Sunday 26th August - Bakewell - Winster - Haddon Park - 18 miles (9 hrs)

With Daniel and Bear. the weather forecast was not good and the previous day had seen some torrential rain so we were prepared for wet and muddy terrain and that is exactly what we got!  We had only been going for about an hour when the rain started but it conveniently stopped after about three hours - just in time for lunch.   We enjoyed beautiful views of the surrounding countryside and the heather in full bloom on Stanton Moor was stunning. As we returned we had a great reminder of our balloon ride last year when we saw the Virgin hot air balloon taking off over Bakewell for the evening excursion.  A very enjoyable day in spite of the weather and the fall I had! With bruised knees and ribs I kept going with the lovely thought of a hot bath and cool glass of wine at the end of the day! It only hurts now when I laugh!

                             

Friday 24th August - Winterset Anglers Park Nr Crofton, Wakefield - 2 Hrs - (6 miles)

With Anne and Bear. I have been meaning to visit this water park for years as I have noticed the signs just opposite Nostell Priory many times. It was a sunny morning and we enjoyed a lovely peaceful walk around the lakes. It was very quiet and tranquil - a most enjoyable way to spend time with a good friend and feel good about taking some exercise at the same time. I will definitely walk here again.

Monday 20th August - Bretton Country Park, Bretton - 6 miles (2 Hrs)

With Josie and Bear. I had printed off a walk round Bretton Park from the AA website which I thought might be a bit different! After the first two directional instructions we were lost! How did that happen? But we reverted to paths that we knew and enjoyed a very pleasant walk anyway.

Saturday August 18th - Sprotborough Falls - Barnburgh Cliff - Denaby Ings - Conisbrough - 19 miles - 7 Hrs

With Frances and Bear. This figure of 8 walk started at the popular beauty spot of Sprotborough Falls, on the river Don around Sprotborough Flash Nature Reserve and up the Don Gorge section of the Pennines Trail.  Most of the walk was along level paths and not at all difficult so we managed to keep up a good pace - exercising our legs and our tongues to a similar degree!  Passing through Conisbbrough, past the castle and back along the opposite river bank, which was nowhere near as pleasant as the first part of the walk. 

Sunday 12th August - Cawthorne, Silkstone Waggonway & Tramway - 5 Hrs (12 miles)

With Elizabeth amd Bear - Starting at Cannon Hall, we had to do a bit of a detour when we met the runners of the Cannon Hall run coming in at the beginning of the walk but once we had worked out where we were we enjoyed an energetic walk mainly following the Bridleway which runs through the village of Silkstone, formerly the route of a horse-drawn waggonway which was built in 1809 by the Barnsley Canal Navigation Company. Then back through the pretty village of Cawthorne back to Cannon Hall.

Monday 6th August – Whernside – 10 miles (5 hrs)

With Ann and Patrick. Starting from Ribblehead viaduct this Yorkshire Dales walk climbs to the summit of Whernside, one of Yorkshire's 'Big Three'. At 2,414 ft it is the highest point in the whole of North, South and West Yorkshire. We set off in poor weather conditions with Ingleborough ad Pen-Y-Ghent being obscured by low cloud and mist. However as it turned out all of the rain passed us by and by the end of the walk the sun was shining and we were able to enjoy the magnificent views over the other two peaks and on the other side we could see right over as far as the west coast.

Patrick and Ann

Ribblehead Viaduct with Whernside covered in mist in distance

The steepest bit!

View to Ingleborough

View to Pen-Y-Ghent

View of Whenside at the end of the day

Monday 30th July – Bretton Country Park – Clayton West and Emley – 13 miles (7 hrs)

With Bear and June, June is an amazing 73 year old lady that I first met on my Peru Trek whose energy and enthusiasm is inspirational. Starting out at Bretton Country Park in the beautiful Dearne Valley we climbed out of the valley to Clayton West and on up to Emley Moor with its towering TV mast enjoying beautiful views before picking up the Kirklees Way and then the Dearne Way back to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.This was quite a test for me as I was in charge of the map and directions but it all went well and we thankfully didn’t take any wrong turns. It was also a bonus having June along as she has done the Great Wall of China trek and this was the perfect opportunity for me to get some insight into what lies ahead in just 6 weeks!

June and Bear

Saturday 28th July – 9 miles through the local woods and another 320 steps!!

Sunday 22nd July – Bolton Abbey, Simon’s Seat and Trollers Gill from Strid Wood – 13 miles (7 Hrs)

With James and Hannah (No Bear this time as dogs are not allowed on the permissive footpaths of the Bolton Abbey estate). This is one of the most difficult walks I have done climbing through the Valley of Desolation on to Barden Fell up to the highest point of 485m at Simon’s Seat with a tricky descent. Well worth the effort though with fantastic views. At Appletreewick we stopped and enjoyed a very pleasant, well earned lunch break before returning to Bolton Abbey along the River Wharfe, with some interesting Olympic themed sculptures in the Woods in the Abbey grounds!

