A tick off my list

'Visit Ingleton Falls' has been on my list for several years now, so it was with some pleasure that I finally managed to tick it off. Summer was segueing gently into autumn and in mid September we had a spell of quite warm and dry weather. I woke one morning, drew back the curtains to the promise of a lovely day and decided 'this is it'! 

Ingleton lies about 40 miles north west of Saltaire, a good hour's drive, in the Craven district of North Yorkshire on the way to the Lake District. It is limestone country, the area known for the famous 'Three Peaks' of Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen y Ghent. 

The Ingleton Falls Trail is a circular route that takes in two river valleys, the Twiss and the Doe, which meet in the town to join the River Lune. It's privately owned so you have to pay to enter, and with the current pandemic the route has been made one-way only for safety reasons. 

The trail starts gently enough, meandering through Swilla Glen, with the River Twiss burbling alongside the path. The woodland mostly consists of oak, ash, birch and hazel, and the leaves were just beginning to take on a golden hue. Here you come across the famous 'money tree' - an old fallen oak that, over many years, has been completely covered in coins, hammered into the bark. It's said that a deity lives inside the tree and will grant a wish to anyone who leaves an offering. 

The walk gradually gets steeper, climbing up the narrow valley, the path in places quite treacherous with rocks and exposed tree roots. Peering through the trees affords tantalising glimpses of scenery. 

Join me again tomorrow for the next leg!