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Its that time of year again, when I embark on another of my long walks. 

Now then, I'm heading oop t'north, for this un, so put t'kettle on and sit thee sen down, for a good read on t'computer!

This time I am going to walk the Dales Way, which is an 80 mile route from Ilkley in West Yorkshire to Bowness-on-Windermere in Cumbria. 



The Dales Way runs through two National Parks, the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District, so no doubt there will be some stunning scenery along the way. It is a relatively 'easy' long-distance route, because there is 'only' 7887ft (2405m) elevation to be climbed. 

As per usual, I have no set itinerary, but I expect it to take 5-6 days. I'm travelling up on Sunday 1st June and staying in a hotel in Ilkley, but after that, I intend camping the rest of the time. That means I'll be taking that heavy rucksack with me again!

I considered taking a train for the whole journey to Ilkley, but due to travelling on a Sunday, that was going to be difficult as there are no buses to get me to a station and would involve multiple changes. It was also going to be very expensive  so I decided to drive up to Carnforth and abandon my car at the station and catch a train to Ilkley (via Leeds) from there. 

The journey up was busy, but free flowing (apart from the last mile into Ilkley, which took 25 minutes. I arrived at the station with 10 minutes to spare, in desperate need of a wee! 

I wandered around and around the station, but not a toilet could I find! “Oh well, I’ll just have to use the loo on the train”.

Oh no you won’t, because there wasn’t one! 

The 90 minute journey to Leeds was excruciating and  when I arrived, I had to play a game of hide and seek with the toilets for 5 minutes before I eventually located them  and was finally able to release the flood gates😂

The connecting train to Ilkley was very busy, but I managed to be first in the queue, so nabbed a seat! It was a posh electric train and very comfortable. 

I’m staying the night at the Riverside Hotel, which is right next door to the official start point of the Dales Way. 



I’ve had a sore throat all day, so I’m just hoping it doesn’t turn into a summer cold! 

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Day1

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