Malham to Horton-in-Ribblesdale

13 June 2022. Patrick camped next to me. He had walked from Ponden in a day. He is walking Lands End to John O Groates for the 9th time and aiming to do it in 63 days. At 71 year, that is just amazing!

Leaving the campsite at 0815 in a light drizzle, I had a look around the base of Malham Cove before heading up over the top and on to Malham Tarn. Robin and Kate had caught me up and we spent the day criss-crossing. Near Malham Tarn a film crew had established a base for filming some scenes of All Creatures Great and Small. Once past Malham Tarn and the Field Centre, it was up again over Fountains Fell, where I stopped for a 30 min lunch break behind a cairn (650m) for a windbreak. The strong wind was a main feature of the day.

From Fountains Fell I had a good view of the descent to 430m and the ascent to Pen y Ghent (698 m), which is the highest peak in the Yorkshire Dales. Robin and Kate joined me at the top of Pen y Ghent for a 25 min break behind a wind shelter. It was the a straightforward descent into Horton-in-Ribblesdale, arriving at the Holme Farm Campsite (£7) at 1605. There is a large group of DoE students on their Gold award camping so it sounds like it will be a noisy night. I met a few of the the walkers in the Crown Hotel for dinner. Overall 24 km with a couple of 300m accents.