Yorkshire Dales May 2011

Saturday 21st May – Cloudy, dry

Bus from Arnside to Kendal where met CC.Eng. Drove to Hawes and Simonstone.

Sunday 22nd May – Some brief spells of sunshine and interesting lighting on the fells etc, but frequent, inconvenient heavy showers.

Hawes, rising rivers and becks.

Monday 23rd May – Mainly very wet, particularly AM.

Farfield Mill arts and crafts, Sedburgh bookshops

Tuesday 24th May – Drier than yesterday but still very showery. One very heavy, thundery shower.

Walk in upper Swaledale near Muker and Keld. Waterfalls. Swale living up to its reputation as the fastest flowing river in England.

Wednesday 25th May

Broken cloud, brightest day of Yorkshire week.

Ribblesdale and Pen-y-ghent – quarries, geology / unconformity. Lenticular clouds. Views from top. Horton-in-Ribblesdale – Pen-y-ghent Cafe – pint size tea. Post-glaciation change in course of River Ribble.

Thursday 26th May

Increasingly wet through the day. Got the River Swale walk in, but once again found ourselves sheltering from the rain near the river.

Friday 27th May

Cloudy, mainly dry, but cold in wind, especially for late May, therefore good walk, but disappointingly couldn't linger long to sketch and take in the views.

Buckden Pike and upper Wharfedale. Views of Three Peaks.

Saturday 28th May – Travel home by car, journey along M6 somewhat an anticlimax and shock on the system after quiet second week in the Dales.

Arnside and the Kent Estuary - 19th / 20th May 2011

Train to Arnside from Liverpool Lime Street on the Thursday, Kent viaduct, though closed for engineering work, the men in orange hi-vis jackets, along with their digger stood out when viewed from the village waterside. Tide when I arrived racing out. Two nights at Arnside YHA. Friday cloudy but mainly dry. Short walk south along the estuary sketching. Didn't go too far, given the timing of the tides, path being close to, or bit below the high water mark. Knew the tides here and all round Morecambe Bay need big respect. A tide table, thankfully by the pier at Arnside. Just after noon, the coastguard siren sounded, "nobody sleeps here". Then again about half an hour later. Within minutes of the second one, the flood tide was racing in. In the afternoon, took to higher ground on Arnside Knott. Superb view from there along the estuary to Morecambe Bay and west to the Lake District Fells as far as Skiddaw.

Chester and the Dee - 17th May 2011

Travelled to Chester by train from Liverpool. My first visit for more than twenty years. Recognised the clock tower and Roman Amphitheatre when I came to them. Walked the Medieval city wall and by the Dee.

Liverpool and the Mersey - 16th - 19th May 2011

Travelled to Liverpool Lime Street by train from Southampton, changing at Birmingham New Street, on the Monday. Three nights at YHA Liverpool, situated near the redeveloped Albert Dock. Monday and Tuesday a bit damp / wet - Mersey drizzle = Mizzle, but fulfilling afternoon on the Tuesday looking round the Walker Art Gallery.

On the Wednesday, I took the train to Chester, more about that city in a separate entry. On the way back, diverted to New Brighton and came back on the Mersey Ferry.

Northwest England - May 2011

The following set of entries are about our holiday last month (May 2011).

The CC.Eng headed off to Scotland for a week during mid-May. Climbed 11 Munros, despite some wet, sometimes wintery weather. I meanwhile, had a fulfilling yha based few days for in northwest England. Visited Liverpool and the Mersey for the first time; Chester after a gap of more than twenty years. During three days in Liverpool I looked round the developed docks, visited the Maritime Museum, Tate Liverpool and the Walker art galleries. Took the train to Chester where I walked the city wall. By the Dee, strong incoming tidal current, where I hadn't been expecting it (on the Mersey, yes). Afterwards, I took to the train to New Brighton, on the north side of the Wirral, at the mouth of the Mersey. Walked from there to Seacombe, enjoying the views across the river to Liverpool during a fine sunny evening. Took the famous ferry across the Mersey to Pier Head.

After the urbanised, industrial Mersey, the Arnside, with the Kent estuary, was a pleasant contrast, albiet with the Morecambe Bay tidal regime which needs big respect. Superb views over the estuary and Lake District Fells from Arnside Knott.

On the Saturday (21st May) took a bus from Arnside to Kendal to meet up with my other half coming down from Scotland. Then had a week in the Yorkshire Dales together, based near Hawes. There exchanged rapid tidal estuaries for temperamental Pennine Rivers.

Weather – overall very mixed. Wet at times, particularly in Yorkshire, but cooler, therefore more comfortable than it has been down south lately. Unsettled weather made for dynamic skies. Refreshingly high and lively rivers.