Almost sounds like a novel! Todays gentle ramble was planned to take advantage of the winter sun, having left the car on Westgate lane above Westhouse near Ingleton we strode out along Tow Scar Lane under....Tow Scar!
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| Tow Scar Lane, not Turbary Road yet! |
The lane climbs gradually to meet Masongill Fell Lane, where we turned right onto the Turbary Road. This was originally constructed for folk to gather peat from the slopes of Gragareth for fuel. These days it provides a grassy promenade on a limestone shelf, ideal for a bit of "spotholing".
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| Whernside from the Turbary Road |
A short way along the lane we had a chat with a couple of cavers in the process of carring out a dig, hoping to find new ground. Our turn round point was to be Rowton Pot, a bottomless gaping chasm, (its not really bottomless) 3 cavers were just packing up and leaving as we arrived.
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| Whernside from Rowton Pot |
Retracing our steps for a couple of km and chatting to yet more cavers at Swinsto Pot, we descended to the Cheese Press Stone. This large perched boulder, two actually stands out for a good distance, there were excellant views of Ingleborough, Kingsdale and Whernside beyond.
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| Ingleborough from the Cheese Press Stone |
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| Whernside from the Cheese Press Stone |
The air had a real chill to it as we dropped down over the frozen slopes to the road, turning right to walk down the lanes back to the car. Our decision to stay in the sun had been a wise one, it was freezing as the sun was lost behind a low bank of cloud.
Its a brill area especially for erratics. Thanks for reminding me to get there in 2013
ReplyDeleteA great area Alan, bypassed by most as they race along the A65 to the Lakes:-)
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