Yorkshire Dales Walks
Grass Wood
Date: 24th December 2005
Distance: 4.8 miles
Ascent: 653 feet
Time: 2 hours 10 mins
With: Lisa
Start Grid Ref: SE002637
Walk Summary:
A delightful low level walk from Grassington exploring Grass Wood and the River Wharfe.
Route Summary: Grassington - Cove Lane - Grass Wood - Ghaistrill's Strid - Linton Falls - Sedber Lane - Grassington
Pictures:
1. Cove Scar just above Cove Lane
2. This part of Grass Wood was the site of an ancient settlement
3. Wintry sunlight in Grass Wood
4. Moss covered limestone pavement in Grass Wood
5. Looking up Wharfedale towards Buckden Pike
6. Grass Wood
7. The River Wharfe as it flows through Grass Wood
8. Ghaistrill's Strid
9. Galloway cow
10. The weir on the River Wharfe
11. Linton Falls
Walk Detail: It was a beautiful clear day and on the drive out I was beginning to wonder whether I had made the right decision and whether or not I should have gone for a higher-level walk. As it turned out I really enjoyed this walk and got to see a few things that I wouldn't otherwise see on a fell walk.
I thought Grass Wood would be fairly disappointing in the winter but the lack of foliage meant that you could see more in the woods than you might otherwise have seen - this included two deer. I was also intrigued by the moss covered limestone pavement which was a bit of a surprise to me. Another nice suprise was how good the view up Wharfedale towards Kilnsey Crag and Buckden Pike was from the northern edge of the wood.
The highlight of the walk though was the return via the banks of the Wharfe. One of my favourite rivers this is a particularly fine stretch and includes interesting features such as Ghaistrill's Strid, Grassington Bridge, the Weir and, best of all, Linton Falls. By Ghaistrill's Strid there was a rather sad memorial bench to a young man who had died a number of years ago almost to the day while trying to pull his canoe out of the river.
Just past Grassington Bridge and some of the local furry cows I managed to slip over quite spectacularly which resulted in a streak of mud up the length of my light pair of walking trousers. This made me highly self conscious when we subsquently took a short stroll round Grassington's shops.
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