Yorkshire Dales Walks

Skipton Woods

Date: 13th Jan 2013
Distance: 2.8 miles
Ascent: 285 feet
Time: 1 hours 25 mins
With: Rhiannon
Start Grid Ref: SD987516

Walk Summary:
A short walk with my daughter in the lovely Skipton Woods followed by a boat trip on the canal.

Route Summary: A simple route following the Springs Branch of the Leeds - Liverpool Canal into Skipton Woods and back again

Pictures:

1. The Springs Branch of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal

2. The main path through Skipton Woods

3. A heron on Eller Beck

4. Our shadows on the woodland path

5. Holly in Skipton Woods

6. The woodland pond of Round Dam

7. Eller Beck

8. Barges moored on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal

Walk Detail: I've been to Skipton many times but had never ventured into Skipton Woods, which can be found just to the north of the castle. The route came courtesy of the book, 'Adventure Walks for Little Explorers in the Yorkshire Dales', a present Rhiannon had got for Christmas from my sister-in-law.

The routes are all between 1 and 3.3 miles and each one has a tick list of things to see en-route which I thought would be a great idea to keep Rhiannon interested. It didn't quite turn out like that though. After ticking off several items she claimed, with a typically cheeky grin on her face, that she'd seen hundreds of cuckoos so she could tick 'cuckoo' off as well!

The woods themselves were very pleasant and, unlike some of the viscous woodland paths I'd come across recently, all the paths were solid underfoot. At the end of the walk we fed some ducks before having lunch ourselves in the Skipton Pie and Mash Shop which served what was possibly the best chips I've tasted in a long time.

Our day trip to Skipton was rounded off by a visit to the toy shop and a short boat trip on the canal. All in all it was a fabulous day out.

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