L2L Day 42 Malham to Horton in Ribblesdale - 15.5 miles

After an early breakfast, we left Malham and got talking to a gentleman , standing in the river with a shovel.

He was repairing a race that fed through a gap in the river wall into a pond that had historically been used during livestock sales. This morning, his ducks and chickens seemed to be enjoying the pond. He mentioned that foxes and otters are a constant threat and told us of earlier times when the otter hunt would come through the village with otter hounds in the river. He said invariably the otters would get away but the men would nonetheless find their way to a pub for a good beer and singing.

A short walk led us to Malham Cove which was stunning.

At the top of the cove, the 'Limestone pavement' is made up of large fractured slabs  and very difficult to walk across.

At Raven Scar, we met Colin a National Park ranger

who was repairing a stile. He explained that with the exposure and the popularity of the route, the repair and maintenance of the walls and stiles is a constant challenge.

Malham Tarn and Malham House

We passed one of those radical self shearing sheep!!!

Fountains Fell at 2190 feet is barely lower than Pen y Ghent at 2276 feet but felt more accessible with a gradual but nonetheless tiring ascent. The views for tens of miles in all directions were fantastic.

Just over the top of Fountains Fell we had our first sight of Pen y Ghent and found a sheltered spot for our picnic lunch in the sun. We could even see Morecambe Bay and the Irish Sea in the distance.

This all worked perfectly because no sooner had we finished our sandwiches, the rain started so we hurriedly dug out our waterproofs and headed down towards Rainscar farm.

On the way down we spotted a Green veined white butterfly sheltering from the wind and the rain.

Scale is deceiving. Pen y Ghent looks intimidatingly massive 

but from Churn Milk Hole to the top only took about 40 mins. 

Two steep sections were a bit of a scramble but once on the top, the views were fantastic.

The initial descent from the top was by more than 200 stone flag steps. After that the steep gravelly descent was also straightforward but tiring on the toes.

On the way down, I heard a bird call I'd not heard before and managed to get a few photographs of it about 20m ahead. 

We subsequently found that it was a Ring Ouzel - a rare bird on the 'red list' of endangered species, migrating between the Pennines and North Africa. It's for moments like these that it's worth putting those boots on!

The final descent from Horton Scar was awful! After 13 miles, the surface was rough and bruising on the feet and the descent unrelenting. 

My first sense of humour failure in 40 days.....only briefly released by the sight and sound of two beautiful Goldfinches.

After a long shower and some time to recuperate, we headed for supper at The Crown where we met landlords Lynn and Steve 

and their Patterdale Terriers Bernard and Bob. Unfortunately we arrived after the kitchen had shut with Steve preparing for tomorrow's menu. Despite that they both pulled out all the stops and we had a delicious inpromptu supper of soup and chips.

They only took over The Crown in October and without any previous experience in running a pub they admit they're still learning the ropes but they certainly know how to pull a perfect pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord and make a pub warm and welcoming.

Today was a big day at 15.4 miles and after 2800 feet of ascent and tired legs, our glamping pod for the night looked very welcoming.

Tired toes and deep sleep.