Walking Forum
Main Boards => Long Distance Walks => Topic started by: Raferjefferson on 19:53:30, 18/04/17
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;D Greetings fellow hikers!
I am an avid day hiker and I did the Yorkshire Dales (Malham etc) bit of the Penine way 5 years ago.
My mum has a 3 year old lab and I have decided to do the yorkshire wolds way next month. It's doable in the sadly short amount of time I have away from an all consuming career.
I have a few questions I hope someone can answer.....
I look at some of the time periods for the wolds way and most days are 5 hours, with one 7.5 hr day. I am not one to hang around sightseeing, I enjoy the fitness aspect, the solitude and the challenge of a testing walk with all my own gear. I get the feeling a 10 mile 5 hour day would see me done at 12 noon and bored. When conditioned, I can crank out more than this. However, the dales section of the penine way I found really challenging but the Wolds is described as gentle undulating for most of it which I can go through fairly rapidly. However, I have not attempted 4 days of it ever so any advice appreciated......is 4 days realistic for a fit backpacker with a light pack?
Also, I usually find livestock fine with my mums lab, she isn't aggresive and will stay with me on lead. I find cows fine usually, but a horse had a go at us once and I stupidly kept her on the lead as I didn't know any better, basically shielding her from kicks that fortunately were only warning kicks from this horse and we legged it!
Do other walkers take dogs on this route and is it a real danger or have I been unlucky?
I was thinking of planning my own route with 4 stops in villages off the main points, basically via google searches. Any pitfalls in this?
Lots of questions there but I am mainly concerned with my idea to shorten the route to 4 days. I really can manage more than 5 hrs..I think!
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Did it in four days a few years back. With a light pack and good weather it is fairly straightforward.
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....is 4 days realistic for a fit backpacker with a light pack?
Easily, at least for an experienced backpacker, that's 20 miles of easy walking a day with very little ascent.
I backpacked it in under 3 days in 2008 as a training exercise, but that schedule was a bit brutal, 4 would be more agreeable now! (that was in the 'pure' backpacking mode, wild-camping and carrying everything).
Edit: mistyping only.
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4 days is what I'll do it in from Hessle to Filey direction, camping seems the easiest option regarding accommodation along the way sadly :-\
I could get public transport back home every night but that wouldn't feel like I was doing a Long Distance Walk.
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Living In York; I got picked up and dropped off each day so it didn't seem like a LDW; but I walk bits of the middle section regularly anyway.
You can get accommodation in places like Weighton, Miliington, Huggate and I think Thixendale then further on dropping down to the A64; but it is a bit patchy. It is a nice walk but so much farmland that there isn't really a multi day feel about it.
Carrying on along the Cleveland way makes sense
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I walked the Cleveland Way and then the Yorkshire Wolds Way in 2012, the YWW accommodation and miles etc. below, not sure why I walked 93 miles instead of 81. I could blame it on the GPS but it was probably me visiting places off route! :-[ By the way I loved Thixendale, the pub food and Manor Farm.
From > To > Miles > Ascent in feet > Accommodation > Phone > GR
Filey to East Heslerton 15.2 1,397 The Snooty Fox Inn, Scarborough Road 01944710554 SE933768
East Heslerton to Thixendale 19.0 2,385 Mrs Gilda Brader, Manor Farm 01377288315 SE840612
Thixendale to Londesborough 21.4 2,460 Mrs Penelope Rowlands, Towthorpe Grange 01430873814 SE869436
Londesborough to South Cave 18.0 1,302 Mrs Jacqui Nichols, Silver Trees, 23 Castle Drive 01430423616 SE919312
South Cave to Hessle 19.7 1,899 > Home
Just remembered I got down to the Humber but couldn't get along the shore so had to back track so that accounts for an extra 6 miles!
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Just remembered I got down to the Humber but couldn't get along the shore so had to back track so that accounts for an extra 6 miles!
