Richard Ringshall : walking, sketching and writing.

Another sunny day during lockdown so time for another walk. My wife Rita and I decided to go a bit further today and have lunch at the Yorke Arms (‘at’ not ‘in’). From Pateley we took the river path to Wath, leaving at about 9am. At Wath, I looked longingly at the Sportsmans Arms (closed!) and continued along the river to Gouthwaithe Reservoir. We then followed the track alongside the reservoir to the village of Bouthwaite. Along this stretch of track we passed different types of sheep and lambs, beautiful flowers and now a large number of geese, not to mention stunning views. We also saw our first swallows of summer. On arrival at Ramsgill we sat and had our packed lunch and then I had a wander to see what I could sketch. I settled for a view of the church (also closed) from the roadside.
We returned to the southern end of the reservoir the same way but then continued straight up the track via Spring Wood Top, passing through masses of flowering rhododendrons, and then down into Wath taking the Wath Road back to Pateley Bridge.
About 9 to 10 miles of exercise and a couple of hours sketching. Time for a beer!