Barden Moor

There is a wooden plank bridge that takes you over a small stream, on the path to Lord's Seat. The last time I did this walk, it was so slippery, I nearly ended up doing a somersault and splits. I was rather more cautious today. I wasn't quite on all fours, but near enough. Lord's Seat is easier to climb, and I managed to find a sheltered spot to have a sandwich. It was still a little misty although the sun was trying to break through now.

I followed a stone wall south eastwards and then turned south westwards on to a Landrover track over Barden Fell. Apart from the odd rock popping up out of the moor, it was all rather featureless. The track gradually descended towards Great Agill Beck where there is a curious stone table surrounded by a semi-circle of stone wall. I presume this is something to do with the Tweed Trouser Brigade and some sacrificial ritual that they perform. The track followed the beck down the valley and eventually I entered the Valley Of Desolation.

Valley Of Desolation

The Valley Of Desolation was caused by a massive storm in 1836. Torrential rain and flash floods uprooted many of the original oaks. It has since been replanted, but on entering the plantation, it looked a scene of devastation again. The forestry boys had been harvesting the trees next to the moor. I plodded my way through the mud and diverted down the track to Sheepshaw beck. My intention was to follow the beck until I reached the large waterfall. After a while I came across two blokes who were taking photos of the beck. Their camera was on a tripod and looked a professional setup. They said that it was unusual for so much water to be coming down the beck. They asked me if I'd been to the waterfall further up. I'd seen it on the map, but didn't think it was worth visiting. They convinced me to go and have a look at it, and so I followed them, and retraced my steps back upstream. Although it is a lot smaller than the downstream waterfall, it is very pretty and well worth the effort to visit. They kindly let me take my photos first and then I left them to it, to set up their camera and tripod. 15 minutes later I'd made my way down to the larger waterfall downstream. It is very impressive and quite good in that you can get close and have a clear view of it.

That was the waterfalls done, the next stop was Bolton Abbey.

Bolton Abbey

Bolton Abbey was a 12th century Augustinian monastery with a thriving community. And then between 1536 and 1541 Henry VIII had a say in the matter. It is now an imposing ruin, although part of it is still used for services. I did think about entering this bit, but thought that I'd probably end up knocking over a lit candle with my rucksack and burning the rest of it down. It'd become known as Nun's Dissolution Of The Monasteries, which does conjure up a bizarre image. For the brave, there are some stepping stones that can be used to traverse the River Wharfe. A large notice indicated that some of the stones are missing. The river was too high today though and it had totally immersed them. I took the safer option and used the nearby bridge.

Just outside the grounds of the Abbey, there is the Cavendish memorial fountain to Lord Frederick Cavendish. As a child I used to have a wart on my hand that looked pretty much like the monument, although admittedly, my wart had puss rather than water spouting from its centre. Lord Cavendish was a Liberal politician and was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1882. He was murdered only hours after his arrival in Dublin as part of a politically motivated attack known as the Phoenix Park Murders. Cavendish was a council member of Yorkshire College at Leeds (now University), which I presume is his Yorkshire connection.

Santa's Village

I walked back upstream alongside the River Wharfe towards the Cavendish Pavilion. The pavilion has a cafe and shop and was busy with people. I was intrigued by the string of lights leading along the track away from the pavilion, and I soon headed off in that direction. The lights led me to a compound that was surrounded by a high fence so that it was impossible to see inside. Three tepee tops were visible above the top of the fence, together with a couple of shed roofs. I heard some music and some young kids screaming inside, which rather spooked me. It was of course, Santa's Village. A large generator was loudly chugging away outside the compound, and I had the mischievous thought of unhooking the electric supply to see what would happen. I'm guessing it would have meant me being a guest in Skipton jail, and so I decided not to, in the end. Entrance to the village was through a small door within a gate. The door was so small I couldn't actually see inside when they opened it. It all seemed very secretive and so I continued my walk along the Wharfe.

I reached The Strid, a place where the wide Wharfe narrows into a little canyon. A sign warns not to get too close to the edge since lives have been lost with people slipping in. Although the water wasn't really gushing down today, I could see that a winter time dip wouldn't do me much good and so I took care on the greasy rocks.

I continued up the Wharfe and crossed to the other side on an old aqueduct that has now been turned into a bridge. It was getting quite dark when I reached Barden Bridge, a little further upstream. The walk had everything: riverside walking, moorland walking, gorgeous waterfalls, ruined abbey and, of course, Santa's Village.