Lady Anne Way …..Day 4: Bainbridge to Hawes

We bid adieu to our hostess and leave well nourished, as is the norm. Today should be a “relaxing day” as we have a much shorter distance to cover……however, staying in Bainbridge took us “off piste”, so we need to backtrack a mile and some to get back on the Lady Anne Way.

Given yesterday’s long day we elect to take a bus to Askrigg and continue on the Lady Anne Way, the bus is punctual and arrives at 9:32 on the nose…

In Askrigg at Milepost 37 we do a short walkabout checking out the Olde Pump and of course Skeldale House where James Herriot had his veterinarian practise:

…some readers may remember the BBC television series “All Creatures Great and Small”, which was filmed here. This market town is quite pretty with the church dating back to the 15th century, with the winding streets populated by attractive houses from the 17th,18th and 19thC….this was once quite a busy centre for lead mining and wool…

…all these towns impress with their cleanliness and attention to period detail >>> as for you gardeners, virtually every house has planters or small gardens filled with flowers of vibrant hues….set against the stone backgrounds, it is stunning, especially when the sun is out !!

Under brooding skies it is a little after 10:00 and time to start marching…along the way we stop to take a quick look at Mill Gill Falls …

…continuing on our way the walk takes us through quintessential Dales Country scenery of meadows divided by limestone walls and barns…

…notice how fully the locals have espoused walkers by even spray painting the track to ensure we stay on point!!

…the guidebook directs us to walk on a lane, which offers a nice break from trudging through sopping wet pastures and gets us close to the people living/working in the Dales…

 ….. further on we come to a farm complex known as Skell Gell…

This little fella didn’t run and elected to hide, so I was able to get a shot of him…

Then back to the pastures …in due course we pass the hamlet of Litherscrew…

…and are greeted in Sedbusk with solid rain showers but we are getting close to Hawes which we hope to reach after 13:00…we pass through a copse of plane trees …

…then the skies start to relent (a relative term) as we cross wide pastures above Hawes, which now reveals itself:

A  final stile…

…and at Milepost 43 we are happy to arrive at Hawes, the “little capital” of Upper Wensleydale, Yorkshire’s highest market town and farming community. It is perhaps most proud of its role as the chief centre of production of the well-known white Wensleydale cheese > actually bought some at the Farmers Market in Gibson’s, B.C. (in truth not so impressed)….we bought a smoked version locally and that was really good.

It is a busy and picturesque market town, with plenty of amenities as it is a staging post for various walks including the famous Pennine Way, our home for the night at Labrunum House…

…beer selection by alcohol content…suffice to say we chose the “high test”!

Late lunch at a tea room left us little room for dinner, save for some wine in the evening and that closed out the day…Annie’s blisters remain under control, another great day all around!! Cheers…