Dales High Way: Asby Scar

Monday 6th May 2024

On my last day on the Dales High Way I woke at the Low Greenside Farm Campsite after a good night’s sleep and set off back to the village of Newbiggin-on-Lune where I resumed my walk. I had set myself an ambitious target over the Bank Holiday weekend of completing the Dales High Way which I had started at Easter last year but abandoned when I reached the town of Settle, which left me with fifty-three miles to do, but after doing twenty miles on the trail on each of my two previous days I was now left with just thirteen miles to do, which felt like an easy day for me with none of the high hills that I had encountered during the previous two days. Initially I followed a road out of Newbiggin-on-Lune before branching off to steadily climb over Ravenstonedale Moor soon joining the route of Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk although in the opposite direction to the usual west to east. Despite overcast skies there was hardly any wind so it felt quite warm, which made for pleasant walking as I made my way slowly over the moor keeping a wary eye on the clouds that looked like they may contain a lot of rain. After a short stretch of road walking I turned left into an area rich in wild flowers most commonly wood anemones and purple-flowering orchids.

 

 

After coming off the Coast to Coast route the path brought me up onto the vast limestone plateau of Asby Scar where I took the advice of the guidebook and came off the path to climb to a cairn where I could survey the fabulous scene around me. The distant views were murky so the promised Lakeland Fells could not be seen, but what I could see was the limestone pavement covering a vast area with woodland plants growing in the gaps, known as grikes, between the rocky slabs. Dog’s mercury was the most abundant to be found but also growing there was wild garlic and wood anemones with orchids sitting out of the grikes and distributed throughout the range. This was a delight, but for reason I soon made my way back down onto the path until finally I came to my sense and realised I had plenty of time to linger so I climbed back onto the limestone pavement to wander around and gaze in awe at the enthralling sight, including the plants growing in the grikes. 

 

 

Eventually I returned to the path and reluctantly headed north off Asby Scar, leaving a piece of my heart behind until eventually I passed through Clockeld Farm and onto a road. The rest of the walk was a prolonged anti-climax that could not compete with the captivating limestone pavement that had so captured my heart. The road walking took me through the village of Great Asby until I reached Howe Slacks where I began to walk beside the river Hoff Beck, which was a mixed experience with highs in the many wild flowers I came across including bluebells and wood anemones, but all too often I was walking through an endless succession of grassy fields that made the walking seem to drag. The moments of woodland flowers were brief but delightful while the waterfall of Rutter Force made me stop for a moment before continuing out of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, through the tiny community of Hoff and past an abundant display of wild flowers near Bandley Bridge. 

 

 

I finally left Hoff Beck at the bridge and on climbing a grassy field I beheld the town of Appleby, my finishing point, with the Pennine range lurking in the shadows behind and High Cup Scar a notable feature in the skyline. This weekend was a fabulous experience that seemed to get better with each day. Near the start, on Saturday while climbing Ingleborough, I had questioned whether to abandon the Dales High Way again, but I had kept going until everything changed when the clouds lifted while traversing the Howgill Fells and provided me with a thoroughly enjoyable walk off the hills. It often felt like it was going to rain on this walk, but it actually waited until after I reached Appleby and despite overcast skies the walking was fabulous as I relished the chance to do some long, though tiring walks across hilly terrain.