A visit to Cumbria and a walk from the village of Dufton to High Cup Nick

Dufton is a very lovely little village in the Eden Valley, just a short distance outside Appleby.   Peter had planned a walk where we followed Pennine Way which travels through the village to make our way up the hill and to the tip of the glacial valley called High Cup.  Apparently, "High Cup Nick" is the "pointy" bit at the very tip of the valley (I think).  

View from Dodd Hill half way up the path.

Peter described the walk up the hill as a gentle climb -  or a long slog!  For the unfit such as myself, you can add the words very and hard, but it is well worth it.  It's not long before you reach a height where the views expand out below you and it just keeps getting better from there on. 
The path going up was quite busy, and the first couple we met coming down asked if we were going to descend into the valley.  When Peter said yes, they commented that they had been unable to see how it could be done, which is why they were coming back the way they had came.  Ooooer!  Seeds of doubt planted! 

Moving onwards and upwards, we eventually made our way through a few hillocks and over the grass to the edge of the valley.  Fantastic views of steep cliff edges giving way to the classic U of a glacial valley.  A geography teachers dream!  This is where we sat down to have a bite to eat, overlooking this awesome sight.  Admittedly, at that vantage point, and bearing in mind the comments of the earlier walkers, we couldn't see how we were going to descend into the valley either.  But Peter was confident there must be a way, because the path along the valley floor was plain to see.

View from High Cup Nick

Then, a bit more walking and we got to High Cup Nick.  There were loads of people there, and it was obvious why, the views down the valley are magnificent. 

We managed to climb down the cliff (easy),
and then the slope (not easy)

Now, to get down......  Me n Peter had a good look and decided that despite first appearances, it would be quite easy to get down the cliff part of the descent. From there though is a very steep grassy slope.  Peter had brought walking sticks for this very reason, and we used them to keep us upright as we carefully stepped down. I would say those sticks were absolutely essential for this part of the walk.




Onwards and downwards, across the scree into the valley bottom.  We had seen rain water collect into little waterfalls and streams at the top, but it disappeared into sink holes and underground streams.  Here at the bottom, springs appeared all over, and the cool fresh flow hurried off to join the gill. It becomes quite a stream by the time it leaves the valley.  Peter said he wouldn't fancy being at the bottom in wet weather.  Actually, being at the bottom in dry weather wasn't that good either, the ground was soaking and our feet kept sinking into it.
I'm always on the lookout for new birds and bees to learn about, but it is Peter that always sees them first.  Particularly herons it seems - the one he spotted this time it was very large and darker than most.  Lovely. 

View of High Cup Nick from High Cup House

Eventually we got to High Cup House (or farm) at the entrance to the valley.  Even from there the views were wonderful.  A lovely place to live I should think.  Tired and footsore, we made our way from there past skittish young beef cattle (which always make me nervous) and settled Fresian dairy cattle through fields to eventually arrive back at Dufton and our car.  


Another lovely lovely day.  Info from Peter:  Route & directions.       and Peter's journal entry

Too nice to stay in - Willance's Leap

There wasn't a cloud in the sky when I looked out the window this morning. Just tooooo nice to stay in.  I decided I wanted to be out, up high somewhere.

Peter has been away working, so I took a walk by myself up to Willance's leap.  Robert Willance is a local legend in Richmond because 400 yrs ago he and his horse jumped over a 200 foot cliff. - Read his story here.  As a result, there are a series of memorial stones up on the cliff edge.  There are loads of walks from and around Richmond, but this one is nice because you get up to the top of Whitcliffe Scar, where the views are stunning. It's just over 6 miles, all hill to start with, but worth it when you get up there. 

Greater Willowherb

I'm still learning about the wild life around me, and today.  I've learnt the name of one of the most common flowers on waste ground, Rosebay Willowherb.  I also got to see and learn the names of Greater Willowherb, Marjoram and Vipers Bugloss.  I use Marjoram in cooking, I never knew it looked like that?

You can just about see the memorial post.
The horse and rider jumped over this cliff!

I came back via the coast to coast path which runs along at the base of the cliff.  The coast to coasters don't get to see the fantastic views from the top, but they do get to look up at East Applegarth and see the memorial.

A lovely day for a lovely walk.

Walking in the rain

Yesterday was a day off, so naturally, I forced himself out for another walk.  Forcing is probably the wrong word, since he likes walking as much as I, and he's been doing it 25 years longer than me.

We'd looked at the weather forecast, and it promised light showers on Saturday and heavy rain on Sunday, so naturally we decided to walk Saturday. Peter had had one all lined up for us, past Bolton Abbey along the River Wharfe and then up to Simon's Seat.

Well they lied about the "light" showers.  They were heavy showers, which of course started at the same time  we did.  That is, as we started to walk, it started to drizzle, and by the time we were a good couple of miles along the way, it was chucking it down.

Pair of Mandarin Ducks on River Wharfe

But as usual, I enjoyed it anyway.  I would definitely have preferred it if it hadn't rained so much, cos then I would have been able to see through dry glasses and without a big hood over me head but I did to see a male grey wagtail and a dipper in the becks as we were walking up. The rain did stop eventually, (after it had done a pretty good job of wetting us right through) and the moors steamed in the afternoon sun as we approached Simon's seat.  The view from there should be spectacular, but it was a bit misty after the rain.

Anyway, on the moor I got to see cotton grass, bilberries and grouse.  When we came down again, along the river were a grey heron, greylag geese, red legged partridges, sand martins, a goosander with her chicks and more mandarin ducks. It was all brilliant.  I'm still learning about the birds and plants as I am not very well educated on that score.  I can't wait to go out again, but it may be a little while until we are both free.