Harrogate Ringway #2 - Knareborough to Pannal 24/06/17

13.7 miles, via Bilton Hall, Nidd Gorge, Bilton, Knox, Jennyfield, Oakdale, Birk Crag,
 RHS Harlow Carr, Beckwith, Lund House Green, & The Warren.

Long Distance Trail
means Selfies!
#2 at Knaresborough.

There's no early start to today's trek as a 4+ pint session from last night has to be slept off, after seeing off another colleague from my department at the hospital, and when we do get to depart from Knaresborough station, we're overdue after the train crew had to deal with a fare-dodger at Harrogate, and because I'm apt to fart around at this station that has already been dubbed the prettiest in the county, not getting underway until after 10.25 am, and the day ahead isn't going to be short. Feel fortunate that's we've got the sunshine out again as the descent down Water Bag Bank is made to rejoin the Harrogate Ringway trail, seeing the facades of Waterside being shown to the best effect, and allowing ourselves a detour to the riverbank to see the early morning row boaters already out and the old bridge carrying the A59 across the Nidd being shown up in a good light. Rise to the main road and over the river, passing The World's End and Mother Shipton's cave before we depart Knaresborough without really having seen enough of it, entering Mackintosh Park and the beginnings of the Nidd Gorge green space, initially following the Beryl Burton cycleway, named for the Seven times World Champion, and local girl, who dominated road and track cycling in the 1960s. We gain a leafy path as the ringway ascends away from the river, denying us any views towards the stately Conygham Hall on the opposite bank, recombining with the cycleway to follow a field boundary uphill, where all the views are found by looking back to see Knaresborough's castle and parish church rising above the riverside foliage. The shady track eventually leads us out to Bilton Hall, also hidden from view and these days forming a retirement and care home, and a country lane leads us onwards, in the direction of Old Bilton (a name that you'll soon notice starts to crop up all around these parts), and the sunshine passes from the morning, and a cool wind blows in to remind you that Summer does not bring guaranteed warm days. A northward shift comes as the path leads us on to the Nidd Gorge proper, following a rough path into the woods, following a line that doesn't seem to correspond with the one on the map, but the destination should be obvious if the descent is continued as the river must be located at the bottom of the valley, carved through the carboniferous and Permian sandstones by post glacial runoff after the last Ice Age.

Harrogate Ringway #1 - Pannal to Knaresborough 17/06/17

6.9 miles, via Fulwith, Hornbeam Park, The Showgrounds, Crimple, Forest Moor & Calcutt.

Long Distance Trail means Selfies!
#1 at Pannal.

2.15pm is a bit late to be starting a Long Distance Trail, it might be my latest start on any walk of any kind, but I'll not be tilting at the full 20 miles today, wouldn't even go for it if starting at 9am on a much cooler day, and as our day is already 11 miles old, it would make sense to get a move on along the Ringway to give Harrogate its circuit during the hottest stretch of the day, and so we're off, through the yard of St Robert of Knaresborough's church and off into the meadows beyond, soon leaving suburban Pannal behind us. We might expect another river walk, along the Crimple, but the trod seems intent on keeping us away from the riverbank, despite where the path might appear to be on the map, and we ought to enjoy these fields while they last, as multiple notices encourage us to resist the spread of suburban growth across these fields as the town seeks to grow further into the green spaces that surround it. We soon run into the woods below the embankment of the A61, but take a north western turn to follow the passage of Stone Rings Beck, taking an uphill and largely shady path that offers sight of the outer suburban edge of Harrogate through the trees, before dropping to pass over the stream and then up into the full bore of suburbia along Stone Rings Lane, wondering where the actual stone rings might have once been. Meet the A61 Leeds road and pass over it, into the district I'll call Fulwith as its name is attached to literally every road in the vicinity, taking Fulwith Mill Road eastwards, through that sort of upscale suburbia that is pleasant enough on the older plots but really looks a bit much on the newer builds, as if expensive modern dwellings aren't naturally tasteful. From there we'll find our sole previous path into Harrogate, following the long ands shaded driveway towards the town, where the best views of Crimple Viaduct can be gained even with a lot more foliage cover on this occasion, splitting off east to pass over the railway and meet the back of the Hornbeam Park business, leisure and educational estate, familiar with its distinctive metal pyramid, and pass in front of the grounds of Crimple House, before heading into the woods again, the path good and clear, and popular, as this town really has done a lot to promote cycling with multi use trails seeming to go off in all directions.