Day 7: Travel day
Welcome
Yesterday we had a travel day and spent some time walking in the sunny English countryside.
Holiday Inn Manchester - West had put a bit more time and thought into their breakfast buffet than what we had been experiencing at the slightly more budget IHG hotel chain of Holiday Inn Expresses. I put together a hearty plate of food with items like toast, egg, mushrooms, hash browns, tomatoes, black pudding, sausage, salmon, and ham.
We had a full day to get up to Glasgow, normally a drive that takes about four hours, so we decided to go on a leisure outing. Someone who did an excellent job preparing for the important role of Tour Dad, the person holding both planning and leadership roles, was Jonathan Pearce. He had done his research and organised a day trip that included scenic views, physical challenges, and a culinary adventure.
The M66 motorway took us north out of Manchester for about 25 miles and then it was the turn off the M65 to head us northeast for a bit. At the town of Nelson, we began to hit the backroads which while they didn’t have a hard shoulder featured two nice lanes and a centreline marking. At some point the centreline was withdrawn and the road narrowed slightly, though still with room for two vehicles to pass. Then we moved onto proper country roads that are wide enough for a single vehicle and feature handsome drystone walls to make sure you don’t veer off the roadway. The local drivers are impressive in the confidence they display while approaching an oncoming vehicle. It seems implausible that two vehicles could pass each other on these narrow lanes but they speed past you while you veer into the grass and bushes on the roadside, almost taking your mirror off on the stone wall.
The scenery was very handsome. We were in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, a 2000 square kilometre protected area in North Yorkshire that is mostly covered with farmland. Jonathan safely wound us across the beautiful landscape, over gentle hills, through tiny villages, and past fields of sheep and cows who all remained very blasé about the glossy black paint and red and silver trim on our Mercedes Benz Civilised Sprinter.
The town of Malham was our destination and as we arrived Jonathan eased the van into a field that had been turned into a paid parking lot by an enterprising local. We got ourselves ready and headed off to witness some of this natural beauty, up close and personal. The weather had remained very tasteful, and the sun was out, supplemented by a steady wind that kept us from overheating. Jonathan took us on a circular route that had us visit three wonders, the first of which was Malham Cove, an impressive limestone formation that stands 80m tall and 300m wide. This cliff was formed by glacial movements which plucked bits of rock from the face and carried them away, and then it was further smoothed by running water as the glaciers melted.
We walked up a path that took us right to the top where as Norman Nicholson described it “Flinty clints are scraped bone-bare. A whale’s ribs glint in the sun”. This feature is a large limestone pavement with a unique curved pattern that has been carved deeply into the rock by glacial meltwater. From up here on these ribs we were afforded a brilliant view across the dale back towards Malham.
The view out across the dale.
Our walk continued and we maintained our elevation, crossing many fields richly clad in grass of a pleasing quality. We followed a path that was busy with other tourists, heading towards our second wonder which was another casualty of glacial mismanagement. Gordale Scar is a dramatically named ravine which contains two waterfalls and tall overhanging limestone cliffs.
Gordale Scar.
The last wonder was reached as we hooked back around to head towards Malham, following the path that descended a steep riverbank towards the stream known as Gordale Beck. We reached the bottom and saw Janet’s Foss, a small but powerful waterfall that was gushing forth the same water that had tumbled through Gordale Scar and was now gathering in a sheltered water hole filled with splashing children, and even some adults and dogs.
We didn’t quite have the appetite for a dip, so we followed the path along the banks of the beck as it made its way back to Malham.
The last part of our outing was well-timed as our bellies were rumbling. Jonathan guided us into The Old Barn Tearoom where we sat and enjoyed one of the great delicacies of this country, a Cream Tea with Yorkshire tea, and freshly baked scones.
Last but not least, here are the highlights of the day’s events from filmmaker Tristan Deck.