Thu 31 Mar 2016
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| Garsdale |
Looking forward to another of John's annual walks, I set off for Garsdale Head, a drive of about 61 miles, at about ten to nine and arrived at around quarter pas ten. John and Colin arrived a few minutes later. The walk commenced over some very slushy ground, but after crossing the Settle to Carlisle railway line a steep path on the eastern side of the valley took us up to drier ground near some ruined buildings named High Dyke where we stopped for a snack.
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| Ruined farm buildings on the fell side |
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| Easy walking along The Highway |
From here the track, known as The Highway, was dry and very pleasant with splendid views down to the valley and beyond.
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| John with his camera at Johnston Gill |
This is a limestone area where there are very many shake holes and several potholes.
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| Wide views from The Highway |
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| Views of desolation |
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| Well preserved lime kiln |
We stopped again for a rest near an old lime kiln, before descending on a slippery path to the road below.
When we reached the valley again Colin didn't want to continue by the path below the escarpment which John had planned so it looked as though the walk would deteriorate into a main road verge slog.
However, somehow we managed to get on to a disused railway embankment on the south side of the valley; but it was very wet and muddy in places and possibly not a public right of way. Still, according to the map it would lead us directly to the station where we had commenced the walk.
About half way along Colin discovered he had left his walking pole somewhere and although John went back some considerable distance he failed to find it.
Eventually we reached Garsdale Head Station, which is a lovely little place, where there is a life-size statue of a dog.
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| The statue on the platform |
Ruswarp (pron. Rusup) was a border Collie which belonged to Graham Nuttall, one of the founding members of the group set up in the 1980s to save the Settle-Carlisle Railway from closure. Nuttall disappeared while walking in the Welsh Mountains on 20 January 1990. His body was found on 7 April; Ruswarp had not only survived but had stood guard over his owner's body for 11 weeks. The sculpture by JOEL is a memorial to both Graham Nuttall and Ruswarp and was unveiled on 11 April 2009, 20 years after the line was saved.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garsdale_railway_station
