The Dales Way | 81 miles | 2024

A stunning 81 miles route from Windermere back to my home town of Ilkley.
Day 1: I set off on the train to Windermere on the morning of the 05/04/24 and began the hike just before midday. It rained a lot at the start but soon dried out. The hill trails soon joined river paths and the walking was nice and smooth. I got to Sedburgh at nightfall and made it up to Cowgill (just past Dent) at 00:30am. The later night section was tricky navigating across fields in the pouring rain. But I managed to bivvy up in the doorway to the Cowgill church and I got a decent 5hrs of sleep. 13hrs of walking and 60km (37 miles) down.
Day 2: I was up at 06:00am to begin out of Dentdale in the dark. I made it to the half way point (Gearstones) at about 08:00am but I then had some severe blister issues. With a mix of sore feet and legs and boggy paths I made very slow progress and by 13:00pm I had only done 20km. I managed to remedy up blister plasters out of sheep wool which helped my sore feet but with sore legs and a now 30mph headwind, I still made slow progress. With 22km remaining, I met my mum and dad for some food and hot drinks at the pub in Burnsall. The last 12km from Bolton Abbey were super slow and painful but I was 100% committed to finishing. I made it to Ilkley at 01:45am after almost 20hrs of hiking and 70km (44 miles) completed.
The whole thing took 39hrs and 23mins and had a wide mix of emotions. But it was a great experience and a good challenge - I'd definitely recommend it!

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Owl shot 🥵 mr Nat geo 🦉🦉

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Awful lot of shoelace tying occuring