“Walking the Pennines” by John Ashmele
My retirement bucket list had always included a trip to take in Wainwright’s coast-to-coast walk across the Pennines. I still haven’t got round to it, but this month I did the next best thing and walked the Pennine Way in the Yorkshire National Park with a small party from the Jewish Country Walkers. From our base camps in Settle and Hawes, and over four days, we walked from Gargrave to Malham (10 miles); to Horton (17 miles); to Hawes (10 miles);and to Keld (15 miles). If you have been to the Yorkshire Dales, you may be familiar with some of the sights that we encountered: the limestone features of Gordale Scar and Janet’s Fosse in Malham; the tall peak of Pen-Y-Ghent in Ribblesdale; Hardraw Force in Wensleydale (the highest single-leap waterfall in England) and the stunning views from Upper Swaledale.
We covered more than 50 miles; not a lot, you might say, but a challenge for me nonetheless. Although it was a personal challenge, I would like to share it with you and use this opportunity to promote the Karen Morris Memorial Trust (www.kmmt.org.uk), a charity established in 1999 to provide facilities and support for leukaemia patients and their families.
