Jeri’s Steps: 27,320
Miles walked: 11.0
Elevation: 849
Pints: 4
Churches: 1
Stiles: 22
Benches: 3

Today we left the South Pennines behind and crossed the ‘Aire Gap’, the natural east west path formed by the Aire River between Yorkshire and Lancashire. We moved away from moors as the landscape changed to one of smaller fields and rivers. On the map below we were in the ‘Craven Faults’ area (great name).

This morning’s ride to the start was delayed for some reason so we didn’t get walking until 8:30am. The landscape was reminiscent of Devon with rolling hills and hedgerows instead of drystone walls. And lo and behold, a canal, the Leeds and Liverpool, and of course a nice flat canal towpath to walk on. We fell in with a group of fellow Pennine Way walkers for a few miles into Gargrave where we stopped at the church and the younger contingent went on ahead. After Gargrave the Way climbed over Harrows Hill and Eshton Moor (not much of a moor really) then down to a footbridge over the river Aire where we had our lunch. From then on the path followed the Aire all the way into Malham, initially on the east then, deviating from the Way, the west bank. We got to Malham in time for a cream tea at the Old Barn Inn, the same place we visited five years ago. Some Clackett family members will remember with less fondness the ‘pushing the Morris up the hill in the rain’ incident that preceded that visit.