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  • Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 6 – Ingleton Ram Raid

    Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 6 – Ingleton Ram Raid

    [originally posted in 2018, I’m reposting these posts in August 2024 with the broken image links fixed]

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    We started off our final day walking into the centre of Ingleton, with the main shop being the Co-op. Unfortunately a few weeks ago the shop was ram raided in an attempt to steal the ATM (story at https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/thieves-flee-scene-after-failed-bid-to-steal-cash-machine-from-ingleton-co-op-1-9079378). The above photo shows the state that it was in when I visited.

    What’s a real shame is that the ATM isn’t being replaced, so another community asset has been lost. So many people are working hard for the community in Ingleton, so it must be galling for people to do so much damage. All so pointless….

    On the bright side the shop had six fudge bars for £1, so I left pleased.

     

  • Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 6 – Ingleton Railway Station (Julian’s history detour)

    Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 6 – Ingleton Railway Station (Julian’s history detour)

    [originally posted in 2018, I’m reposting these posts in August 2024 with the broken image links fixed]

    We had a quick look at Ingleton Railway station before setting off on our last day of travel, and the railway bridge that goes across is an impressive piece of engineering. It’s a shame that walkers can’t cross the former railway line as the bridge would have been a short-cut to the campsite, but it’s now heavily fenced off at both ends.

    The story of Ingleton’s station is quite ridiculous as the two rail companies didn’t talk to each other and passengers couldn’t use the bridge for many years. It meant that they’d have to walk over one mile around the bridge to use the service operated by the other rail company and there was no attempt to get the timetables to interact. Further information about the debacle is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingleton_(Midland)_railway_station.

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  • Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 5 – Marton Arms

    Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 5 – Marton Arms

    [originally posted in 2018, I’m reposting these posts in August 2024 with the broken image links fixed]

    When we last visited the wonderful Meadow Falls campsite near Ingleton the neighbouring pub was shut. That was when the equally wonderful campsite owner Dave offered to drive us to another nearby pub instead.

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    This time though the pub by the campsite, the Marton Arms was open.

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    The first impressions were positive, there were some interesting beers available, including some from local breweries.

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    I had a dark beer and Liam ordered one randomly like normal.

    There weren’t many tables free, so we decided to seat ourselves and I was hopeful that there would be fish and chips on the menu. I haven’t had enough of those this week and I was delighted to see that they were on the menu here   🙂 

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    Liam went for pie and I was more than delighted with the fish and chips. Big chunks of fish like that can often be watery and bland inside, but this had a pleasant taste and was cooked perfectly. The batter had lots of flavour, the tartare sauce seemed homemade and the portion size was generous. Perfectly decent main course meals, with the service being warm and friendly, although sometimes just a little slow.

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    I’m not normally one for desserts, but I thought that the Eton berry mess sounded tempting, and Liam went for his usual favourite of sticky toffee pudding.

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    The mist had started to come down when we left the pub, making it looking rather atmospheric. Another day of walking done and then back to the campsite, but no blasted tent to deal with this time…..

  • Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 5 – Campsite Luxury

    Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 5 – Campsite Luxury

    [originally posted in 2018, I’m reposting these posts in August 2024 with the broken image links fixed]

    We wanted to stay at the same places as last time but we didn’t want to camp. The solution to our problem!

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    This is Meadow Falls campsite at Ingleton – very friendly as ever!

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    The inside of our luxury accommodation 🙂

  • Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 5 – Pubs and Cafes

    Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 5 – Pubs and Cafes

    [originally posted in 2018, I’m reposting these posts in August 2024 with the broken image links fixed]

    We had a quick stop today in three pubs and cafes en route, as we might as well support the local economy as we’re selfless and generous people. They were (i) the Ribblehead Station Inn, (ii) the Old Hill Inn and (iii) White Scar Cave Cafe.

    THE RIBBLEHEAD STATION INN

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    We had a brief stop at the Ribblehead Inn, located near to the railway station and the starting point of many for the Yorkshire 3 peaks. The pub has changed internally since our last visit two years ago, with the bar moved to the other side of the pub. It felt a little more sterile than our last visit, when it felt more like a traditional pub, but it was clean and the staff were friendly. The real ales were reasonably priced and the food menu looked interesting, although it was a little early to eat.

    Of particular note are the male toilets, offering one of the best views from any pub toilets that I can remember…..

