Blog
(2020)
Blog updates are only on an
"ad hoc" basis when I have something to say and will not be
particularly regular. Latest entries first.
1
November 2020
Since
I started this site about ten years ago, all my walks have been accompanied
by a link to what I call a "dynamic OS Map", meaning that the
route can be seen on a 1:50000 scale Ordnance Survey Landranger map, which
can be moved about and zoomed, This facility takes advantage of the Ordnance
Survey Open Space facility, which is straightforward to use. It needs to be
because I am no IT expert!
Regrettably
Ordnance Survey have advised that this facility is to be retired from Autumn
2021. So far, as far as I can see, the replacement system Open Data will not
provide the same 1:50000 maps. Additionally, I find the new system
unintelligible, though that is probably down to my technical ignorance.
I
have been in communication with Ordnance Survey but so far they have not so
far been able to provide me with any useful information that I can
comprehend and I am hoping for some more direct discussions. However at this
stage, it looks very much as though this facility on my walks will cease in
Autumn 2021.
Hopefully
the sketch maps I draw will enable you to work out the route on OS maps or
if I come across anywhere where you can download the .gpx files on each walk
to OS maps, I will advise. However, I believe many other sites use the same
Open Space facility.
I
have not investigated any alternatives to Ordnance Survey maps but as there
are over 300 walks on my site, having to redraw them all is probably a task
too far. In any case, users of my site are unlikely to find trying to relate
alternatives to OS maps particularly helpful.
19
August 2020
All
my life, when I have needed antibiotics, the answer to the question
"are you allergic to penecillin?" has always been "no".
I must have taken hundreds of them. On 12 August, doing by bit for the
Country, I "ate out to help out". Sat in a pub garden, it seems I
was bitten by some insect behind my right ear. I was not aware of it at the
time but by evening, the side of my face had gone red. It worsened over the
Thursday to the point where on Friday, something needed to be done. Seeing
little point in trying to get service via the GP in these covid times, on a
Friday, I thought the local minor injuries unit might work.
This
is now like Fort Knox! You need a telephone call to get another telephone
call with the triage nurse. Clearly not actually wanting to see any
patients, he said I might have sepsis and needed a blood test which they
could not do (they usually do). I would have to visit A&E.
I
turned up at Airedale A&E and have to say I was impressed by their
service. Blood was sent to their lab and I got the results before I left.
Infection but no sepsis. The net result was a prescription for an antibiotic
Co-amoxiclav. This contains Amoxicillin and Clavulanic acid. The former I
have taken in the past many times. The latter is, I believe, to accelerate
its performance. By Saturday my whole face had swelled allarmingly, with
huge bags under the eyes, all a dramatic red colour. Sunday I was back at
A&E. The net result is that suddenly, I now seem allergic to penecillin
based antibiotics. They prescribed a different antibiotic. My face is slowly
subsiding but it has been a pretty traumatic experience.
4
August 2020
The
stories about picnickers/revelers leaving litter, disposable BBQs,
cans/bottles etc all over the country have become legion and seem to be a
strange side effect of the coronavirus issue. I assume it is because the yob
element are denied their customary holidays, swilling lager in the foreign
sunspots or not working. Obviously, as a lover of the countryside, I abhor
all litter and I would expect anyone using my site to feel the same and work
on the principle of "leave nothing but footprints". I was
therefore disappointed to be emailed by a volunteer litter picker who had
come across a PDF sheet of one of my walks amongst the day's
"treasure". I will be charitable and assume it had blown out of an
overfull litter bin or been accidentally dropped but please, ensure you
dispose of litter properly. If bins are full, take it home. As far as
cans/bottle/boxes are concerned, you brought them full when they were heavy.
They weigh next to nothing when empty, so again, take them home!
30
June 2020
Received
an irate email from a farmer two days ago. A couple doing my Beckwithshaw
Bimble walk had blocked one of their gateways with a car. When
challenged, they said they were only parking as instructed by my site! The
farmer asked me to change my instructions forthwith. Needless to say, the
offending couple were feeding her BS, as was quickly proven when I sent the
farmer a copy of the instructions, which are very clear. If the couple
concerned read this, I would appreciate it if you did not try to blame my
site when you have forgotten your common sense tablet that day!
