Skipton & Gargrave circular walk

As I walk into the picturesque little town, I cross the river Aire which flows from Malham Tarn to Goole (well Airmyn to be exact), at a length of about 90 miles in total.

St Andrews Church, Gargrave.

I can remember passing through Gargrave on the Pennine Way well over a year ago, we stopped at the small, sweet shop on the corner over there and enjoyed an icy cold drink as it was scorching if I remember correctly.

Leaving Gargrave and strolling along the quiet country lane in the direction of Grassington.

The small fells that I will soon be climbing can be seen in the distance.

Eshton Hall on my left.

After a while on the country lane, I pick up the public footpath which takes you through the well-manicured grounds of Flasby Hall.

The pleasant surroundings of Flasby Hall.

Now that's taking actual distances seriously!

Leaving Flasby.

Soon afterwards I pick up the Dales High Way.

Rough Haw & Sharp Haw

You have a choice at this point - to veer off to the left or to carry on to the summit of Sharp Haw. I decided to climb to the top, no real hardship and worth it for the lovely views. The paths re-join further on.

The well-trodden path to the top.

The summit trig' point with views down to Skipton. The route I was to take.

Now looking over to Gargrave.

The many woods on the side of Embsay Moor can be seen in the distance.

The gentle descent from Sharp Haw leads to a track and then another country lane.

After crossing the busy B6265 it's time for one of those dreadful places to negotiate - A Golf Course.

Embsay Moor & Embsay Crag.

After walking around the edge of Skipton Golf Course - which was actually well waymarked and not too bad to be honest - Even the golfers were friendly for once! It was time to nip across the even busier A59.

At the brow of a small hill, Skipton appears.

First port of call was Skipton's Holy Trinity Church, which some parts of it date back to the 1300's. It was even fired upon and has canon damage from the English civil war. It was nice to have a stroll around and admire the architecture.

And right next door was Skipton Castle - I didn't go in, but it looks pretty impressive from the front. Apparently, it's 900 years old and is one of the most complete and best-preserved medieval castles in England. It also withstood a 3-year siege during the English civil war. Imagine that - being stuck inside for 3 years, it's a sort of medieval lockdown.

After the sightseeing, it was back on track again by joining the Liverpool to Leeds canal in the town centre. After carefully making sure I was heading the right way, as you can tend to get a bit disorientated in busy towns, I started walking the four and a half miles back to Gargrave (easiest walking you can do - flat and solid on those tow paths). Very picturesque mind.

Plenty of boats moored up - and the odd one slowly cruising along.

It actually became very quiet as I got away from Skipton and pretty soon, I had the walk to myself.

Plenty of swing bridges along the way, I would have liked to see how these are opened/closed, but I went the whole length without seeing one moved.

Under the A59 this time.

Now, when you haven't seen a train for about two weeks and stop to take a leak - It's a bit of a surprise to have a train full of commuters suddenly appear from nowhere - Oh well, maybe it will inspire another 'Girl on the Train' type movie? So much for there's nobody around for miles!

After all that excitement another narrowboat appears swerving round the bend at 1mph.

The autumn sun was slowly disappearing, but it still created some lovely warm glows and reflections from the surrounding trees.

I'm reliably informed by my go to bird-spotter friend (Ste), that these are Canada Geese + 1 other which I already knew.

I think this was the only lock I spotted on the canal - I was expecting more.

I received a welcoming party as I approached the outskirts of Gargrave.

What a pretty little place this is.

Just before I head back to the car and set off for home, a quick reminisce from our Pennine Way days. All in all, a great day out and a highly enjoyable circular walk. I had walked for nearly 5 hours and had just realised that due to the start being after lunch, I hadn't stopped for any breaks really - Just shows how enjoyable it was to not require or want any breathers.