England - The Dales Way, Day 1

Tuesday, 14 May 2019

Ilkley to Appletreewick (12 miles)

Our first day on the Dales Way brought us to a lot of experiences and sights that would be commonplace over the next eight days. But for now it was all new.

The official start of the Dales Way is on the west side of Ilkley along the River Wharfe. We'll be following the River Wharfe upstream for most of the next three days through "Wharfedale" and "Upper Wharfedale". ("Dale" means valley.)

Typical Yorkshire stone farmhouse.

A lot of the trail followed rock walls that separate pastures. If you're short, as I am, this can severely limit views! Sometimes there's even a wall on both sides of the footpath.

May is the end of lambing season. Lambs are so cute! We were warned not to touch or handle the lambs (or any livestock we encountered).

Ramsons, wild onion/garlic, added fragrance to the path in many parts. They are closely related to ramps, a wild onion beloved in Appalachia.

It was also bluebell season. We came across many stunning fields of bluebells.

Lots of wool gets caught on barbed wire.

We watched a yellow-legged gull pull food out of the river, then go to a nearby rock to eat it. Binoculars (and a telephoto lens) revealed that the gull was eating crayfish.

Bolton Abbey marked the half-way point of today's hike.

It was never clear to us why part of the priory is in ruins, but one section is completely finished and used as the parish church. It's not clear whether it was destroyed or never finished.

The wall above the altar in the church. This wall separates the completed section from the ruins.

Another look at the ruins.

Bolton Abbey is actually a large estate that surrounds about a five-mile stretch of the River Wharfe, and is open to the public for day use. At the priory, the Dales Way crosses the river. You can cross on the stepping stones, as Lon is doing above, or you can take a bridge.

Lon on the stepping stones in the deepest part of the river.

The "strid" is a short, but perilous, stretch of the river where it has carved a deep, narrow gorge in the sandstone rocks.

For some reason, lots of coins have been pounded into old pieces of wood, be they fallen logs, benches, or tables.

Our endpoint for the day -- the tiny hamlet of Appletreewick. Although not much more than a dozen buildings, Appletreewick boasts two pubs. Our inn for the night (the New Inn) is the white building at the left side of the photo.