Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Giggleswick, Shitlington, Horsehouse...No, these are not made up words from a Dr. Seuss book-they are real towns in England. All of them are somewhere in the Yorkshire Dales National Park which is where I spent the weekend with a couple of girls from my residence hall. Since I came to England, my time has been spent almost exclusively in London. Although I love cities, I was eager to check out the surrounding countryside and breathe some fresh air. Yorkshire Dales is a popular place to visit because of its beautiful scenery; it is also noted for being the home of the Bronte sisters and the setting for Wuthering Heights as well as the home of James Herriot, the veterinarian and writer of animal stories. It's a very inspirational place for the literary types, apparently. Oh, and for the Wallace and Grommit fans out there, their favorite cheese from the Wensleydale Creamery is made in the area. For our visit, the plan was to hike on the Pennine Way from Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Malham then make our way to Skipton.
We left London in the late morning on a bus headed for Leeds and then switched to a couple of trains which finally dropped us off in the cold and rain and darkness in Horton-in-Ribblesdale. We eventually found our accommodation at a quaint place called the Golden Lion Hotel. After warming ourselves with a delicious homemade meal and pint of Boddington's, we retired to the 'bunk room'. This is the place they put the cast-off budget travelers like us. There were 15 bunks, but we had the room to ourselves because it is not the high travel season. The room was actually quite cute and probably would have been great in the summer, but it was a chilly night of sleep since the heater didn't really function well.
We got up with the sun in the morning and set on the trail leading to Pen-y-ghent, one of the famous peaks in the Central Dales.
Pen-y-ghent is the black hill in the background.
The sun stayed out for only about an hour before the clouds and wind and rain rolled in. I have never experienced such a strong wind--even in Chicago! It was a tough hike, but despite the conditions we managed to carry on quite well for a couple of hours and enjoyed the beautiful landscape.
Lots of stone walls, just like Ireland.


Built-in steps over the stone walls.
And then we lost the trail. For the next couple of hours we stumbled through rocky and uneven terrain, trying to find the trail again, all the while being abused by wind and rain. We never found the Pennine Way back, so we eventually decided to head to a road in the distance. We tried to get the attention of several passing motorists to ask for directions to Malham, but they either thought we were giving them a friendly wave or that we were hitchhiking because no one stopped to help us. Finally a couple of highway workers in a large truck stopped, listened to our story and told us in what direction we needed to head. In the end, they had sympathy for our miserable, pathetic-looking selves and gave us a lift the rest of the way!The truck that brought us to Malham.
By 1:00, our soaked shoes and socks were drying by a fire in a restaurant in Malham. We ate a good meal and delicious hot chocolate. And the restaurant had two cats--the day was getting better and better!
When our energy was renewed, we hiked to a place called Gordale Scar.

Our hostel in Malham was fabulous! There was complementary tea and coffee and our bedroom was warm and cozy!
In the morning, we took a short walk to Malham Cove.






Then we began our 11-mile walk to Skipton. This walk was mainly on roads, but we were still able to see plenty of scenery.
We also met a variety of animals along the way.


Even though this time of year isn't the best for weather, it was great to be able to enjoy this popular tourist destination without all the crowds. Today, I am in the hurt box with some sore leg muscles and a few blisters, but the experience was worth it!