me entertained.

Return

That path from Sulber Nick back to Horton always seems a long way to me. Especially so, when it is at the end of the 27 mile Yorkshire Three Peaks walk. It is a gradual descent and easy walking, although it gets quite muddy nearer to Horton. The path brought me out to Horton's railway station and I dutifully looked both ways along the track before crossing it. I'd only just left the station on the other side when I heard a train approaching. I'm not sure whether that could be registered as a 'near-miss.' 

The carpark was full when I got back. I wondered where everybody had gone since I'd not seen that many people out walking. After the misty start, the day had actually turned out to be quite nice. As with a lot of Dale's walks, there was a lot of field hopping today. The views were good though once the mist shifted. Alum Pot was impressive and would be well worth the £1 if you get caught by the poor landowner.