Following a social evening that involved a few beers in Sedbergh it was a pleasant start to the day. From the moment we set off walking the sun came out and we were promised a warm sunny day. Always a bonus when going onto the hills and with some distance to cover. On we went and at a steady pace we crossed the river Rawthey just before the roadside path ended and the country lanes began. It is always a pleasure to walk some of our quieter country lanes as it gives the chance to enjoy the sounds and smells of nature without the ever present noise and smells from motor vehicles.

Road walking is not a favourite of many serious walkers but a short stretch is a good way to cover some distance on a flat surface, although the occasional vehicle is a nuisance it is even more so when it is parked up and fully blocking the road. Notice how the driver of this tractor has parked in such a way with his back wheels are close to the only tree on the road just to make passing even more difficult, obviously someone with a problem. I cursed his existence; we squeezed past and were on our way again.

It was not long into the day and having covered only 5 or so of the 16 miles we were to do and the 5 easiest miles of the walk we noticed a rise in temperature, the sheep in the fields had also felt the heat rise and for them it was a case of shelter or swelter. We continued along the country roads for a little while longer before heading into the fields to make our way to our lunchtime stop at the village of Dent in the Yorkshire Dales.

The pathways through the fields also followed the river Dee all the way into Dent however it wasn’t just the river that I noticed as at every stile we came to I saw that a small lead plaque had been nailed to a post of the stile. This one looks like Ribblehead Viaduct with Whernside in the background, others depicted other country scenes, apart from one which had a Dinosaur (I think it may well have been a school project), I counted 11 in all however somehow I believe I may have missed a 12th.

Dent and time for a rest, our steady pace had got us there before the pub had opened, never mind Steve you can have one tonight. We carried on through Dent and when passing the church, we came upon a seating area right opposite the local shop, convenient we thought and time for a seat and lunch. After a decent 20 to 30-minute break we were again on our way and now heading to the hills and the only way onto the hills is up, the relatively even ground we had already covered was now a luxury we were to leave behind.

Now the hard work of the day was to begin and judging by the initial climb out of Dent and up through the uneven Deepdale Beck the going wasn’t always going to be easy. I’m not sure how long Deepdale Beck is but it seemed to go on for too long before its end and finally onto the open moors, however it did have one small bonus in that it offered some cover from the midday sun. The effort from the climb had now started to wake up those parts of the body that up until now had remained dormant.

The hill we were going up was called the Boot of the Wold and although it isn’t a noted hill like its close neighbour Whernside it does have some character and gives you plenty of good views in every direction. After following Mike and Steve to the top (I nearly always follow behind) it was refreshing to feel a cooling breeze.

When near the brow of the hill we met and stopped to talk to a couple of walkers heading in the opposite direction; although we were complete strangers we did have somethings in common. The man we met lived in Harrogate and the woman came from Northallerton (Mike and I now live in Harrogate and initially come from Northallerton), the man had also worked with a knew some of the same people Mike had worked with.

Coming down from Boot of the Wold was much nicer than going up and the views of Ribblehead are coming into view. Looking back at Force Gill I can just see Mike and Steve who have now fallen behind me (I occasionally stride out ahead). The weather has been good and it although the morning looked like it was going to be a hot one it didn’t get to hot as we thought and as the day progressed a haze covered the sky and just took the edge off the heat and humidity. We eventually reach the bottom of the hill and the view opens up to see the Ribblehead Viaduct with Ingleborough in the distance, now we have covered most of the distance of the day and the final destination of High Birkwith is only about 3 miles away.

After passing the Viaduct and a little bit of road walking through Chapel-le-Dale and past Ribblehead Station we again reach open countryside and fields. This was a pleasant couple of miles to finish on, it had misspelled notices (FASEN ALL GATES), bulls looking mischievously at us as we passed and a picturesque wooden humped back bridge. The day was a good day and we eventually reached High Birkwith in high spirits.