Hiking the Yorkshire Dales

Perhaps I've seen too many Masterpiece Theatre productions, with too many scenes of English men and women walking across hilly, verdant but absolutely treeless landscapes. The actors walk strongly and with purpose, surrounded by a bucolic loneliness.

I've always thought that given the chance, it would be interesting to hike across a similar English landscape.  No rain!  Only a wide-open sky filled with dreamlike, puffy clouds just waiting for someone like a J.M.W. Turner to paint, turning the calm cumulus into something ominous.

I would cross hill and dale on a path that weaved through nothing more than a carpet of greener grasses.

Actually, I never thought that would happen, but then it did.

My wife and I were spending a few days in the Lakes District, the mountainous and heavily forested area of northwestern England that is, of course, dotted with lakes.  However, the second stage of our journey was going to be on the eastern coast, which meant driving straight across an upland region that encompasses the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Before the trip, I made contact with Knobbly Stick, a group that arranges self-guided walking holidays, to help us plan a short hike into the park. They did me one better, and arranged to have one of their own, John Nicholls, a sporting bloke with great knowledge of the region, to guide us across the Yorkshire Dales countryside.

The way it was supposed to work was, I would drive into the town of Settle and meet John at the parking lot of the Falcon Manor Hotel, a building of fine, centuries-old distinction right on the main thoroughfare.

My wife and I arrived early. The town, like most others in the area, is very old, with many buildings that date back centuries.   Settle was a market town and the square, which was once home to vendors selling their wares, remains the center of the community long after the last farmer sold his goods there.

The Sunday when we arrived was in the middle of a bank holiday.  It was springtime and the weather, which could easily be dreary and wet, was perfect for hiking - in the 60 degree F range with a mild breeze and strong sun.

Apparently it was also perfect weather for motorcycling, because the town square was knee-deep in weekend warriors dressed head to toe in their leather riding gear, gunning their European and Asian bikes (just one Hog in sight). Settle was the place they all settled for coffee or a sandwich, strolling about in their leather like knights of old, only without the armor (weighs too much for a motorcycle!).

From out little post in seats by the window of a café across from the square, my wife and I watched the parade of colorful bikes arrive.

After lunch and buying a few provisions for our hike, we threaded our way past the motorcyclists to arrive at the Falcon Manor, where John was already getting his boots on and his backpack in order.