Yorkshire Dales Marathon Challenge - Training Walk 4
Sunday 21st May 2011 - Flasby Fell and the Skipton Beer Festival
Hairy Hikers Present: Paul J, Phil, Paul W and Martin
Start: Skipton Railway Station
Distance: 10 miles
Muffins provided by: Phil
Vertical Waterfall Count: 0
The Route: After Paul W had answered a survey on train travel, we left Skipton Station and turned right heading for the town centre. Before we reached the town centre we turned left and headed through a maze of residential streets and eventually came to Gargrave Road, which we crossed and then headed up Raikeswood Road and turned left onto Raikeswood Drive and came out on Raikes Road. We turned left and walked up Raikes Road for a short distance and headed straight on at the fork onto White Hills Lane and hopped over a stile on the right a short distance up the road. After Crossing a field we came to a stile onto the verge next to the A65 and took our lives in our hands a made a run for it over the busy dual carriageway and up the verge at the other side.
After hopping over another stile we crossed a field of rather menacing looking cows that followed us. We gladly hopped over a stile into another field and turned right following the path by the campsite. We came out onto a narrow lane and turned right heading up passed the campsite for a short distance before hopping over another stile and into a field. After crossing the field we came out onto Bog Lane and turned right. We walked up the lane for a short distance and hopped over yet another stile into another field. From here we followed the path to another stile and through another field and across a ditch towards the woods. We hopped over another stile and followed the path into the woods and came out onto a forestry track. We headed along the track for quite a distance, spooking a deer on the way and came to a u bend. We took a path heading straight on at the bend through an area of Rhododendron bushes that were being cleared and hopped over another, wait for it... stile and into another, wait for it... field. We followed the path down he field and onto a track heading towards Flasby Village. We turned right at the bottom of a hill and followed the path back up the same hill we just came down and crossed a farm track and headed up towards Flasby Fell.
After a bit of uphill walking we came to the crossroads in the path. It was left to Rough Haw, right to Sharp Haw and the path also continued straight on. The two Paul's turned left and headed up to the cairn on Rough Haw as Paul W had never been up there before and Phil and Martin headed up to the trig point on Sharp Haw and waited for the Paul's to join them. We stopped for a short break and Martin discovered a he forgot to bring a spoon for his pot noodle. After some food and drink and a trig point photo taken by a nice fellow hiker we continued. It was down hill from the summit on a well used track. After a while Paul W looked at the trig point photo to discover it had not taken. Rather than go back, we carried on and came to a road, Bog Lane in fact. We headed right and followed the lane to another stile and hopped over it and crossed another two fields and came out onto the B6265 (Grassington Road).
We crossed the road and headed down Brackenley Lane. After a while we turned right hopping over another stile into another field. We crossed the field and then another field and came to Skipton Golf Club, where we followed the way markers across the course watching out for flying golf balls and golfers waving their arms shouting four. After safely reaching the other side of the golf course and hopping over yet another stile and crossing yet another field we came to another stile and the verge of the A65. We dashed across the dual carriageway in a similar fashion to earlier in the day and followed the path at the other side of the road and crossed a narrow lane and over another stile into another field. We headed up the field and into another field and down the field towards Skipton. After hopping over a stone stile we walked down the lane to Chapel Hill and down onto Raikes Road. We turned right and followed the road into Skipton town centre, where we then spent a few hours drinking ale at the Skipton Beer Festival. After a good walk involving lots of stile hopping and field crossing and a good few ales at the beer festival we headed for the train station and home.