I did wonder why it was 19 miles from South Cave to Hessle ;-)
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Many thanks for the replies. I'm really happy that I was not overly ambitious....I am not Sir Ranulph feinnes but I'm 34 and have been doing 4-6 milers regularly with pack without breaking a sweat, mainly cotswold way sections which are gruelling (Uley loop).
I am too much of a bottler to wild camp alone. I find the beautiful outdoors a pretty intimidating place alone at night....UFOs, ghosts, marauding escapees from criminally insane institutions, the list of very real possibilities is endless! Wish I could pluck up the courage...
Camping was always the planned modus operandi for me. My "light" pack is about 16KG fully loaded, but I am close to 100KG so it's like a feather!
Can't wait, will be booking a 4 day run soon...will allow me an extra night at the start so I don't have to drive 3.5hrs at 4AM to start!
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Living In York; I got picked up and dropped off each day so it didn't seem like a LDW; but I walk bits of the middle section regularly anyway.
You can get accommodation in places like Weighton, Miliington, Huggate and I think Thixendale then further on dropping down to the A64; but it is a bit patchy. It is a nice walk but so much farmland that there isn't really a multi day feel about it.
Carrying on along the Cleveland way makes sense
Hmm, that gets me thinking now I have read that. I was considering the Cleeveland way...I am concerned as I have a dog with me regarding lots of farmland, it's a pain having to worry about errant livestock. I presume the CW is more open and national-park-like, which is more up my street. However, I can't do that in a short run and I was dead set on completing something in it's entirety hence the YWW. I wanted something more northerly and further afield.....perhaps I will re-evaluate and consider the CW instead, or a part of it. If anyone has any suggestions on what bits to cover in 4-6 days then I am all ears...
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If you are set on completing a walk in 4 days it might be worth looking at something like the Herriot Way, a circular route taking in Aysgarth, Hawes, Keld and Reeth. You get out of farmland for quite large chunks of it.
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I don't recall any farmland animals on my Cleveland Way walks, half of it is along the coastal path (Saltburn to Filey) and before that it was mainly moorland. I did it in 5 days but you can take longer by shortening the coast stages.
The Cumbria Way is a good 4 day walk but the start at Ulverston has farmland for the first 5 or so miles.
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If you are set on completing a walk in 4 days it might be worth looking at something like the Herriot Way, a circular route taking in Aysgarth, Hawes, Keld and Reeth. You get out of farmland for quite large chunks of it.
I am a big fan but I did dales last time I did a big walk away from the SW....
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I don't recall any farmland animals on my Cleveland Way walks, half of it is along the coastal path (Saltburn to Filey) and before that it was mainly moorland. I did it in 5 days but you can take longer by shortening the coast stages.
The Cumbria Way is a good 4 day walk but the start at Ulverston has farmland for the first 5 or so miles.
5 days would be fine, did you do the entire Cleveland Way in 5 days? It says 9 on most the websites but I find they assume you are leisurely. I think it's over 100 miles so at 20 per day, I could manage it but it depends on how severe it is - if it's brutal 20 pd might be beyond me.
I like the mix of moor and coast and it gives one a real mix of scenery. I could find 5 or even 6 days holiday if I could do the whole thing. It certainly looks wilder than the wolds way.
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I've done Cleveland Way 3 times, camping on each occasion, with 2 dogs. Very little farmland. Its 110 miles. 5=days is doable but depends if you want to enjoy it. I would suggest 6 plus. Also are you wild camping or planning on campsites as that will affect your number of days. You state it assumes you are leisurely. I wouldn't describe my walking pace as leisurely more a pace to get there carrying kit which doesn't become a slog, but is enjoyable and I actually see something. Also whilst it is not that challenging it certainly isn't flat and the weather can be an issue particularly on NY moors. Its a good walk.
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A few years ago I completed the Cleveland Way in five days and having a couple of days spare I decided to do the Wolds Way or get as far as I could in two days.Two very long days were enough to complete the walk with one wild camp at the halfway point.I am not suggesting anyone should attempt it in this manner unless they are pushed for time as I was,but a strong walker should be able to complete the Wolds Way comfortably in four days.The Cleveland Way can be completed in three days but its best to allow 5-7 days,especially if you are aiming to go straight into the Wolds Way.
