Into the mist

Despite it being a very murky morning, we decided to head to Farndale, to do a walk which included the Farndale daffodils. We were being quite ambitious, as it was 6 miles, and listed as having a ‘sustained, but not strenuous’ climb. Yes, well, more of that later!

Having had the obligatory coffee stop in Kirbymoorside, we arrived at Farndale around mid-day. It was still very misty, and we couldn’t see the valley sides as we headed out of the car park. Soon, we were climbing the valley side, and kept having to stop and check our directions, as we couldn’t see the next way mark. The view wasn’t up to much!

Pretty soon, we decided that the climb was both sustained and strenuous. The path narrowed to a track through the heather, and there were some steep edges. We felt like intrepid explorers, as all we could hear was the sound of the birds. There wasn’t another soul in sight. Walking into the mist, it was like a scene from a spooky novel. I kept praying that we were on the right route, looking for some grouse butts to confirm this (they would also confirm that we were near the end of the climbing).

Eventually, they appeared, and we crested the ridge, still not able to see very far. As we walked along the top, the sun was trying to break through, but hadn’t quite managed it when we slithered and slipped down a rocky track, and finally, reached the pub.

After lunch, we emerged into sunshine. And gulped. For we could see where we’d been, we could see the road we’d come down, and it was high. If we’d have been able to see the height of it before we set off, we might not have begun.

We walked back along the banks of the river, admiring the daffodils, and past the ‘Daffy Café’ and it was glorious. We kept looking back, though, to where we’d been.

When I checked later on the map, we’d climbed about 1000ft. We had to go and eat cake to recover. But the great thing is, I wasn’t stiff the following day. All this training must be working.