The walk of three Crowns!
October's walk-Scar House Reservoir, Middlesmoor and Lofthouse.
After we traveled 60+ miles, we arrived at the Scar House car park, and it was raining heavily, misty, and the cafe was not yet open! 20+ of us, expecting a hot drink on arrival. Not to be, and unfortunately, we had to leave 2 walkers behind, after waiting over 30 minutes for them to arrive. No phone reception or way of knowing if they were coming or not. So we started our trek uphill to the Nidderdale way, and headed towards Middlesmoor. The path was quite slippy on the loose stones, and the views were non-existent due to the heavy mist, not a problem as long as you look where you plant your next step. After a few miles we arrived at our first stop, the Crown at Middlesmoor. Most of us enjoyed our drinks, be it tea or coffee, or the decent draught ales available. Apparently latte isn't on offer in this establishment, so not everyone was happy... Moving on through the village, we found our next way sign down to How Stean Gorge. This place is a day out for families and groups of people who want to do extreme sports and caving, etc. not what our group particularly want to do today. |
The next village we visited also had another pub named the Crown. Although our schedule was a little behind, we decided another stop here would be interesting. Thirsty work walking! We had done over 5 miles at this point, with possibly only another 3 miles to do.
It was decided that we should change the route after we left here, as our final visit to yet another Crown in Pateley Bridge was scheduled for 4:00. The walk should have been on the Nidderdale Way route, which was high above the route we decided on. The weather had improved enough to remove waterproofs now, in fact the sun was out, and the temperature was quite warm. The route was tarmac now, which is very tiring, and we had realised it was going to be at least another 5 miles, and the Scar House Reservoir not even in view yet. After a couple of hours of road walking, we decided to take a track leading to the reservoir, which we knew was just below the car park. Definitely worth a visit, but probably better in the Summer months! We then traveled to the Crown at Pateley Bridge, and had a hearty traditional Sunday lunch. A great day out. |