Simon's Seat

View from Simon's Seat

Monday 16th July – to the woods and another 320 steps!!

Sunday 8th July Barden Moor above Bolton Abbey – 8 miles (3.5 hrs)

With Elizabeth and Sally. A drizzly day but an enjoyable brisk walk (at Elizabeth’s fast pace!) along the River Wharfe through the Bolton Abbey estate, up over the moors and back through Storiths. Not the best views today because of the weather but very enjoyable.

The Stepping Stones at Bolton Abbey not visible because of recent heavy rain

The Penny Tree at Bolton Abbey

Sally & Elizabeth

Monday 25th June – Guernsey, St Peter Port to Fermain Bay – 5 miles (2.5 Hrs)

With Derek. A beautiful coastal walk between sunshine and showers along the base of the cliffs near the sea with views back to St Peter Port. On a clear day it would have been possible to see as far as the Cherbourg Penninsular but not today unfortunately. Although this was a fairly short walk the undulating path provided many opportunities to drop down to charming little bays. I lost count of how many steps, but there were several hundred overall which although unplanned made this a perfect training exercise.

Saturday 23rd June - Isle of Sark 8 miles (4 hrs)

With Derek. We arrived by boat onto the smallest of the channel Islands which is 3miles long by 1.5 miles wide and we managed to cover most of it on the day we visited. There are no cars, only horse drawn carts and tractors which made exploring on foot even more pleasurable. The coastal views are spectacular with views to Guernsey, Jersey and France. At La Coupee we crossed the bridge that was built by German prisoners of war to Little Sark for lunch. The weather was perfect and we really felt that we had stepped back in time on this beautiful island.

Thursday 21st June – to the woods and 320 Steps!!

Tuesday 19th June – Hathersage and Stanage Edge – 6 miles (3 Hrs)

With Bernard – another very enjoyable walk in the Peak District - an uphill pull with a fresh breeze at the top a short break to enjoy the spectacular views and then a testing descent back to Hathersage past North Lees Hall built in the last decade of the 16th century, an imposing 16th century tower house which is believed to have been the inspiration for Thornfield Hall, Mr Rochester's house in Charlotte Brontë's famous novel, Jane Eyre.

Sunday 10th June Malham to Malham Cove and Malham Tarn 8 miles (4 Hrs)

With James,Hannah & Bear. A beautiful day starting off with a great viewing (courtesy of the RSPB) of the young Perrigrine Falcons flying from their nest at Malham Cove. A regular sight now as they have been nesting there since 1993. There were 400 steps to be climbed at the beginning of the walk which nicely warmed us up and we then had to negotiate a massive limestone pavement with criss cross indentations before joining the footpath, which is part of the Pennine Way and making our way to Malham Tarn, where Bear enjoyed a bit of a paddle before we wound our way back. Another lovely sunny day with fantastic scenery.

Sunday 3rd June Barkisland and Greetland from Stainland – 6 miles (3 Hrs)

With James, Hannah and Bear – A walk through the beautiful countryside of Calderdale. We had an unexpected extension to the walk of approx a mile when we encountered some cows in a field with very young calves and as we didn’t dare risk passing them with the dog we had to make a detour. On the last part of the stretch we walked through an absolutely beautiful buttercup meadow.

Wednesday 30th May - 160 Steps today

Whenever I meet anyone who has any knowledge of the Great Wall of China they comment on the STEPS and when I receive updates from the trek organisers they remind me that there are ‘steps, steps and more steps’. I have just found 32 steps in our local woods and am walking up and down them to Bear’s bemusement, as you can see in the picture! It is my intention to increase the number of reps to strengthen my poor old knees.

Thursday 24th May – Shatton Moor, Hope Valley – 6 miles (3 Hrs)

With Bernard – ‘Find me a hilly walk’ was my request and the beginning of this walk was certainly that with a long gradual ascent, which was not easy in the searing heat. The first part of the walk is through limestone country before reaching the Hope Valley and gritstone country but we were rewarded for our efforts with magnificent views over the Hope Valley and Win Hill and Ladybower in the distance before descending over Bradwell Edge to Bradwell.

May 1st - 15th La Gomera

3 separate walks with on the second smallest of the 7 main Canarian Islands with Derek. Walks included the central plateau area with its dramatic gorges spectacular scenery, a trip through the luxuriant forest and a cliff top walk where sadly the promised  spectacular views of the island of La Palma were spoiled by a mist created  by a Calima, a fog associated with hot and humid weather. This is an ideal location for relaxing and hiking – but shush don’t tell anyone else about this beautiful unspoiled island. 

View of Valle Gran Rey from Cesar Manrique's restaraunt

Mount Tidi