Home Last Updated: May 2010

NEXT PLANNED HIKE 2010

Hiking Dates 2010:

• Saturday, 31 July, (Whit Peak) Peak District 8 to 10 miles
  Saturday, 14 August, Peaks District 8 to 10 miles
  Sunday, 26 September, Yorkshire Dales 10 to 12 Miles
  Saturday, 23 October, Cumbria, 10 to 15 miles
  Saturday, 20 November, Peaks, 5 to 8 miles (Possibly a Ravenscar weekend!)
  Saturday, 11 December, Local, 8 to 10 miles
  
  2011 (Yes I know!)
  8th January - Local
  5th February – North Yorkshire Moors
  5th March – Peak District
  9th April – Yorkshire Dales
  7th May – Co Durham (CYCLING DERWENT WALK)
  

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FHG = Family Hiking Group:

Welcome to the Family Hiking Group (FHG). Families are welcome to join in, on any of the hikes. You must be aware that undertaking many of these activities comes with a chance of injury, you undertake them entirely at your own risk. 1st Pontefract Scout Centre or any of it's leaders, will not accept responsibility for you or your belongings, these are Non-Scouting Events unless stated. Some of the hikes are unsuitable for the very young and the unfit.

Please let me know if you intend to come hiking, I only have a limited number of places I'm allowed to take for each hike, but will always do my best to make sure you can hike.

FHG COMPULSORY KIT LIST

FCC = FAMILY CARAVAN AND CAMPING club

Welcome to the Family Caravan and Camping (FCC) side to your number one Scout Centre. At least once a month we are out enjoying the UK in caravans or tents. We use a variety of sites from either the Caravan Club in the winter months for the hardened Caravaners to Camping & Caravan Club sites spring, summer and early autumn as well as numerous commercial sites during the summer months. All families to 1PSC are welcome to join the FCC, we publish the sites to book here on this page. Most of the sites booked are arranged around the FHG (see above) so if you aren't into hiking you'll have to do your own thing on the day of the hike. It's an informal gathering you come and go as you please. Usually some of the FCC socialize during the evening, others don't, you suit yourselves, no one is offended. Look forward to seeing you soon!

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Looking Ahead

THE DALES WAY WALK 2011

Itinerary
Ilkley to Grassington 16.3 miles
Grassington to Yockenthwaite 13.5 miles
Yockenthwaite to Dent 17.2 miles
Dent to Kendal 17.8 miles
Kendal to Bowness 11.3 miles

Don't all get excited about this hike, it's an easy hike in my opinion that would mean a 5 to 8 day break. The choices you'd have would be to drive daily to the start of each section or simply go camping or YHA (I'll be caravaning). Before I look seriously at the logistics of the hike please let me know if you'd like to conquer The Dales Way, here's some info.

Hike Info

The Dales Way runs from Ilkley in West Yorkshire to the shores of Lake Windermere. The majority of the walk passes through the Yorkshire Dales National Park, over moors, across limestone pavements, through valleys and alongside rivers. It gives a unique taste of this famous park to the walker. The walk leaves the dales for its final quarter as it crosses into Cumbria, fringing the Howgill Fells before culminating in the Lake District National Park on the banks of Lake Windermere. This long distance walk is particular memorable and its length of just over 76 miles is the perfect introduction to first time long distance walkers with little height gained on each day of the hike.

If you want to check the route out the following Ordnance Survey Explorer maps (1:25 000) cover the Dales Way and are listed in order of coverage as one would use them walking from Ilkley to Bowness on Windermere. Simplzze!

297 Lower Wharfedale and Upper Washburn Valley
OL2 Yorkshire Dales, South and Western Areas
OL30 Yorkshire Dales, Northern and Central Areas
OL19 Howgill Fells and Upper Eden Valley
OL7 English Lakes, South East Area

Planning: I really fancy doing this hike with some company and the ease of car sharing to ensure we have a car at the end of each days hike would make life a little easier. I'd like to do the hike in five days so we could do it from Thursday to Monday for example to save on holidays. I'd simply let you know the campsites for you to book early next year. (Making a group booking is hard to do these days) It could be you'd prefer a full week off work which is fine by me especially if all your family are at home from College/Uni and want to give it a go too. In that case I'd look a School holiday such as Easter for example. If it is just Adults I'd be looking at September/October but I'd bow to popular demand.

The walk is shorter and less strenuous than more well-known routes such as the Pennine Way and Coast to Coast Walk (Which are both on the cards in the coming years for the FHG), being mostly along river valleys. It thus makes a good introductory training ground for these "serious" walks while being well worth doing in its own right. The section from upper Wharfedale (Langstrothdale) over the watershed at Cam Houses and down into Ribblesdale is steep (going up AND down).
It is feasible (for those more interested in a challenge than the enjoyment of the walk) to complete the walk the route in around four days, but most walkers take about a week and that's what I plan for this hike. As usual training will start in earnest early in 2011. The hike is likely to take in a Bank Holiday.

If I have wet your appetite please drop me an email of see me on the next hike.

The Pennine Way 2012 (Possibly)

Amongst the finest upland walking in England

The Pennine Way National Trail, 268 miles of trail chasing the Pennine Mountain tops along the rugged backbone of England, from the Peak District through the Yorkshire Dales and over Hadrian's Wall to the Cheviots. I'm uncertain whether to do it in all in one go ie two weeks holiday or split it up into several weekend or over two full weeks over two years. Let me have your thoughts.

Hile Starts in Edale and finishes at Yetholm

1PSC Lead, others follow!