Carlton-in-Coverdale to Hardraw

1 July 2011 - Carlton-in-Coverdale to Hardraw

Distance - 17.3 miles

Weather - Sunny

We stayed at - Green Dragon Inn, Hardraw, North Yorkshire, DL8 3LZ Cost - £50.00

We left Carlton and immediately headed up onto Carlton Moor. This
moor had a path and to be honest wasn't as bleak as Masham Moor was yesterday.

Carlton Moor

We only went up a couple of hundred meters before heading steeply down to West Burton. Taking stock of the animals we saw along the whole of today's route, there were: - a lot of sheep, cows, curlews, pewits, oyster catchers, rabbits and fewer ducks, chickens, sparrows, butterflies, dogs. There were also an awful lot of dead rabbits, on roads, in fields, on paths, everywhere. We tried to work out what was killing them. Some were knocked down by cars, but the majority were more mysterious. They hadn't been eaten and the few predators we saw - dogs - were chained up or on leads. We decided our main suspects were the oyster catchers. They have long stabby beaks and we didn't believe they were feeding on oysters here, as far from the sea as you get. Our other main suspects were the sheep, no-one would expect them to sneak up on and murder a rabbit. A near perfect alibi.

Aysgarth Falls

West Burton is a pleasant village (surrounded by semi-official campsites) with two large greens and lots of benches. We sat at one, watching the world go by for a bit. From there it was only a mile to Aysgarth, home to the famous Aysgarth Falls, which turn the River Ure into a cascade of err waterfalls. We've seen them before, on our drives down to Norwich, so we spent most of our time in a tea-room. Despite its tourist-trap location, an old mill down by the falls, it provided a good lunch at a reasonable price.

Dales View

The rest of the day seemed to go on far longer than it was supposed to. Partly, it was because the walk was seventeen and not the advertised sixteen miles. We followed the Ure upstream, only stopping at Askrigg, four miles along the road, for a pint. Askrigg turned out to have a lot of teashops for a small place, though one of the two pubs was shut.

From there it was another five or so miles before we reached Hardraw, more tired than we expected. We think the previous day's exertions had taken their toll.

Our room at the Green Dragon was due for renovation the next week, probably the first time in thirty years! The bed was good though, the bath was good, and the price was cheap, so we were happy. The pub itself seemed to be in a bit of transition: new staff, building works, possibly a new owner. The food was, unexpectedly, home made and quite good and the beer was good too.

The next morning, after breakfast, we ventured out to see the Hardraw Force, a waterfall which has carved out a natural amphitheatre. In the 19th century brass band concerts were held here because of the acoustics.  Plans are being made to resume the concerts, and when we visited, there were construction vehicles in the middle of the river, moving huge boulders to shore up the paths leading to the waterfall. No we didn't have the camera with us - who takes a camera to breakfast?