A Dales High Way

High Way the hard way

A new women's record has been set this week for running A Dales High Way by Catherine Bradley-Richardson, who covered the 90-mile long distance trail in just 35 hours!

Catherine, who works for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, set off on Sunday morning, September 2nd. She had pacer support from three runners for the first half, up to Ribblehead, but finished the run on her own, late Monday afternoon.

Her actual running time was 27 hours 19 minutes, with some refreshment and rest stops along the way, where she had road support at various locations.

Catherine had originally intended to join three runners who tackled the trail in 2016, including a colleague at the National Park. "I was unable to do it with Matt Neale due to injury 2 years ago...so let’s see what happens!" she said before the start.

In November 2016 three men, Matt Kneale, Mark Collinson and Dave Dixon completed the run in just 26 hours.

Catherine said "It is such a fabulous and varied route. It really does show off the Yorkshire Dales superbly! Although the weather was poor from Sedbergh onwards it was still very enjoyable! I was glad to have previously reccied the Howgills section as it was thick fog and driving rain in Monday morning."

Wow. Well done Catherine!

See the 2016 run report here.

9 Sept. 2018

Baildon Welcomes High Way walkers

The Baildon Walkers Are Welcome group have chosen A Dales High Way to launch their first Challenge Event.

Walkers met up this morning at 9 a.m. to join walk leader Paul Robinson for a 17-mile hike over Rombalds Moor to Ilkley and Addingham, before crossing Skipton Moor for Skipton.

A Dales High Way was devised 10 years ago by Baildon Walkers are Welcome Vice-Chair, Chris Grogan, and her husband Tony. Chris is also secretary of the Friends of A Dales High Way and has had a busy year organising a number of 10th anniversary events.

Some walkers had planned to leave the walk at Ilkley, whilst another group were planning to join up with the walk at White Wells for the final stretch to Skipton.

Baildon was awarded Walkers Are Welcome status in 2013 and have proved to be one of the more active groups in the region. They organise a number of guided walks for all abilities, from local town trails and family-friendly shorter walks, to longer hikes.

The national Walkers are Welcome scheme started 11 years ago in Yorkshire. Hebden Bridge was the first Walkers are Welcome town. Now there are over 100 towns and villages accredited as Walkers are Welcome communities – including Baildon, of course.

See Baildon Walkers are Welcome here.

1 Sept. 2018

Rail strike blow to Trail plans

The announcement of new rail strikes has disrupted plans for the final two Anniversary Walks by the Friends of A Dales High Way.

With 7 of the 9 planned walks along the full length of A Dales High Way - Walk the Trail 2018 - already completed, the final two walks were scheduled for the Saturdays of August 25th and September 8th.

But a series of strikes by the RMT rail union on Northern services are earmarked for three consecutive Saturdays:- August 25, September 1 and September 8.

The walk planned for August 25th has been pulled back a week to August 18th, as it involves using the Western Dales bus from Dent which only operates on a Saturday. The walk heads from Sedbergh over the Howgill Fells to Newbiggin-on-Lune, and involves a stunning six-mile ridge walk with some of the finest views in the Yorkshire Dales.

The final walk has been pushed on one day to Sunday September 9th, which will involve a much later start and finish. The walk sets out from Newbiggin-on-Lune to cross the Orton Fells heading down into the Eden Valley to finish at Appleby.

Chris said: "It's a real shame, as we have had to hastily re-arrange the dates, which means a number of walkers who had planned to join us will no longer be able to. But so far the walks have been a hugely enjoyable experience for all concerned."

See Walk the Trail 2018 here, and the RMT announcement here.

14 Aug 2018

Shooters target birds of prey

Despite the breeding success of the Peregrine Falcons nesting at Malham Cove, there is growing concern at the persecution of birds of prey by game shooters.

North Yorkshire has the unwanted record of having more confirmed incidents of raptor persecution than any other county in England, with 54 incidents between 2012 and 2016 in which species such as peregrine falcons, red kites and hen harriers have been shot, poisoned and even caught in spring-loaded pole traps that have been outlawed since Victorian times. North Yorkshire Police says such crimes are particularly prevalent in areas where land is managed for driven grouse shooting.

In a bid to tackle the problem, in February this year North Yorkshire Police launched Operation Owl.

On Friday Andrew Sells, the Chair of Natural England, welcomed efforts by the shooting community to safeguard and conserve hundreds of hectares of land for wildlife, when he spoke at the 60th Game Fair at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire. He said despite this work “more needs to be done to ensure there is a balance between shooting and conservation.”

Earlier this month a dead Red Kite was found near Bolton Abbey by walkers. Initial tests indicated there was a piece of shot in the body.

Doug Simpson, Yorkshire Red Kite Co-ordinator, said: “This latest incident brings the total confirmed Yorkshire red kite illegal persecution victims up to 42 since releases began in 1999. Thirteen of these birds having been shot. It is sickening that a small minority of people appear intent on breaking the law by targeting these birds, which have become an integral part of our beautiful North Yorkshire countryside.”

In March this year The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) published an ‘evidence report’ on birds of prey persecution – which was first presented to a wildlife crime summit held at the Authority’s offices in Bainbridge.

It says, “The collation of breeding data, the number of confirmed persecution incidents and the absence of some species from large areas of potentially suitable habitat provide compelling evidence that illegal persecution is limiting the populations of peregrine and hen harrier in the National Park, and is preventing the colonisation of the area by red kites. 

“There has not been a successful Peregrine nesting attempt on any of the monitored grouse moor sites since 1997, with birds now absent from the majority of sites that were occupied in the 1990s. This is in stark contrast to the success of nest sites away from grouse moors.   There is no natural explanation for this difference.

“Despite large areas of potentially suitable nesting habitat, there has not been a successful hen harrier nesting attempt in the National Park since 2007.   In addition, 11 (19%) of the 59 hen harriers that were satellite tagged by Natural England at sites across northern England and Scotland between 2002 and 2017 are classed as ‘missing, fate unknown’ in the Yorkshire Dales.”

Read the YDNPA report here, and see more about Operation Owl here.

1 August 2018