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Swaledale Outdoor Club |
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Swaledale Outdoor Club |
| > Home > Newsletter > Walking > Boxing Day Walk |
Boxing Day WalkAfter the prolonged spell of wet weather it was good to see some hard frost and a dusting of snow on high ground. Against this backdrop 27 of us set out from Richmond Market Place to walk off the effects of Christmas day's excesses. We climbed up on to the old racecourse, used from before 1576 until 1891 and offering a good view of the country around, then via the grandstand we crossed into the picturesque valley of Coalsgarth. In summer there are many pheasants in this valley but very few are now left after the shooting season. At the head of the valley we passed the old lime kilns, where local limestone was burnt to "sweeten the land" and improve grass quality. Entering the new plantation we were sheltered from the north easterly wind by spruce trees for the next half mile or so then crossed road and pastureland to reach Willance's Leap. Here the customary story was told then lunch was taken in a sheltered corner looking out over Swaledale. We then walked along the scar to descend via Deepdale and Low Applegarth to the banks of the Swale. As we walked eastwards along the valley bottom we saw Goosander (a kind of diving duck) on the river - one of the few varieties of bird we saw the whole day. Into Whitcliffe Wood we followed the riverbank to Lownethwaite Bridge (I had special permission for this stretch, it is not a public path) and climbed the steps towards Hudswell - steps built by World War II prisoners of war. The light was fading as we followed the upper path along the top of the wood and through fields to the Green Bridge and up to the Market Place to complete yet another Boxing Day Walk. John Deighton |