News en route

Ingleborough repair work underway

The work to repair the badly eroded track along Swine Tail to the summit of Ingleborough is now well underway.

Hundreds of old Lancashire mill flags have been lifted onto site by helicopter, along with a small mobile excavator, and park rangers are busy laying the flags with the help of volunteers.

If you think climbing the iconic peak is tough going, think about the task faced by Park Access Ranger Josh Hull and his young apprentice Tom, operating an excavator on the precarious mountain edge overlooking The Arks at 700 metres altitude.

The cost of the scheme was estimated at £10,000 with the money being raised in a unique crowdfunding exercise - Mend our Mountains - organised by the British Mountaineering Council. The initial task is to flag the path from the summit down towards Simon Fell and the start of the "hair-raising" descent to Humphrey Bottom.

The successful campaign beat the target figure by 25% and it is hoped the extra money will help towards similar work on the adjoining section which climbs up from the path from Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Both these sections are part of the route of A Dales High Way, but also trampled by thousands of Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge walkers boots each year.

See our previous posting here.

11 Sept 2016

Northern Dalesman bus journey filmed live

So spectacular and beautiful is the 830 Northern Dalesman weekly bus ride across the Yorkshire Dales, the BBC decided to film the two hour journey live, then broadcast it as one of its Slow TV programmes.

The bus journey, from Richmond to Ingleton, follows sections of some famous long-distance trails, including Wainwright's Coast to Coast Path, the Pennine Way and A Dales High Way.

The 830, which begins its journey in Middlesbrough before travelling to Richmond, only runs on Sundays and Bank Holidays from early May to late September, and there’s just one round-trip journey a day from each end point. This means that – depending on where you alight – you can have between three and six hours at your stop of choice before getting back on and heading back in the opposite direction.

But it's still a popular bus for walkers, as it connects to the Settle-Carlisle train at Ribblehead. For others, the bus journey itself is the main event.

From Richmond the bus heads west along Swaledale, following the Royal Route of Wainwright's Coast to Coast path, passing through Reeth, Gunnerside and Muker. Then it makes the spectacular climb over Buttertubs Pass, parallel to the Pennine Way's crossing of Great Shunner Fell, before dropping down to Hawes and on to Ribblehead.

Passing under the railway alongside the famous Viaduct, the bus continues between Ingleborough and Whernside, well known to Dales High Way walkers, to finish its journey at Ingleton.

All Aboard! The Country Bus was broadcast on August 29th 2016 on BBC Four.

Watch the film on BBC iPlayer here, and check out the Dalesbus 830 timetable here.

2  Sept. 2016

Appleby Summer Pudding

There is just a week to go until a brand new boutique summer festival is staged as part of Appleby’s fightback from the after-effects of Storm Desmond last December. It will be held in the spectacular surroundings of the medieval Appleby Castle from 12 noon on Saturday 20 August 2016.

Expect a quality day of retro vibes, vintage markets, live music, street entertainers, funfair, free children’s activities followed by an After Party featuring the chart-topping Sam and the Womp, The Correspondents and Gypsy Hill. Camping is available.

Walkers finishing A Dales High Way on the Friday may wish to stay over an extra day to enjoy the festivities.

Appleby-in-Westmorland was very badly affected by flooding in December 2015, ruining houses, businesses and livelihoods. Eden Arts were approached by a group of Appleby residents who wanted to put together an event to help the town recover. So they threw around some ingredients and The Summer Pudding was the outcome.

Adrian Lochhead, Director of Eden Arts, says, “It’s hard to describe how excited we are about this fabulous new summer festival, which is a great addition to Cumbria’s events calendar.

“We’ve handpicked a huge range of street performers and live music acts to make this the biggest party Appleby has ever seen. With nostalgic family fun throughout the day and a more intimate, edge feel to the evening gig, it has all the ingredients to bring in visitors not only from Cumbria, but from across the North of England for a unique day out against the backdrop of this epic fairytale castle.”

The festival takes place on Saturday August 20th, from 12pm - 7pm for the Daytime event, 6.15pm - 11.30pm for the After Party. Adult tickets range from £10 to £20, with children starting at £1. There are generous discounts for local residents.

See The Summer Pudding 2016 website here.

13 August 2016

National Park extended

On Yorkshire Day - Monday 1st August 2016 - the area of the Yorkshire Dales National Park was officially extended by a quarter, taking on huge swathes of land in Cumbria and parts of north Lancashire.

The expansion will see it take on a extra 161 square miles of upland landscape and move it within touching distance of the Lake District National Park which is also expanding.

To the north, the Dales will now include the limestone-terraced plateau of Great Asby Scar and the northern Howgill Fells, the distinctive Wild Boar Fell and Mallerstang, and the settlements that surround them. To the west, the National Park covers the fells of Casterton, Middleton, Barbon and Leck.

The route of A Dales High Way crosses the entire length of the newly extended National Park.

Chairman of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Carl Lis said: “I’m eternally grateful for the extraordinary work so many people have put in to make today a reality. “

“For the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, the hard work starts now. But through our passion for this special place, working alongside local people and businesses, we will ensure it remains a thriving area: its unique cultural landscape will be treasured for its stunning scenery, exceptional heritage and wonderful wildlife, and every year millions of people will be inspired to be a part of it.”

The National Parks contribute £4bn to the UK economy each year with tourism responsible for 13 per cent of rural employment and 10 per cent of rural businesses.

Mark Corner, from the Yorkshire Dales Society, said: “We’re very excited, we have been working on this for many years and campaigned and lobbied wherever we can. Some of the boundaries were picked on an arbitrary basis in the 1950s, so to join it up makes an awful lot of sense. It now should be on everyone's bucket list."

Andrew Sells, chairman of Natural England said: “This is a momentous day for the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National Parks, as well as for the wider family of protected landscapes.”

Natural England first suggested the extensions in 2009, with a public inquiry launched in 2013. After hearing more than 3,000 representations of which only 220 were objections, it was recommended the extensions be approved.

See the extended Yorkshire Dales National Park here.

2 August 2016

More News >

[ Check Route Updates ]