Weekend in Swaledale

Off to Swaledale for a weekend break! One of my dad's friends is seriously wealthy and has bought a 300 year old farmhouse in North Yorkshire as a holiday home, and my dad has done some of the restoration work on it so he gets to stay there for free once or twice a year. It's in a stunning location about halfway up the side of U shaped valley overlooking the river Swale, five miles from the nearest village and fifteen from the nearest town of any significance. Looking out of the windows gives an uninterrupted view
as far as the eye can see, with only occasional farms, fields and barns on the far side of the valley to indicate the presence of civilisation.

There is no TV, no mobile coverage (maybe one bar if the wind is in the right direction, but as good an excuse as any to switch the bloody thing off), no noise apart from the calls of curlew and skylarks wheeling overhead and a sheep or two. Wild rabbits are everywhere (including a few squashed ones at the side of the road ... :-( ) and Barney the wonder dog was in paroxysms of joy sticking his snout into every rabbit hole he could see.

We arrived at two o clock, and after a late lunch set off to walk down to the bottom of the valley to the river. It's at least a thirty degree slope for most of the way (with even steeper bits in parts) and the day was quite warm, so I was soon puffing. ollowing the path through the woods revealed a fantastic waterfall that I had no idea was there with a double drop of at least 3 or 4 meters. From there to the river was somewhat easier and we were all glad of a sit down on the river bank at the bottom. Barney headed
straight for the water and surprised me by swimming up and down in mid stream, and surprised me even more when he shook himself dry standing right next to me.

The walk up the hill was sheer, bloody murder though with some sections taken one step at a time with a breather at each wall and stile. It was worth it to get in and have a cold beer at the top though - bliss!