Walking in the Yorkshire countryside is so refreshing plus there are plenty of places for a cheeky tipple
OUR bus driver came up with the answer when we got marooned in Settle because of road closures – have another pint.
She promised to pick us up and even recommended her favourite pubs in the picturesque market town.
And she turned up with a wave and a smile an hour and a half later, before whisking us back to our apartment in Austwick through the winding lanes of the stunning Yorkshire Dales National Park.
For a couple whose instinct is always to head south for Europe’s beaches and backwaters, this walking weekend was a wonderful reminder of the beauty on our doorstep.
We spent three days wandering the glacier-formed valleys, upland hill farms and moors studded with limestone outcrops.
First though, we did a bit of carbo-stacking with an excellent meal at the Game Cock Inn.
The next day, mewling buzzards duelled with skylarks as we walked the rock-strewn paths from Austwick to Settle via the village of Feizor.
We had been lured there by the recommendation of a tuna melt at Elaine’s Tea Rooms. The place was alive with cyclists, walkers and, reassuringly, a few locals.
Heading out of Austwick, we climbed towards Ingleborough, one of The Yorkshire Three Peaks.
The going is rough at times and involves a lot of stiles over dry-stone walls but the paths are well marked and the scenery is breathtaking.
Fellow walkers urged us to push on towards Gaping Gill, one of the country’s longest cave systems.
It is legendary in these parts and can be accessed by a 322ft-deep pothole.
Fell Beck, the stream tumbling over the lip and down the shaft, forms the UK’s tallest unbroken waterfall.
We decided against a push towards the summit and instead curved down towards Clapham and a pit stop at the Grade II-listed Old Manor House.
It is home to the Clapham Bunkhouse, offering group accommodation and the Reading Room bar and café.
From there it is a few yards to the Ingleborough Estate nature trail.
Its woodland paths skirt a man-made lake, and provided a wind down after the morning’s exertions. It is £1 a head, so have change ready.
Back among the stone cottages of Austwick, we needed one last Yorkshire beer and opted for The Traddock, a splendid Georgian country house hotel.
MOST READ IN TRAVEL
The hotel is a short walk from Orchard Leigh, a bright, two-bedroom apartment with a log-burning stove and French doors opening on to a terrace offering wonderful views.
As we left the next day, one local bade us a cheery good morning as he sold home-made chutneys from the wall outside.
Profit goes to the infant school. It’s that kind of place.
Go: Yorkshire
STAYING THERE: Seven nights’ self-catering at 2 Orchard Leigh, Austwick, is from £287. Sleeps three.
See or call 01244 356 695.
OUT & ABOUT: The Yorkshire Three Peaks route is 24 miles long and includes 5,200ft of ascent.
The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge takes on the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, usually in this order, in under 12 hours.