Nidderdale & Washburn Walks
Brimham Rocks
Date: 6th May 2004
Distance: 9.1 miles
Ascent: 1282 feet
Time: 3 hours 55 minutes
With: Matt
Start Grid Ref: SE158656
Walk Summary:
An extended walk from Pateley Bridge to the fantastic gritstone scenery of Brimham Rocks before returning via a lovely path alongside the River Nidd.
Route Summary: Pateley Bridge - Knottside Farm - Blazefield - White Houses - Brimham Moor - Smelthouses - River Nidd - Glasshouses - River Nidd - Pateley Bridge
Pictures:
1. Peacock
2. At Brimham Rocks
3. Matt posing on one the rock formations
4. The view up Nidderdale from Brimham Rocks
Walk Detail: This was just my fifth walk with Matt and after our exertions on the Dales peaks over the previous three walks we decided to go for a slightly longer walk in terms of mileage though much lower in terms of overall ascent.
From Pateley there was quite a stiff climb up the hill where we turned right off the road and through the grounds of an ancient church. The initial walk along a path overlooking lower Nidderdale was very pleasant but the last couple of miles to Brimham Rocks itself was along a number of smaller, less well used paths which got a bit tedious. We did however see, in different places, a couple of peacocks - not what you necessarily expect to see roaming the area.
We arrived at Brimham Rocks in a place where the path was not so clear and so had to scramble around in the heather for a while. We didn't get to explore too much as we had to hurry back as we only had four hours on the meter at the car park in Pateley.
There are two things I remember most about the walk back. Firstly some guy, trying to be friendly, said something about us being brave wearing shorts. For some reason this got Matt’s back up and has been a source of much amusement ever since. The other thing was a rather angry young bullock who looked like he was going to try and leap over the fence to get us.
We got back in time to the car park within the four hour time limit which showed we could walk at a fair pace when we needed to. In comparison to the hill walking we had done over the previous couple of months this was a bit of a jaunt.
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