THE DALES WAY

DAY FIVE
Ribblehead to Sedburgh
(16 miles)

Compared to the uphill slog yesterday afternoon, the mile (that is, the very long mile !) back down to pick up the Dales Way was breeze.   Literally a breeze - the weather had taken a distinct turn, and after the constant sunshine and sweltering heat of the previous four days, we were faced with cloud cover and cold winds.

Once back on The Way, a brief climb took us up onto a mossy moorland, slightly boggy in places, but with extensive views out over to the famous Three Peaks.   This all-too-short stretch was a joy - another change in scenery, and lovely spongy terrain underfoot - but before long we arrived at a minor road, start of a long road walk.

Three miles of road-walking was not something we were looking forward to - especially after the end of yesteday - but what a pleasant surprise.    Initially downhill, the impressive Dent Head viaduct soon came into view.    Though impressive from distance, the sheer scale of the viaduct was only apparent from below.

Beyond the viaduct a lovely minor road ran alonside the infant River Dee in a gentle, green valley.   Just like the River Wharfe the previous day, the Dee also dried up completely for short stretches only to reappear as if from nowhere.    The shallow, clear water meant we saw hundreds of brown trout, some quite large ... and we spotted our second dipper of the trip.   Perhaps the guidebook was not too wide of the mark after all?

Leaving the road, we climbed into a coniferous plantation at Little Town, a dark and creepy place, although much to our surprise a clearing in the middle of the dense forest contained a farmhouse complete with paddock containing a menagerie including a couple of llamas.

Just Beyond the forest we stopped for lunch on a grassy bank looking down the Dentdale valley.   A lovely spot to bask in the brief sunny spell and gorge ourselves on all the odd bits & pieces of food we had accumulated since starting on Saturday and the other snacks we had carried since leaving home.

In the afternoon we wandered across meadows on the valley side, at first sight all completely covered by the bright yellow of buttercups, but on closer inspection also crammed with lots of other wild flowers (one in particular had lots of pink persicaria).

We dropped back down to the River Dee, still walking through fields covered in buttercups, and headed downstream along the riverside path, eventually reaching the road bridge at Dent.   By now we were starting to feel a bit weary and decided not to detour into the village (a great shame, as the guidebook promised a pub that brewed their own beer).  In truth, I think we were both eagerly anticipating the luxury of an evening at The Dalesman at Sedburgh.   We contented ourselves with a slurp of water and a handful of 'trail mix'.

A tight squeeze through the narrow stiles on the bridge, and we were back on more riverside paths that occasionally diverted 'inland' through more pretty meadows.   Beyond Ellers a long stretch down a pleasant flower-lined country lane seemed to go on forever, but eventually met up with a footbridge erected beside the ford at Brackensgill.

For the final few miles of the day we headed uphill from the river, initially climbing up to the main road then beyond to wooded hills.  Emerging from Gap Wood we could see Sedburgh on the far side of the valley - almost there now, but first a drop down to the old mill town of Millthrop.

Leaving the Dales Way we had our now-customary climb up a steeper-than-we-would-have-liked-at-this-point-in-the-proceedings hill into Sedburgh and the long-awaited luxury of The Dalesman Hotel.  

We were not disappointed.   A huge room with space to spread out the contents of two rucksacks, luxury tea and coffee sets, and locally-made soap and shower gel, a massive bed and sofa, flat-screen TV (with a reasonable picture for a change!) and we were in heaven.   Magic!

Our only niggle was the shelf in the bathroom which felt as though it was about to come loose from the wall at any second - but otherwise excellent.

As expected, dinner was superb, and we both managed 3 courses for the first time on the trip.   After eating we caught up with Mr & Mrs Rambling Pete in the bar, exchanging tales of derring-do on our other walks at home and further afield.

After dinner we had quick sortie down the Main Steet to check out sources of tomorrow's lunch before retiring to bed.