I
would never tell anyone to park in any gateway and in fact stress the need
to keep gates clear in my Etiquette
page.
13
June 2020
I
have only just learned of The Campaign For Pubs. This is the UK grassroots
campaign speaking up for our pubs and campaigning to promote, support and
protect our pubs. Pubs are a fundamental part of out society and have a
number of disadvantages stacked against them, from ownership by pub
companies who are often more interested in the value of the site than the
pub itself, to unfair taxation rules. I can speak from the heart when I say
that a refreshing pint in a pub is the ending to a walk to which I most look
forward. Too many are closing. I have joined The
Campaign For Pubs, a not for profit organisation, funded by members and
which only costs £25 per year.
The
chariman is Paul Crossman, a licensee and pub campaigner based in York. He
runs three award-winning community-orientated cask ale pubs, two of which he
rescued from pub company disposal and the campaign manager is Greg
Mulholland, a long term enthusiast of and campainger for pubs and former MP.
For
more information and to join to help save pubs, see https://campaignforpubs.org.uk/
22
May 2020
Following
the loosening of Government restrictions on staying at home (see Blog entry
for 12 May below), not surprisingly many people want to get out on to the
fells again. However there is an understandable pushback from many Yorkshire
Dales communities, especially the "honeypots" who fear the influx
of visitors may bring the coronavirus to them. Most facilities are closed
and possibly some car parks. I thought it might be useful therefore to put
together some walks where parking is away from centres of population and
none of the routes pass through any.
I
have no knowledge where any farms might (illegally - see Blog entry of 13
April below) have diverted or attempted to close routes. All I can say is,
where possible, try to respect landowners' fears. There could be a health
worker living at the address!
Beamsley
Beacon
Bordley to Malham Cove - a way to visit Malham Cove without parking or
passing through Malham village
Kingsdale to Yordas Cave
Malham Tarn Walk
Outershaw Round
Parson's Pulpit and High Proctor Mark
Three Men of Gragareth
Threshfield Quarry Circuit
Upper Barden Round with Rylstone Edge
Whernside - the parking for this walk is in open countryside but it will
be especially busy at Bank Holiday/weekends
12 May 2020
With its dropping of the "stay at
home" message from its coronavirus campaign and permission for free
driving, the Government has potentially opened the floodgates for tourists,
including walkers, to flock to the usual places. Given that most facilities
remain closed, including car parks, public toilets and accommodation, places
such as the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales are clearly signalling that
they fear any influx could threaten their populations with infection.
Although you are now legally free to visit these areas, I would adopt a
"give them a break" approach and spare them from crowds and roads
obstructed with parked cars.
13
April 2020
There
are reports from various parts of the country of landowners closing
footpaths through their property and displaying notices saying this is
because of coronavirus. Indeed, I have come across such an instance myself.
There is no power under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 for
landowners to close or obstruct a public right of way in this way. Indeed,
the NFU representing agriculture and horticulture have issued advice
to their members to that effect. However, in my case, I foud what turned
out to be a better route for the walk I was doing, so there seemed little
point risking unpleasantness. Indeed, for all I knew, a NHS worker
could have lived at the address. In current circumstances, I would not take
kindly to people coming through my land, so, my policy will be to respect
such notices.
See
also information
from the Ramblers.
Note
the position in Wales is slightly different as the Welsh Government has
introduced Regulations
to close footpaths. Each local authority can decide which footpaths to
close, so needless to say, there is variation in different areas. However it
is believed there are large scale closures in Snowdonia, Brecon Beacons and
Pembrokeshire.
22
March 2020
Well,
what a year. Coronavirus has invaded all our lives and put paid to holidays,
flights etc. I am in a lockdown by virtue of my age and my heart condition
(see My
Cabbage and I ). Although I am not by any stretch of the imagination
frail, I obviously need to take sensible precautions for myself but in any
case, the Government want us all to avoid contact as much as possible.
However, I still intend to go walking on the local moors etc and in fact was out
there on Rombalds Moor on Friday. The majority of walkers gave each other a
sufficiently wide berth to be safe.
