Hike # 12: Skipton Castle Wood Trail

How many more hikes has he got left in the bag? If I’m honest, the answer is THREE more including this one. Truly this is just a walk and I will use the #walkwithme tag to show that.

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I can see the file stamps on my images are 7th August 2018, which means most of the great weather has finished. I had just been offered a position in Skipton several days beforehand so was eager to check the place out.

As this walk goes right past my future place of work (now present) it seemed a good idea to try this one.

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Here is the link from iFootpath, it’s only around 2 miles and is woodland.

The walk start by going down these unsightly steps which then join the Leeds/Liverpool canal.

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Passing under the road we were met with a retail business trading on the canal towpath, a novel idea!

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From there, the path is raised as it curves through quite dense foliage around the back of Skipton Castle.

Skipton Castle is a medieval castle in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1090 by Robert de Romille, a Norman baron, and has been preserved for over 900 years.

The castle is in great condition and is not a ruin like many of the ancient English castles I have come across.

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Walking around the back of it, you can see it is imposing and enemies would have a hard time getting passage from this vantage point.

See that hole in the wall? (above). That is a shithole I kid you not. Having been here years before I remember the ancient toilets consists of a few of these holes. Handy when your enemies are trying to scale em!

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We were a little unsure about our dog ‘Shadow’ whether he was going to start looking through the gaps in the bridge and maybe fall, but it seems he has a little common dog-sense after all.

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Crossing this iron bridge, and heading up a short road took us to the entrance of the woods. There was a sign stating, ‘Dogs must be kept on leads’.

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We saw many other free-roaming dogs within the woods but decided to adhere to the policy. If not he would have found the muddiest places to frolic in thus creating more work for us.

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The woods were pretty but without any great highlights for photography. The small falls took my interest but they are not going to compete with Niagra!

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For such a small walk and being in the middle of a weekday, there were plenty of other walkers about. Bad news when @bingbabe suddenly tells me, ‘I need a piss’. So I had to be on guard duty while she tried her best to be innocuous squatting behind a large tree.

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The top end of the woods contained the drainage system. Beautiful brown water accosted our eyes, and was a sight of wonder.

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We quickly moved past this ‘highlight’ and made our way back and up a steep hill. I can now understand why it stated, ‘Dogs must be kept on leads’.

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The drop to the lake below was steep and almost vertical. I would imagine death or serious injury if you fell down here. The photograph does not do it justice.

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Exiting the woods, we walked past the entrance to Skipton Castle (cover picture). We have both done the tour before, but its been years ago. I will keep that tale for another day.

All photographs were taken by myself.


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