Saturday 12th October 2019.
Our walks are a little bit unambitious at the moment, we are hopefully building up to bigger things. A very good easy walk we do quite regularly is Conistone to Grassington which we walked again last Saturday (12th October). After much bad weather we finally had a nice day, though there were showers around.
Instead of starting the walk up Conistone Dib, a narrow dry limestone ravine, we quickly gained height on Scot Gate Lane, passing the distinctive antenna on Wassa Hill before joining the Dalesway. Here the track is mostly green and very easy going despite all the footfall and all the recent rain. South over the moor (which is scattered with the remains of ancient settlements) for two and a bit miles and we descent into Grassington.
Our first cafe is "Sorry, Full!", so we go further into the centre.
Hmmm... what's happening?
Most of the shops have been transformed into old fashioned versions, and a man is on a ladder covering alarm boxes with less regular shapes which are painted to match the brickwork. Clusters of ancient bicycles are parked. We get coffee and cake at the bakers (which is now, externally at least, a 1930s cycle shop) and inquire - it is "All Creatures Great and Small", a new series for Channel 5 based on the famous books by James Herriott.
We sit for some time on a bench watching the activity. A man directs the traffic and makes sure nothing lingers, it looks like filming is due to start soon and would last all week, so all modern devices are to be removed.
We were lucky that our first cafe was full as we would have missed this. In time we have to move on, leaving behind this pretend fraction of a world from another time. At first our steps are retraced out of the village, then a more westerly track is followed, closer to Bastow Wood. Here we descent into the dramatic ravine of Dib Beck then follow the lovely track as it drops into Conistone, one of our favourite little walks.
