Six Dales Trail
We completed another leg of the six dales trail this weekend: from Ramsgill, north over Fountains Earth Moor past Leighton Reservoir. This is part of our ongoing challenge to complete the whole of the trail with our walking group made up of Open Country members and volunteers. This section was 7 miles long and took us the best part of the day to complete at a fairly relaxed pace to accommodate the abilities of all members in the group.
After the ascent over Fountains Earth Moor, our guide (and volunteer) Alan steered a course for a hunting lodge about mid-way through the route for us to break for lunch. It was also a chance for Sam to rendezvous with the group, as he had dropped the van off at the finish. So, while we stuffed our faces full of sandwiches, there appeared a blip on the horizon which slowly grew into the formidable shape of Sam making his way over the furze like the returning native.
The trial
In case you’re wondering – the title of this article isn’t a typo, it was suggested by one of our volunteers as a comment on the accessible (or rather inaccessible) state of some of the paths on the trail so far. At some points we’ve been unable to find the path, stiles don’t exist and way markers haven’t been present at all.
Just take a look at the photo of the heather – believe it or not there’s actually a path running through there – can you spot it? Similarly, there’s a photo of one of our members taking on a bizarre assault-course inspired stile near Leighton Reservoir. However, as always, we worked as a team to get everyone over the obstacle – none is too big in our ongoing mission to help people with disabilities to access the countryside. Open Country member Dan particularly enjoyed his ascent over the stile, standing tall and cheering himself on.
On the whole the trail has been enjoyable but there are certainly a few parts which need some attention to make the Six Dales Trail a little bit more accessible.
Leeds Pals
Our walk ended at the Leeds Pals monument on the site of the former training camp for WWI soldiers based in Leeds. It’s an eerie place where the wind sweeps across the moors through linear mounds of earth created by the soldiers as they rehearsed for trench warfare.
Our biannual walking weekend got off to a dramatic start last weekend. We’d just loaded up our to minibuses (including the purple princess) and set sail for the South Pennines when Sam (from Open Country) rang our mobile to let us know we’d helpfully driven off with his bag, including his house keys. So rather than let Sam sleep rough while we were away having fun, we did the decent thing and drove back to return his kit.
Walking weekend group
The walking weekend centred around Hebden Hey in Calderdale and base camp was a basic but comfortable Scout centre with bunk beds in dormitories and a kitchen. We had a total of twenty six people with us including members, their carers and volunteers.
We offer two residential weekends a year which offer our members even more excitement and adventure than our day trips. It’s an opportunity for people with disabilities to access the countryside as well as a chance for everyone to get to know each other better. We share cooking, eating, social activities and it’s much cheaper than other holidays offered by disability-specialists, that means it’s more inclusive for our members living on tighter budgets. Our members’ families and carers get some respite too for the whole weekend we’re away.
Saturday 4th September
The plan for Saturday was a walk up to Stoodley Pike a hill which features a large war monument visible from miles around, as well as giving a fantastic view over Calderdale. We began at Blackstone Edge reservoir and marched up to the monument at Stoodley Pike summit. Then we gave our members a choice of an easy walk back into town or a slightly more challenging longer walk back to the bus – we cater for people of all abilities at Open Country and give everyone the independence and options they deserve.
Squirrel scoffing
Later that same day, Paul (Open Country) was awoken by a strange rustling sound in the sleeping quarters of our base camp. He was in a bunk bed above notorious Open Country member ‘The Squirrel’ (Ian), renowned for his insatiable appetite and constant feeding. By now, it was 1.30am in the early hours of Sunday, so Paul didn’t suspect for a moment that it would be Squirrel grazing. But sure enough, after firing up his torch and leaning over the edge of his bunk bed – there below was Squirrel having a midnight pork pie, which he swiftly concealed as if caught red-handed.
The Squirrel takes tea
Sunday 5th September
We’d booked a tour of Gibson Mill on Sunday, a modernised 19th-century cotton mill which is self-sustaining, meaning it generates its own energy and has minimal impact on the surrounding environment. It was a fantastically interesting attraction, with the only downside being that they don’t generate enough electricity to run a freezer for ice-cream. Everyone knows that Open Country love ice-cream.
It was in the café at Gibson Mill that Squirrel entertained us by dressing up as a posh gentleman enjoying a spot of tea. Take a look at the delightful photograph attached to this blog post.
On Sunday 18th July we took on the second leg of the Six Dales Trail, a 6-7 mile day trip through the beautiful Washburn Valley between Swinsty and Heyshaw. Our walking group was made up of volunteers Andy, Loz and Christine and Open Country members Paul, Allen, Roberta, Daniel, Charlotte, Dave and Karl. Sam from Open Country took the same walking group out on the first leg of the trail from Otley to Swinsty Reservoir on Sunday 4th July.
Open Country Walking group on the Six Dales Trail
The Six Dales Trail is a classic ‘up hill and down dale’ walk with excellent views over Nidderdale. The countryside was thriving with wildlife too and we saw lots of Curlews and Lap Wings. We took a lunch break at Thruscross Dam and spent some time watching the canoeists practising below the sluice gates of the dam.
There were some very poorly maintained styles along the route, some blocked with tyres and other rubbish, especially on the approach to Heyshaw which made for an adventurous descent. Thankfully we had help from our volunteers to overcome any access difficulties for our members.
Our pleasant Sunday walk into the countryside wasn’t particularly eventful, but it was a day trip that most would take for granted. By helping people with disabilities to access the countryside on day trips like these, we give our members a sense of independence, improve their quality of life and have lots of fun along the way.
You can look at photos of our Six Dales Trail walks on our Facebook fan page photo album.
Do you want to join us for a lovely walk into the countryside?
We plan to do the full six dales over the course of the summer, running into October, if you want to join in the fun, you can find out more on our events calendar or contact us.
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