Skipton Holiday Cottage

A shorter walk today than yesterday as the anticyclonic fog didn't lift until noon. So we set off then as the sun came through to Austwick, just off the A65 about 4 miles beyond Settle. We parked at the Town Head end of the village and walked from there up to Norber; where there are famous erratics - rocks carried from their original point of origin to another place by glaciers. We walked from there across to Wharfe, a small hamlet on the other side of the valley and then returned to Austwick - all in glorious February sunshine.

Labels: Austwick, erratics, Norber, Wharfe

A gloriously sunny day for the third day in a row since we arrived. Today we walked from Burnsall to Linton via Thorpe; and then back to Burnsall along the banks of the River Wharfe; frosty but sunny. This tree stands about half-way between Burnsall and Thorpe on the first leg of the walk. Then between Thorpe and Linton we heard the drumming of a woodpecker as we were passing a small copse of trees just before Linton comes into view. The Fountain Inn at Linton was still full at 1.30pm; a funeral party was occupying the restaurant area. We had a pint and a beef sandwich before continuing the walk.

Labels: Burnsall, Linton, Thorpe

Report from this week's Craven Herald newspaper: Skipton has been named the second most romantic place in the UK. The unlikely accolade is a result of the town’s high concentration of “passion-inducing” businesses selling beckoning bouquets, sensual scents and amorous undies. According to website locallife.co.uk, Skipton has 7.59 jewellers, florists, restaurants, gift shops, lingerie retailers and perfumiers to every 10,000 residents. It was only beaten by the wealthy borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Labels: romantic