     

    OLD HILL INN

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    It doesn’t look great from outside, but this pub is homely inside and has a real character to it. The staff member was friendly and engaging, with the real ale selection being relatively interesting for a small pub. There’s a piano to play in the main room and some sugar statues located around the building. There’s also an old time recorder which has been donated to the pub for those people wanting to measure their walking times. Not as precise as the LDWA challenge walk certificates offered by Norfolk and Suffolk LDWA though  🙂

     

    WHITE SCAR CAVE CAFE

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    The final stop on the route was the White Scar Caves Cafe, another modern looking interior. Nice and clean, engaging staff and the food was at the appropriate hot temperature. The bonus was the pleasant views and it meant that we had just a short walk into Ingleton.

     

  • Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 5 – Mountain Rescue Snippet

    Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 5 – Mountain Rescue Snippet

    [originally posted in 2018, I’m reposting these posts in August 2024 with the broken image links fixed]

    The story behind this mountain rescue report sounds very exciting  🙂

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  • Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 5 – Scenery Photos

    Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 5 – Scenery Photos

    [originally posted in 2018, I’m reposting these posts in August 2024 with the broken image links fixed]

    Walking through the Dales is a most lovely experience, really feel away from it here (although not so far away that I have no Internet signal).

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  • Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 5 – Summary

    Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 5 – Summary

    [originally posted in 2018, I’m reposting these posts in August 2024 with the broken image links fixed]

    DAY FIVE – Hawes to Ingleton

    As mentioned in the day four summary, we’ve been unable to complete a technical coast to coast due to flooding. So that meant we’ve changed our route for the final two days, this time to take in more of the Yorkshire Dales and several more pubs.

    The day started in Hawes and we actually got chance to do a walk around the town itself, visiting the church, the former railway station, the Quakers’ graveyard and some other sites. It’s been nice to actually do some walking distance around tourist sites like these, we’ve missed them due to wanting to get on with our pre-defined route.

    We then decided to visit every pub and cafe on the route between Hawes and Ingleton, a lovely treat for us both. Nothing like real ale to rewards us with our bravery, and we saw some lovely parts of the Yorkshire Dales.

    The evening is in a camping pod, which is some posh camping for a change as carrying tents around is no fun (we’ve tried that before). I shall update the blog with more photos and the evening’s entertainment later on   🙂

  • Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 4 – Summary

    Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 4 – Summary

    [originally posted in 2018, I’m reposting these posts in August 2024 with the broken image links fixed]

    DAY FOUR – Leyburn to Hawes

    The bravery on day four started in the pub climbing down the two flights to breakfast of stairs on our sore feet. We’ve stayed at the pub before and the owner was there again serving breakfast, a real character who added positively to the whole experience.

    We set off on our route and within minutes Liam had one of his ‘great’ ideas to take a short-cut. Being the mature and calm voice of reason, I politely queried his decision. He was sure that it was right though, so I was reassured. Liam’s short-cut was a walk down a flowing river and I felt that it was important to let him know what I felt about this entire arrangement.

    After 25 minutes of arguing we proceeded to the next part of the walk which was a really a nice stretch along the river bank. This part of the walk is around nine miles and it takes in part of a stretch used by the LDWA for challenge walks. It’s one of my favourite stretches along the entire coast to coast route and it dropped us into a cafe at a tourist site.

    The cafe is another place that we’ve visited before and I felt that I needed some health snacks, more of which in another post. We treated ourselves to forty minutes in there before moving on to the next 11 miles of the walk. The first part of this is more walking by the river and our route across the river was blocked due to the flooding of the stepping stones.

    This is really where our technical coast to coast started to fail, as the ideal routes are blocked by flooding. We have decided to carry on walking, but we’re going to do some different routes that take in a few more pubs. We’ve both done coast to coast walks, and we’re pleased that we’ve done nearly 120 miles in four days. There are two more days left and there is no now pressure on doing the coast to coast route itself.

    The day ended up in Hawes, although the pub we thought we’d dine in was closed. However the meal at our accommodation was excellent, so we were pleased with the choice that we made. I had actually wanted fish and chips from the chip shop, but I always just do what Liam wants as I’m nice like that.

  • Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 4 – Mill Race

    Coast to Coast 2 [2018] : Day 4 – Mill Race

    [originally posted in 2018, I’m reposting these posts in August 2024 with the broken image links fixed]

    Located by Aysgarth Falls is a rather nice little cafe and tea shop called Mill Race which we visited during our last coast to coast. Not much has changed and I felt that it was time for a sausage roll, but I also felt the need for sugar so made sure that I had a hot chocolate. With marshmallows. And a flake. We were there for nearly an hour, trying to get energy for the rest of the day’s walk which was over half the distance for the day.

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    I was tempted by an ice cream, but it was quite cold outside and felt that warming up rather colding up was the best plan.

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    Delicious   🙂

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    He was happier than he looks here   🙂

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    Excellent quality hot sausage roll, with some green stuff to the side.

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    The menu and the remains of the sausage roll  🙂