Rating for Holiday

5

This was the second walking holiday we booked through Mickledore. Both have been first class. The holiday consisted of walking the 81 miles from Ilkley in West Yorkshire through Upper Wharfedale before crossing the crown of the country and making our way via Ribblehaed, Dent and Sedbergh to Lake Windermere. We chose to do the walk over 7 days. There are 6 and 8 day options depending on your level of fitness and how much you want to stop and take in the stunning countryside and observe the wildlife. We are both in our mid 60s and are very fit and I think the timescale was the right one for us.

The first two days of our walk involved sticking pretty close to the upper reaches of the River Wharfe. It is mostly relatively easy walking although there are some moderately steep climbs to be negotiated. The landscape is lush and green and the rolling hills are criss crossed by the archetypal dry stone walls. We passed through the magnificent Bolton Abbey, skirting Appletreewick and had tea and a scone in the picturesque village of Burnsall before stopping for our first nights accommodation in Grassington. A magnificent sunny morning greeted us, as we climbed out of Grassington continuing northwards. A cool northerly breeze took the edge off the warm late May sunshine and made for almost perfect walking conditions. The descent towards Kettlewell was stunning and we enjoyed lunch by the river in the village. The afternoon took us back close to the track of the Wharfe and we made our way on through Buckden to our next stop in a lovely farmhouse called Low Raisgill in the hamlet of Yockenthwaite.

Another hearty breakfast fuelled us for the next leg of our journey towards Ribblehead.. We continued our journey to the source of the Wharfe before traversing Oughtershaw Moor. This was our first stretch of real Pennine moorland. Even in the dry conditions there were still some boggy stretches. Walking boots are a must for this section of the trip. After straddling the Pennine Way for a short distance we crossed the watershed of England and before too long the imposing Ribblehead Viaduct was visible in the distance. Our next night was spent in the splendidly remote but very comfortable "Shepherd's Cottage," about 2 kilometres away from the viaduct.

The cottage is right on the Dalesway and the route rises steeply up Blea Moor over a short boggy stretch before finding a track descending down into Dental going towards the village of Cowgill. The cool northerly of the first 2 days had now gone and the continuing sunshine meant the temperature was rising into the low 20s. With Whernside to the south and Aye Gill Pike to the north and the westward flowing River Dee at our side, we made our way through the beautiful valley resplendent in the warm, late spring sunshine. Dent is one of those picture postcard Pennine villages and it was lovely to reach our next stop and have a cool drink.

Day 4 took us on via the Dee. The call of the cuckoo punctuated our journey westward towards the pretty village of Millthrop. From there the Dalesway loops souh of Sedbergh before meeting up with the River Lune. Our next accommodation was at Ash-hining Farm. Our guest house proprietor host drove us into Sebergh for our evening meal as is the practice at several of the more remote locations on the route.

The warm sun had now become a permanent fixture on our walk and the next day was no exception. The jagged hills of the Lake District were now visible on the horizon and we made our way towards and across the M6 cutting a furrow between the Dales to the east and the Lake District. Soon afterwards we crossed the main west coast railway line and continued through very pleasant countryside and finished our day in the village of Burneside. A taxi was waiting to take us to our accommodation in nearby Kendall.

Our last day was one of the shorter stretches, which I think is psychologically good. The odd ache and pain didn't seem too bad on this last morning. We even permitted ourselves a diversion up to Brant fell to enjoy the views over Windermere before descending into Bowness and our finish. Bowness did seem manic after the peace and serenity of the past week but it was great to finish. We made sure we went to register our walk at the Hawkshead shop in the town so that a donation goes to the upkeep of the Dalesway. The sunshine had been with us since lunch time on Day 1!

Rating for Mickledore

5

Mickledore have been excellent. They clearly have walkers designing their programmes. The accommodation has been very good or excellent and the luggage transportation service has been top class. The information they send out in advance is good and they respond promptly to any queries. We will definitely book with them again.