Backpacking in the Yorkshire Dales and Meugher Hill:

Trip report Yorkshire Dales 31st March and April 1st 2012

Photo Album here

Plans sometimes happen to come together late. My plan to go to the Peak District got cancelled.  A phone call to James , chat, decide, we had a plan.  Remote Yorkshire Dales.  "Sold."

Day 1.

 14.01 Km 449.1m Ascent 

The drive to Hebdon was uneventful, traffic light.  I arrived early - the cafe passed my time with a hot coffee, some tweets and checking emails.  James showed up on time.  Packs were checked, then shouldered, Ruben was loaded with his own doggie pack and we set off out of the village.

Ruben was the centre of attention from van drivers and walkers in the village.  His pack seemed to focus people's interest and lead several to ask about him.

The weather was a little overcast, a cold wind blew down the valley as we walked up the path beside Hebdon Beck.  Hard shells and wind proof tops kept us warm from the chilling wind.

Old ruins lined the path.  It was clear the area was once a heavily mined and industrialised area as people of another age had carved out a living in the hills and moors.

We chatted about walks planned and the hope of good weather for them.  As we followed good tracks higher a couple came along with a lamb in their arms.  They asked us if there was a farm nearby? They explained the ewe had died leaving the lamb helpless.  We gave what we hoped was the location of the farm, wished them good luck and headed on our way.

Old chimneys and ruins dotted the horizon here - we stopped to take in the surroundings.  Dark clouds were starting to rescind as blue slowly took hold of the sky.  The weather was improving, but I kept my hardshell on to fend off the cold biting wind still.  

We stepped off the track by an old sheep fold to have a spot of lunch.  James noticed traps had been set to capture what the local keepers deemed vermin.  We deemed them worthy wildlife that did not need to die a cruel death.  Grouse shooting is the big business on these moors; ensuring nothing touches the grouse is the keepers' preoccupation, it seems, based on the amount of traps we found.   

Lunch had, we made our way onto the open moor.  Heading to Meugher.

The moor was dry mostly; the bog crisp to walk on in most places.  We enjoyed the views, took photos, picked our way up between any bits that looked wet still and gained height.

A fence high up was soon crossed and the high point of the walk was before us.  We chose the angle we wanted to go up by and headed up to the summit of Meugher.  From here it looked a good hill.

Whoever wrote that Meugher was uninviting clearly has no appreciation for wild land, nor remote places. It had good expansive views.  We decided on a warm day carrying up water with us it would make a fine wild camp.

James' dog just seemed so relaxed, waiting for us while we took in the views and snapped away with cameras.

From Meugher we decided to head to where we planned to camp. Rough ground lay ahead. Peat groughs cut deep trenches into the hillside.  We had a few dicey moments crossing them, a long jump here, and run down and up there.  To avoid the worst we pushed high to the watershed which gave us the best underfoot conditions. 

A final fence crossing of the day set us up to drop down into the valley to find a wild camp spot.

Great Whernside dominated the view here and we decided the valley was best, based on the need for water to cook our meals.  

Mossdale beck had good spots to camp and shelters soon went up. Single skin MLD ones.  Light.   All you need, in truth, outside of winter.  Packs laid down we made our shelters drum tight against any wind that might blow in the night.  Ruben, tired, went to sleep as we made camp.

As the sun set, the cold was already forming ice on the shelters.  A frozen night laid ahead. I played with the camera for a while trying to take night shots with numb fingers - but soon decided it was too cold to bother.  James had given up sooner to retreat into his warm down sleeping bag, wrapped up to fend off the chill.

A warm brew before settling down for the night was essential.  It was a freezing by now. James gave up measuring it at -4.  I used a summer quilt that I wanted to try for a big walk later this year. I had on: base-layer, MLD bivy and down jacket. I was just warm and at times I felt cold.  I planned for down to zero, but it was colder than that by a long way.  Ice coated the inner and outer of the shelter with its cold grip.  I slept for a little, awoke, curled up trapping what warmth I had close to me and drifted back to sleep.  This was a repeated theme throughout the night.

Day 2

9.63 Km 84.5m Ascent

A cold dawn greeted us with no amazing sunrise.  I was wrapped in warm down jacket with the stove on the go, desperate to get warm drinks into me. Ruben came to say hello.  His master was, like me, busy making hot drinks to get warm.  


We were in the shade.  Adding the dark shadow from the hill to our side keeping the sun from us, and in the cold, it was not the best spot to have camped on a cold night.  At least I had put my gas canister in the quilt to keep it warm and my stove soon had a warm drink and breakfast made.  James' stove spluttered and took a bit longer to boil his drink as he had left his gas canister out in the cold. 

I soon packed and shook the ice from my shelter.  James too had to give his shelter a good shake to clear the ice.

Once packed we climbed up on to the track running up the valley and out of the shade.  It was a nice day to be out walking.  The valley made for a pleasant way to warm up the legs as we headed back to the cars at last in the warm rays of the sun.

We came to Mossdale Scar and James told me about its tragic history.  A huge cave is below it and the river, which can flood very fast, flows into it.  Many years ago a group of young cavers lost their lives here and they lie buried there still now.  Back home, I looked up the history and also found that some still venture into this highly complex and severe cave system.

From there the landscape became more classic Dales.  Limestone dotted the hillside and the views this sunny day were superb.  An easy walk down the hillside and valley to pick up the Dales Way path. 

We stopped to take photos of one section of limestone pavement and phone home to wives and partners.  Best to keep them happy.  Smoothes the cogs for future walks.  

The Dales way here is a good path.  In places it was like walking on a bowling green.  Day walkers were spotted heading up below.  A mountain biker worked hard on the ascent up the track.  We took in the views and Conistone Dib gave fine views.

The Dales Way took us to Grassington and a cafe.  Again Ruben was the centre of attention with his rucksack.  Bacon rolls and coffee on a sunny morning made the ideal way to wind down a walk.  

A limestone wall lined track led us back to Hebdon from here.  Easy walking.  Shepherds drove by tending their flocks in preparation for the lambing season now taking hold.  Their life seems so far removed from the needs and issues I and James deal with working with the homeless and vulnerable.

A fine walk with a sense of remoteness in the summit of Meugher.  Wild land with good company.  A good trip all-round.  I would not cross the peat bogs up by Meugher in wet conditions but when it's dry this is a good backpacking destination.  Helpful training for the big walks to come this year.

Search Dales backpack March 31st and April 1st 2012 on grough Route for GPX file and route