What with trips up to Scotland, across to the Lakes and down to the Cotswolds, the last few months have been fairly hectic. On the odd weekend we’ve had at home (where we’ve not been frantically catching up on washing from being away), we’ve not really felt like huge walks or long drives to explore new areas. It’s been a refreshing excuse to ‘be more chill’ and to nip out for shorter local wanders off the beaten track. Let’s see how long it lasts!
The day after the clocks change always leaves me feeling a bit deflated. Darkness arrives so much earlier than the day before, the weather has usually taken a turn for the muddier and spring and summer feel like vague mythological concepts which don’t truly exist. To combat my grouchiness, Sam dragged me out for a walk in a quiet corner of Wensleydale: after all, there’s nothing better than getting outside to blow away the cobwebs (both literal and metaphorical).
The route Sam chose was a 5 mile circular from the OS maps app: routes which, as you may recall from other walks such as our foray up to the Watercut, can be a bit hit and miss in terms of walkability and terrain. And so we set off, Sam filled with enthusiasm, me filled with a mix of grumpiness and trepidation.
There’s a small car park behind the village hall in Thoralby, where there’s an honesty box for donations. It was completely empty when we visited and I can’t imagine it’s ever hugely busy, being tucked away in a rather unfrequented corner of Wensleydale. The walk starts off by following the road out of the village, eventually joining a public footpath in the form of an enclosed lane running between fields. Always my favourite kind of path in this very cow heavy part of the Dales!
While thrilled by the nice cow free lane, it wasn’t long before I was huffing and puffing. I hadn’t realised this walk would have a lot of uphill (it having been pitched to me a as a ‘quick walk’ in Thoralby), but there’s actually about 870 feet of ascent. Pretty much 100% of the uphill is at the start of the walk. Happily it’s a steady, gradual ascent which doesn’t leave you too hot and sweaty, bringing you out into fields to reach the moor at Brown-a-Haw. And, as another plus, I do quite like getting any uphill out of the way at the beginning.
It was chilly up on the moor and I found myself glad that I’d brought my beanie – I hadn’t realised I couldn’t feel my ears anymore until I put it on and they started defrosting! It’s rather bleak and open up here, but you get views across Wensleydale to Bolton Castle and some nice views down the valley as you descend, too. I also spotted a few cows – happily on the other side of a wall in the distance. This isn’t a walk if you’re wanting epic views, but if you’re after a quiet mooch in the countryside, it does the job.
The descent isn’t on a nice enclosed lane like the climb up, but it was happily still cow free – although I’m not sure if that wasn’t just luck on our part. It was at this point of the walk that we saw our first other human in almost two hours, which gives you an idea of how quiet it was, and then we didn’t see anyone else at all until we got back to the car. My kind of walk!
The views are good, although Pen Hill doesn’t look quite as impressive from this side as it does when you’re driving past it on the A684. My favourite view was looking down at Bishopdale Beck as it wiggles its way along the valley: it’s a wonderfully squiggly line, like you’d draw in a picture of a river at school. The descent is steady and at no point steep, so it didn’t take us long to get back down to Thoralby and the car.
Dog friendly rating: 3/5. Like many walks in the Dales, you should be prepared to have your dog on a lead for most of this walk. While the enclosed lane is livestock free, there are plenty of dog sized gaps they could pop through, so if you have an inquisitive pup like us it’s better to be safe than sorry. There was one stile, which had a gap next to it for dogs, and no water along the way. We came across sheep and grouse on this walk but cows cannot be ruled out.
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