We've been away for a long weekend with our walking chums to Richmond in Yorkshire. There were ten of us, staying in a big house, and we had a lovely time. Most of us have known one another for forty or fifty years, so it's very easy to be with them and we have a routine for catering for these weekends - baked potatoes and salad for dinner the first day, lasagna the second and a restaurant for the third. Sandwiches and fruit for packed lunches and George and Gill make the breakfasts. Simple!
The weather on Saturday was beautiful and we had an easy five-ish-mile walk on the outskirts of the town, via Easby Abbey.
It was built around 1152 and sacked on the orders of Henry VIII - as were so many abbeys and monasteries - in the 1530s, but there's quite a lot of it left (it was HUGE).
We walked back along the River Swale.
The next day was a lot harder!
None of us had done this walk before and it was trickier than it looked on the map.
There was quite a lot of uphill,
a fair old bit of "path" like this
some walking along beside quite steep drops - this isn't one - I couldn't take any photos for fear of plunging to my doom. We came to Williance's Leap, a memorial for a horse which fell several hundred feet off an escarpment with its rider. The horse was killed, while the rider bounced on the horse and... well, let's say he survived but it was a gory story. So encouraging for those scared of heights (me).
And then we came down again to the river and we thought, ah good,
but then had to go up again for a while because the river bank disappeared.
But it was all fine, especially once we were back in the house, drinking tea and other things. Five and a bit miles if it were flat, but there was a lot of climbing and (harder on the knees) getting back down again.
We had such a good time; lots of laughs and silliness. I feel very lucky still to be able to do such things and to have such good companions to do them with.
We've agreed to go back to Richmond next year. I hope we're all still alive!
What a beautiful spot, although some of it does look quite wild! (and not at all trail-like) You are very fortunate to have such friends and to be able to hike in lovely scenery. I'm terrified of heights as well and have been known to crawl along patches of trail that scare me.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if you had a lovely time - although Im glad I wasn't on that second walk. I simply don't do heights, and may well have required rescoring with the aid of a blindfold. Of course I HAD to look up Williance's Leap!! Here is what I found, for anyone interested in old gore https://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/lookingback/18884682.willances-leap-dramatic-story-behind-monument-richmonds-whitcliffe-scar/
ReplyDeleteYes, heights, argh. Also gore.
DeleteHow lovely to have friends of such long standing. You chose a beautiful area in which to trek, though it sounds as though some of it was quite dizzying.
ReplyDeleteYes, we're very lucky. And yes, it was a bit dizzying, though not really dangerous.
DeleteThat sounds like a very fun filled adventure weekend! It's wonderful to have such friends to share in the experience.
ReplyDeleteEverything's better with lots of laughs.
DeleteYou're so lucky to have good friends to walk with and it sounds like you had a wonderful time. The things you learn on this blog! I enjoyed reading the link Virginia left about Willance's Leap.
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