Southport Fell Walking Club

  It was clear all day but Malham was in a sombre mood. Some miles before Malham the first party left the coach at East Martin. Steph led her party along the winding Leeds-Liverpool Canal path to Gargrave and then leaving it to follow Aire Footpath and Pennine Way to Malham, a good distance of 10.5 miles with stops for photos at Carpenters Lock and Canal Lane Bridge. Stuart’s group left early at Gargrave to cross in a roughly north easterly direction through Friars Head to Winterburn Reservoir. From the northern end of the reservoir they picked up the Dales Highway to  Weets. From the Top of Weets they ‘descended’ to the Top of Malham Cove and then finally down to the village.12 miles. At Kirby Malham, Mike J’s group was the next party to leave the coach. By a more direct route they were too heading for the long ridge of Weets Hill and Weets Top. From there they crossed   Smearbottom Lane at Street Gate and down to the top of Malham Cove. They followed the same route down into

  It was good to be back in the Ladybower area after an absence of a number of years due to Covid and the closure of the Snake Pass. The road is open but the condition of the road still needs some serious attention. First off the coach was Mike’s group – much later than planned, due to the scarcity of suitable stopping places. After a brief roadside redraft of the route at Ashop Bridge the group started up Win Hill and continued along the ridge to Ashton Clough and descended to the Dam. Returning along the road beside the Reservoir they were joined by Paul’s group who had just come down from a traverse of the Derwent Edge ridge. In some misty conditions they had followed the imaginative Salt Cellar Trail past Wheel Stones, White Stones, and Dove Stones ...and so on, but decided to leave the ridge while time was on their side. Mike J group also headed for the same Derwent Edge - a ridge of remarkable and imaginative stone features from Whinstones to Hurling Stones and Cakes of Bread