Fat Betty; high on the moor above Westerdale
Winter walking in the North York Moors
Brenda Clough • February 18, 2022
A wintry scene near Westerdale in the North York Moors National Park
Two of our friends, John and Sue, contacted us in November to say that they had found a very reasonably priced cottage in the North York Moors with a wood burning stove. What more could you want? Walking at this time of year can be very enjoyable and exhilarating, just wrap up warm and choose your routes well.
So, after delaying our arrival for a day due to storm Arwen, we negotiated snowy roads into the small village of Westerdale in the northern part of the North York Moors. It was a strange week with alternating snowy days and wet days with the lying snow disappearing overnight.
The first day was probably our longest walk. It was a snowy day and we walked directly from the cottage up over high ground to Castleton Rigg and along to Fat Betty, a white cross, and back down the Esk Valley Walk which made for some interesting route finding in the deep snow.
A full ford near Westerdale - but still okay for the locals!
A short walk to Castleton and back followed on the next day, which was wet at times. There are quite a few fords in this area of the country and they can be impressive after heavy rain or snow melt. They’re even more impressive when you see the locals driving through them – they seem to know exactly the depth at which they become impassable!
Walking to Waites Moor on a snowy day
The icy roads and snow returned on Thursday, so the vehicles stayed put and we headed southwards to Waites Moor and along a disused railway line high up on the moor. The wind was cold so the descent to the valley was very welcome. Along the way, we encountered a very friendly giant pig!
Roseberry Topping
Our final walk was to the very dramatic and distinctive Roseberry Topping and the Captain Cook monument. The snow from the day before had disappeared, so it was back to green grass! The view northwards from the summit of Roseberry Topping is very impressive as it is on the very edge of the moors.
Richard & Brenda on the summit of Tour de Moyen in Switzerland As we wind down Perthshire Treks over the coming winter, we have had time to look back over the last 6 years and all the lovely people we have walked with and the great adventures we have had. One of our very first adventures was for a lovely group of women from the Netherlands organised through Schottland op Maat . They came to Pitlochry on one of the wettest weekends of the year! Plans were quickly changed from the proposed walk up Schiehallion to a walk along the Rob Roy Way followed by a walk around Pitlochry the following day – and they were amazed at the waterfalls – they don’t have many in the Netherlands! The same year saw Richard do his fastest ascent ever of Ben Vrackie with a young Russian couple who were into marathon running and we also provided some self-guided walking for a corporate group from Baillie Gifford . This first year, as it turned out, was fairly typical with some clients booking directly with us and others via travel agents or travel curators.
What’s it like to be a walking guide? Well, this year will be my 10th and final year as a walking guide, so this blog post looks back at my longer than expected second career.
If you're living or staying in Pitlochry or Aberfeldy, you can use a local bus to help you do a wonderful walk between the two towns. Find out more in our latest blog.
As I write this blog, a cold northerly wind has set in across the UK. A change in the wind direction so that it is coming from the Arctic is one of those weather patterns that is very noticeable for many reasons. Find out more in this blog post.
An overgrown path in Perthshire - just one of the obstacles on the TGO Challenge Life is a challenge but some people enjoy physical challenges in the outdoors. These challenges can be very rewarding and you can feel a great sense of achievement in their completion which can spur you on to do more and set yourself new targets. People are very different in what type of challenges they want to do and this can vary from just completing your first Munro (a mountain in Scotland over 3000 feet), walking the Skye ridge in 24 hours, doing a more organised challenge such as the TGO (The Great Outdoors challenge) or competing in an extreme triathlon. Much depends on whether you like to set your own individual goals or prefer the stimulus of a bigger group and whether you are competitive or not competitive.
A description of a walk on the moors above Bruar and Calvine, taking in a well-preserved stretch of a General Wade military road.
A visit to the Cairngorms in October 2021 allowed a close-up view of the "cap cloud" that can form in the Cairngorms - and the strong winds it generates!
A report on two wild camping trips near Glenshee and in the Letterewe wilderness in spring 2021.
