Day 6/20 The Pennine Way 429km - Earby to Malham - 2 Aug 2009

18.5km, 371m ascent, took 5.5 hours (10min rest)

It started off cloudy but the sun came out (on and off) with a slight breeze. A great day for walking indeed! :) I had some microwaved chicken curry rice for breakfast in the YHA before leaving for the day. The backpack weighed heavily on my shoulders...regretted buying too much drinks and apples from the supermarket yesterday...now I'd to carry everything. Although the route was a lot flatter today, I was quite exhausted and my shoulders ached terribly! I progressed at a slow pace, knowing that I had more than sufficient time. My left leg seemed better with more walking. Thigh muscles had strengthened, though not entirely recovered. Climbing over stiles had to be done carefully and slowly.

The route from Earby to Thornton-in-Craven where the Pennine Way continued was done via the road. Kind of dangerous but better than getting myself lost!



The Way then left Thornton, passing pristine retirement bungalows to cross a series of fields and reach the towpath of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal just before the unusual bridge-on-bridge at East Marton.









At East Marton, the route left the canal and took upon the green, wildflower-speckled fields again, climbing to diminutive Scaleber Hill from where the church tower of Gargrave jauntily signalled "Come hither, wayfarer!" I paused for 10min for my lunch break at a bench overlooking the town. Several walkers passed, but none were Pennine Way walkers. It was a lovely sunny Sunday, therefore...a great day out for families! It was interesting to learn how people responded when they learnt that I was doing the entire Pennine Way. A constrast of opinions: "All the way!!! (Morale, support)" v.s. "That's crazy!" Haha....





Gargrave, the gateway to the Dales, was an exciting little town with many shops and cafes. It was packed during the Sunday's lunch hours.





Next the uphill road-walk out of the town soon branched off to cross Eshton Moor, followed by an airy ramble to meet the meandering arcs of the River Aire. It was then when I started forgetting about my sore muscles and I was actually beginning to enjoy the walk. Beautiful landscape without much exhausion from climbs.






Riverside walking was the agenda for the next 2 hours, passing through Airton and Kirkby Malham, to finally reach the tourist magnet - Malham - a venue for a thousand school field trips and the end of this section for Pennine wanderers. I was taken aback by the impressive view from the top (above the meandering river), overlooking the busy village of Malham, with the limestone crags at the backdrop. Simply wonderful!












I arrived at the YHA 2 hours before its opening time, Had some food and did some planning for the next day's walk, as well as scribbling down my day's experience in my diary. I met another Swiss lady who was doing a 40-day walk from Dover to Edinburgh with no rest days! So...there are actually people who are crazier!