The Dales Way - Ilkley to Appletreewick (12 Miles)

The Dales Way is a long distance footpath of about 80 miles (129 km) situated in the north of England and running from Ilkley to Bowness-on-Windermere. By following as far as possible riverside paths, it offers a scenically attractive route from urban West Yorkshire to the Lake District. We arranged for a large bag of spare clothes, etc. to be taken each morning and dropped off at our evening's destination which meant we had less to carry. This was done by www.sherpavan.com/
Having first dropped of our bag the New Inn in Appletreewick, which was our destination for the day, we the drove to the start of the Dales Way in Ilkley.
It was while we were changing into walking boots that I realised that I had a pair of Karen's walking socks! As all my spare socks were now in Appletreewick we went looking for an outdoor gear shop to buy another pair.
I remembered passing one in the past when driving through Ilkley and luckily it was just a short walk away.
We soon found the shop and while I was looking at socks,Karen spotted a lightweight Marmot waterproof jacket with a reduced price tag. Luckily she had left her purse in the car, so I paid for it!

Karen at the start if The Dales Way in Ilkley

Anyway, we were soon back at the car and on our way. We left Ilkley in warm sunshine and were soon following the River Wharfe. We passed some lovely old houses at Low Mill village. Low Mill used to be the site of a mill and all the houses are either old but in excellent repair or newer but still built sympathetically. Leaving Low Mill via a back road we followed a small lane with a tiny humpbacked bridge, then through the churchyard at Addingham.

The church at Addingham

After passing through another collection of houses at High Mill, again we joined the river after passing through a caravan site. We also passed several groups of youngsters coming in the opposite direction with their large heavy-looking rucksacks giving away the fact that they were on a "Duke of Edinburgh" Award trip.

 A "Bodger" at work in the Woods

A curious large log embedded with hundreds of coins

Later we crossed a stile and passed an old and small Quaker "Friends Meeting House" at Lobwood. Luckily there was a permissive path along the wall next to a busy road, so we were able to avoid walking along the road for quite a distance.

 "Friends Meeting House", Lobwood

The River Wharfe

Eventually we had no choice but to join the road when the path ran out, but this wasn't for too long and there was an adjoining path for part of the distance.

 Ruins of Bolton Priory

Soon we were back on wide pastures following one side of the River Wharfe one more until we arrived at the ruins of Bolton Priory at the village of Bolton Abbey at about the halfway point, and made use of the Tea Shop to have some Cheese and Tomato sandwiches, tea and chocolate cake with ice cream!
Karen spotted a swift's nest near the toilets next to a light fitting.

 Swift's nest

Jackdaw

That being our lunch stop, we continued on our way. This meant passing a trailer selling ice cream so we succumbed to temptation and had one each. Now the path rose uphill after crossing a bridge next to stepping stones, and it was difficult to eat to cream and walk uphill!

 Karen with her latest hairstyle!

We joined one of the various paths through Strid Wood and took a tiny detour to have a look at The Strid. The Strid is a small gap in the rocky riverbed through which the river forces its way through. The name comes from the fact that it is so narrow that you could cross the river in a single stride (more like a leap!). There were warning signs about slippery rocks and deep water,but from the look of the green and mossy rocks, you wouldn't need a warning!

 The Strid

Leaving Strid Wood and once again joining the river Wharfe, we could see what looked like a stone bridge with castellations in the distance. According to the guide book, this was a short aqueduct. We followed the Dales Way signs up some steps and crossed the aqueduct to the other side of the river then along the river bank.
Soon we came to the 17th Century Barden Bridge. Sitting on a grassy bank overlooking the river and near the bridge, Karen spotted some young Goosander chicks swimming around. We were also entertained by cars trying to cross the very narrow bridge with a large arch in the middle so that you can't see any traffic approaching from the opposite side.

 Barden Bridge

Continuing onwards along the wide and flat grassy river bank we kept an eye out for a farm track marked on the map leading to our stopover for the night: the New Inn in the village of Appletreewick. I spotted the track and ahead also the New Inn! We arrived at 18:30 or thereabouts.
After dropping of our gear in the room and having a was, we returned to the bar and ordered some food. It was quite busy (plus there was World Cup football being shown on a large-screen TV) but luckily we found a table and two chairs.
After a nice meal and a couple of drinks, we returned to our room and went to bed at 22:00.