Month: February 2022

Just a hobble with the crutch again today. It’s good to be close to the river and able to go down for a walk beside it. The Wharfe is known as a capricious, unpredictable river and should always be treated with respect, but it never fails to impress. This bridge was built at the site of the ford, which was previously the only crossing point in Ilkley. You can definitely see what look like large stone flags on the riverbed here: I don’t know if they are definitely the ford, but I like to think that they could be!

Both sons came home this weekend, they are keener walkers than my husband and were happy to take me up to the edge of Langbar/Middleton Moors. It was so good to be back there after nearly 3 weeks of being restricted by the sprained ankle, I managed 2 miles along the lanes in the sunshine with the stunning views across to Ilkley Moor and the Skipton hills. We passed “Concrete Square”: if you’re wondering, this is exactly what it is! I have tried to find out why it’s there and have been told that in World War 2 it was the platform for a searchlight finding German planes flying over to Liverpool but I have no way of checking this information.

A lovely morning in the Dales with my great friend Lucia Smith. We had a “hobble” round Hebden village and a really good brunch at the Old School Tearoom in a heated gazebo! Lucia is an artist and was taking photos for her paintings as we looked over the River Wharfe and Burnsall village from the Scuff Road. If you wonder what the reef knolls are, in prehistoric times the limestone country north of Skipton was a tropical sea, and the reef knolls were formed by coral deposits on the sea bed. I love the fact that Elbolton means “fairy hill”: our ancestors may not have known exactly what the reef knolls were but they knew they were special and different!

I managed to hobble 1.1 miles on the crutches today surveying the aftermath of the River Wharfe flooding when Storm Eunice hit at the weekend. It was sad to see the park under water and the path turned into a causeway between the river and the new, temporary “park lake”!

I was walking on one of my usual gorgeous routes on Ilkley Moor with fantastic views over the valley when my right foot slipped on a muddy slope, the rest of me overtook it and left it twisted under me, with a distinctive snapping sound! I had to hobble back down (thankfully with the help of John, my husband, for most of the way) and get it x-rayed. Looks like no break but a painful and bruised sprained ankle. Here are a few photos of the route before the sprain happened: I won’t spoil the blog with photos of the bruising!

Whitby, my spiritual home and our number 1 family holiday destination, is the jewel in the crown of Yorkshire’s coast. History in spades, character and beauty in abundance, traditional seaside pursuits sitting side by side with the ancient harbour – what’s not to love?! We also had a mooch round the nearby village of Sandsend, smaller and quieter but with its own charm.