Babs Boot 7th Eyelet RFM Blue Line Walking with Nev

 

Babs Boot 7th Eyelet

RFM Blue Line

Walking with Nev

05/07/26

We only decided to do a Sunday walk on Saturday. To be fair I thought I was having all the fun on the long walks and it was time Venka did another long one. This one was a really good long walk. Babs Boots walks are in memory of Babs but boy do they deliver. She would have loved to have been able to do them and would have loved the blog. She is very close to us on these walks and I almost feel she is watching.

2 hills one a straight up and down just like the graph the other more hidden in the woods.

We started in Skipton near the bridge at the castle. I have to confess for the first few photos I had the camera set to artistic so the colours are not real. 

It was a tough start straight up a steep street and then up a very steep grassy slope. We had a few stops to catch our breaths. The views get good quick when the first hill is steep.

At the top of the hill we had a chat with an old couple about to head down the hill. It was a tough but nice start.

Coming down the other side of Park Hill we could see  Sharp Haw in the distance its shape matching the graph perfectly. Thing is... it looked miles away but it was the right hill. Crossing the grassy fields was so peaceful and wonderfully refreshing with the views of the hills in front of us so inviting. Then we followed Brackenly Lane until we had to climb up the banking to the main road.

We crossed the busy Grassington Road and onto more cut and cleaned hayfields. the first leg of this walk all the way to Flasby is the Dales High Way so we were clocking off the miles satisfactorily.

All the way to the lane at the bottom of Skyrakes we crossed fields and went along lanes but did not pass anyone. It felt like a rural paradise and indeed it is.

We managed a selfie at the start of the lane at the bottom of the Sharp Haw ascent. Thats it just behind Venka. Haw apparently is Old English for view and it is definitely sharp in shape.

There were a lot of cars parked at the bottom of the lane and as we ascended we passed many walkers and dog walkers. There were lots of fluffy dogs to be stroked and chats to be had. Then I got the camera back onto the correct setting just in time to snap this cute pair of lambs resting behind a windbreak.

Although cloudy and windy higher up we only felt a few drops of rain occasionally and it was reasonably warm. Actually it was perfect walking weather. And just look at he view.

The 360 view from the top of Sharp Haw was really good. We could see the Aire Valley sweeping away from us towards Bingley and in front of us towards Gargrave. We could see the river and The Leeds Liverpool canal. Somewhere down in the valley Peter and I had walked when we did the Pennine Way. It was very satisfying to see Yorkshire in its rural splendour. The higher more dramatic peaks are still to come on this long distance walk.

We descended through grassy fields, bracken and muddy patches. Broughton Hall nestles in the picturesque valley, yes the Aire Valley. 

The more we descended the more the bracken was dominant.

The weather was quite dull and overcast but we were flying towards Flasby

Down along a lane through a wood and we were into this tiny village. 

It was just a touching visit and we were immediately on our way back. We will Visit Flasby again as this is the last point on this leg of the Dales High Way.

Going along on the flat for a change we passed some ducks and a very long farm building at New Laithe.

We crossed the Septeria Gill, a grand name for a tiny stream. Just before we climbed the steep hill, past the cows, we met a couple with some friendly dogs and guess what....we had a chat.

Pretty soon we had ascended to the woods and the first tree to stand out was this mature Monkey Puzzle. 

These woods High Wood and Crag Wood were  not very dense and we often got some good views.

As we went along we passed Gargrave below us. Another splendid view of the Aire Valley.

More views of Gargrave and what looks like a mill complex.

We followed the ridge at the edge of the woods for a long way on a forestry lane until we left the woods above Thorlby Springs. Now we were looking at the final push towards Skipton in the valley in front of us. We met an elderly couple and had a chat partly about Barnsley. 

The fields we crossed towards the lane at Thorlby House were either crop filled or cut and cleared hayfields. It was a nice easy even descent with good clean cut fields, almost like lawns, to walk on.

We crossed a final close cropped sheep field onto the road at the holiday park. The route should have gone through some more fields but we could not find the path so we just followed the lane.

Over the A65 and then down the hill into Skipton.

The car was parked on a road before the church. Last time we were here it was really crowded but the weather that day had been hot and sunny. Today it was really quiet.

Over 10 miles and 1600 feet is like bread and butter to me but for Venka this is a step up and she completed the walk really well. It was a really good walk with plenty to see a few hills to climb and just enough dogs to stroke and people to chat with. It was a challenge but not too challenging. A good practice for some of the more difficult walks to come on this Babs Boot (Dales High Way) route.

OS Map

https://explore.osmaps.com/route/31674986/babs-boot-7th-eyelet-rfm-blue-line?lat=53.97013&lon=-2.02991&zoom=13.5423&style=TopoAuto&type=2d