What a wonderful way to spend a weekend!
I think it might be common knowledge that we race a little more than we should, so it was great to ditch a weekend of racing and go running instead.
The running weekend at Park Bottom, Litton was pitched to P&Bers, but ended up being P&Bers past and present – Jean and Andy (Holmfirth), Jason and Tamara (Wharfdale) and us (P&B).
After winding up the country lanes to Litton in the evening darkness, we arrived to a warm greeting of wine and nibbles – a great way to start any Friday evening. We had lovely food and heard many tales of P&B’s glorious past.
In the morning we got to see our glorious surroundings. Yorkshire at it’s best! After a hearty breakfast we set out on our first run of the weekend.
Day 1 Run (7.6 miles, 680ft climb)
We set off at a brisk, but comfortable pace, heading over the River Skirfare and on to the Bridleway before turning off towards Nether Heselden. After Nether Heselden we followed Pen-y-ghent Gill and part way along I chose the road detour with Jane to avoid a slippery path and have a bit of time to take in the view of Pen-y-ghent instead of looking down at where to put my feet. We turned back and headed along the bridleway over Dawson Close and Cow Close.
It started to feel a little more wintry with a cold chill to the wind and the rain getting heavier, but this didn’t ruin the joy of running in the Dales. Coffee and cake back at Park Bottom soon warmed us all back up.
We adventured our separate ways for the afternoon, and reconvened in the evening for food and ales at the nearby Queen’s Arms coupled with more P&B tales.
Day 2 Run (8.95 miles, 2173ft climb)
Just the four of us for our second running adventure. The weather was glorious, so a real shame everyone had done the rainy run and had to head off and miss the sunshine. We set off from Halton Gill and headed uphill for the first mile and half over Horse Head and down to Yockenthwaite. Legs were feeling tried at this point, but we had a long flat section to recover along the River Wharfe to Hubberholme. After a short road section we headed up Redmire and on to a 2 mile ascent to near Birk’s Tarn. At this point my legs were spent, so Graham Jane and Phillip disappeared into the distance as I tried my best to not fall too far behind. When we reached the top, there was a little haze (weather, not delirium), but the weather had stayed beautiful for the whole run. We descended a fun soft descent back down to Litton.
A totally brilliant weekend, lovely to go out running in the Dales, to be taken out on great routes and meet folks from Wharfedale and Holmfirth. Phillip and Jane were great hosts. We would highly recommend getting booked in for a running weekend!
Have a look at their website and Facebook page for more details, and remember that P&B members get a 10% discount:
www.parkbottom.co.uk / www.facebook.com/ParkBottomLitton