The first 20 miles of the Cleveland Way is very easy.Hardest section is the Clevleand Hills followed by a long slog along a hard track to Killdale.Next section has a couple of tough climbs,Captain Cook's monument and Rosberry plus a hard climb up the side of an old quarry.Once you get on the coastal section you get the usual and downs as you climb out of villages and creeks but they are only short and not too hard.
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..... I am not one to hang around sightseeing, I enjoy the fitness aspect, the solitude and the challenge of a testing walk with all my own gear. .....
Perhaps the YWW isn’t for you then :-\ appreciation for the serene peace and tranquillity, local history and “Wander art” (the main focus of the YWW) would be lost on you if you are a “heads down, march on” type..... though you'd definitely get solitude ...
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thanks, I was suspecting as much. I am not much for exploration at present, although I tend to enjoy that as a couple as I have encountered 0.00 women who enjoy cranking out long days with pack, but in bartering a few visits to castles and restaurants I have managed to hold a few as captives for the walking bits!
If I am on my todd then it's the rolling hills, heather and fresh air that do it. Not pottering around....I have the rest of my life to potter...oh, and a vague notion that the path is an enemy to be overcome and I will beat that swine into submission as quickly as possible. There's a little voice in my head on observing a hard ascent that says "oh yeah? Bring it, fool!"
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" I have encountered 0.00 women who enjoy cranking out long days with pack, but in bartering a few visits to castles and restaurants I have managed to hold a few as captives for the walking bits! "
Clearly you haven't "encountered" the right women - maybe you had your head down rushing to get from a to b!
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thanks, I was suspecting as much. I am not much for exploration at present, although I tend to enjoy that as a couple as I have encountered 0.00 women who enjoy cranking out long days with pack,
Take a look at the results of the Spine race over the years.Quite a few women are capable of covering long distances very quickly carrying a pack(12-15kg),often in excess of 40 miles per day over several days in horrendous conditions.
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Take a look at the results of the Spine race over the years.Quite a few women are capable of covering long distances very quickly carrying a pack(12-15kg),often in excess of 40 miles per day over several days in horrendous conditions.
Oh, just let me contextualise: I haven't dated "walkers", I have tried to recruit former partners who have other interests. I am just saying that in the general populace muddy 20 mile hikes are not generally seen as a girl's dream holiday. I am confident there are many women walkers who are hard as nails and could outpace men, dogs, or possibly even small horses, so no implicit sexism meant, I am just saying my previous GFs didn't fancy "hard slog" when there was an option of "interesting ramble"
I did convince a male friend to do a hardcore hike but he gave up 2nd day so my track record supervising either sex to accompany me on long walks is a poor one.
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You're not doing it right RJ :D give them a false sense of security.... nice amble with a tea shop, followed up with nice amble but "shall we take a picnic and eat it at the top of a hill?", followed by "do you fancy doing a couple of days away?"
..... THEN.... you throw the 20 mile a day multi day hike at them ;D
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You're not doing it right RJ :D give them a false sense of security.... nice amble with a tea shop, followed up with nice amble but "shall we take a picnic and eat it at the top of a hill?", followed by "do you fancy doing a couple of days away?"
..... THEN.... you throw the 20 mile a day multi day hike at them ;D
Nice one. Some good ideas there....or I could just drive future ones to the middle of Exmoor with a map, compass and anorak, then quickly drive off. Initiative test. :-)
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I would actually LOVE that. A true test of how good (or bad) I think my nav skills really are :D
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I would actually LOVE that. A true test of how good (or bad) I think my nav skills really are :D
That's what I thought about the last woman I abducted to Exmoor....you would be surprised how many judges don't see that as a valid defence....
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That's what I thought about the last woman I abducted to Exmoor....you would be surprised how many judges don't see that as a valid defence....
Lol, now why didn't I think of that defence? ;D