One thing though. When you are out walking,
you inevitably handle gates, catches on the gates, stiles etc. t therefore makes sense to take hand sanitiser to use before you eat your
sandwiches or touch your face - always assuming you can get any of course!
One surprise on the moor was that there was
some quite extensive heather burning which I thought had been stopped.
Presumably it is still allowed.
Finally it is obvious from news reports and
tweets that lots of people are treating the national shut down as a holiday
and going off to holiday hot-spots such as the West Country, Snowdonia,
Cumbria and Scotland, maybe to walk/climb, maybe to "isolate" in
their holiday homes, caravans etc. This is particularly stupid as the NHS in
these areas will be mostly geared to the local population numbers. Hoards
descending, some of whom will be infected, will spread the coronavirus and
the local NHS will probably be overwhelmed. Then you could die! It is
incumbent on all of us to play our part in trying to halt this disease. By
all means, enjoy walks in your local area, perhaps even a short drive away
(although the rules on this seem a bit vague) but don't
lumber lesser resourced areas with your disease! You could be infected
without yet realising and so infectious to others.
I expect it to be only a matter of time
before "lock down" means you literally will not be allowed out of
the house, other that for essential shopping. This will only be avoided if
people follow the guidance now.
10
March 2020
A
pet beef of mine is a strong opposition to so called "smart
motorways". How anyone could dream up a system which potentially leaves
motorists stranded in a live lane beats me. It is the height of stupidity.
That there have been quite a few deaths because of them does not surprise
me. One reason I am against them is that I had a fairly new car and one day
whilst in the middle lane of the M1, on a section which is now "smart
motorway", the engine died completely without warning. Luckily, it was
a Sunday, so traffic was fairly light and I was able to declutch and coast
to the hard shoulder. However, had the hard shoulder not been there and had
there not been a refuge close (which only boils down to how lucky you are!),
I would potentially have been a smart motorway victim.
The BBC’s Panorama programme found that
there have been twenty times more near-misses on the M25 since the
introduction of so-called ‘smart motorways’. This is where the hard
shoulder is used as a driving lane. 38 people have been killed on these
motorways in 5 years.
A
petition has been launched to get these abominations removed. I have signed
it and I would encourage all drivers to do the same. See https://www.change.org/p/scrap-dangerous-smart-motorways
3
January 2020
Many of you will have used the public toilets
in the centre of Gargrave on the A65, on your way to or from walks in the
area or maybe returning from the Lake District. Gargrave Parish Council has
funded these Public Toilets for 10 years but can no longer afford to fund
them because of serious and urgent demands upon their funds.
The toilets were due to close on the 31st
December 2019, however a local group GNAT (Gargrave Needs a Toilet) set up a
Go Fund Me page and have received significant
help from many members of the community within Craven and further afield.
They have undertaken primary market research into how many users there are an hour on average. They found there to be 20 users per hour, on a cold winter's day!
They have asked me to help publicise the issue and have set up a fundraising link is so you can see how generous people have been so far.
Public toilets are becoming increasingly rare but this one in particular is in important convenience to many of us who pass through this
village, not to mention those using the bus stop.
Please give if you can and pass the message
on.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/gnat-gargrave-needs-a-toilet
2
January 2020
Firstly,
a Happy New Year to everyone visiting my site. I cannot believe how quickly
time passes. The tail end of 2019 has not been very productive for walking
due to other commitments so my New Year resolution is to do better in 20120.
I
have been persevering, albeit slowly, with adding ascent and descent figures
to my walks, mainly in case anyone wants to use them to help calculate their
walking times. Cumbria, Dorset, Lake District, Lancashire, Derbyshire,
Shropshire, Somerset and the Yorkshire dales are complete. All new walks get
the information and I will carry on working on the remaining gaps as and
when I can.
I
hope users of this site continue to find the information useful. There are
now over 330 routes. I do welcome any feedback on my walk, or anything else
about the site and always reply to emails.
All information on this
site is given in good faith and no liability is accepted in respect of any
damage, loss or injury which might result from acting on it.
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