Saturday, the 6th of October

We managed to fit a lot of fun into the weekend.  But first, we started with a trip to the library to do a practice test for driving.  We passed, barely, but still didn’t understand a lot of the questions. 

From there we drove back to Pateley Bridge and parked at the Riverside Car Park and walked along the River Nidd back into town.  There are footpaths (hiking trails) everywhere!  Walking into town gave us a chance to see some of them and to see some of the back streets of Pateley that we had missed by driving through.  Our first stop was at the Fish ‘n Chips place on the backstreet.  I guess I need to find out the name.  The fish was very good.  We took it to the park and sat and ate while we watched people walk by. 

After eating we walked up High Street (Main Street) to the outdoor shop.  It is about 10‘ x 10’ cram packed with all sorts of outdoor gear.  We were looking for a map.  We had been told to ask for the ‘ordinance survey’ to find all the footpaths in the area.  Sure enough, he had a whole rack of maps similar to the ones I use for the trails in Colorado. 

We are learning that the Pateley Bridge area is a very popular spot for walking (hiking).  People from all over come here to walk, rain or shine.  We’ve seen many groups with backpacks and rain jackets huddled together in the rain along the sides of the road and many couples with their hiking sticks sitting in the pubs.  The law here says that wherever there is a Public Footpath it cannot be blocked off.  Earlier in the week Peter (the dam worker) explained to me that “all the land belongs to the Queen, dudn’t it?” So, if a footpath goes through a farmer’s field, he cannot gate it off.  We’ve seen Public Footpath signs along the roads everywhere.   

With a copy of the Ordnance Survey for Nidderdale in hand we continued up the street.  I think I forgot to mention that earlier in the week we had stopped by The Oldest Sweetshop in England.  It’s at the top of High Street and holds the record for being… exactly what it’s called.  They had jars of hard candies you can buy for a pence or expensive chocolates.  Of course I went for the chocolates.  I suspect this store will take care of a lot of gifts over the next couple of years. 

Next, heading back down the hill, we stopped at the baker and picked up an apple raspberry pie for dinner, then across the street to the butcher for a steak and ale, steak and kidney and chicken, leek and mushroom pies.  We were all set for dinner, but we did make a swing through the wine shop just to check it out.  Then, back through the park to the river footpath to the car.  (I still have not braved driving yet)

With our new Ordnance Survey in hand it was time to take the pups out for an explore.  We keep thinking there MUST be a trail through the woods near us to connect us to Wath, but we just can’t see it and it’s not marked on the map.  Instead we had to walk about ¼ mile on the side of the road.  That wasn’t as bad as I thought.  It’s a small narrow country road and it seems like people fly on it, but everyone seemed to expect there to be walkers and they slowed down when they saw us.  At Wath we turned onto the Nidderdale Way.  The Nidderdale Way is one of the long trails in England.  I’d tell you how long if I had internet, but all those details will have to wait until later.  Meanwhile, we know that it passes near our house on the other side of the reservoir. 

We crossed a fence using a step ladder very similar to what Lydia and I often crossed on the AT.  And like the AT we found ourselves in a muddy field with cows.  The cows didn’t care, though they kept a close eye on River and MacGyver.  We came to a couple more fences and were struggling with how to get the dogs over when another hiker showed us how a dog gate was built into the fence.  It was so clever!  But we would have never known if someone hadn’t shown us what it was.  Off we hiked through the mud and the slop.  The sun was shining and it was gorgeous day, but it had been raining for the past week.  The ground was a mess. 

We hiked along beside the River Nidd for awhile until we went through a gate and found ourselves next to the dam on the other side of the reservoir from our house.  Wow.  It was so cool to see it from the other side.  From there the trail began to angle up the hill.  We were walking through sheep pastures.  The sheep kept a close eye on the pups, but thankfully the pups didn’t seem to care about the sheep.  At the top of the hill we passed through another gate and the trail connected with the old Wath road, which the sign called a Bridle Path.  It was a gravel road in pretty good shape.  As we walked along the Bridle Path I tried several times to get pictures of the sheep but as soon as I raised my camera they would turn and walk off.  I’m going to need to be much sneakier if I’m going to get a good picture. 

After awhile the path began to go downhill.  We decided this would be a good time to head back.  As far as we can tell on the map we can’t do a full circle of the reservoir without walking on the busy road by the house.  This time we took the Bridle Path all the way back to Wath instead of heading back on the Nidderdale Way by the river.  This course lead us up higher on the hill side and through very old and thick woods.  There were some ancient looking walls and buildings along the way.  We came back out at Wath and walked the road back to the house. 

This was a wonderful day of exploring the area and our new home.