2007 Season's Social Event

The 2007 Season's Annual Social Event, held in Settle again this year, was thoroughly enjoyed by Rob & Julie (Canary), Simon & Debbie (Chimes), Clive (Kit was unable to attend as she was recovering from a very bad chest infection), Del & Mary (Grey Wolf & Red Fox), Stuart & Debbie (Jock), Nige & Jane (Nigs & MeeMee - all the way from Jersey), Garf & Sue (Precious Metal), Paul & Carol (Roxxo), Steve & Julie (SteveG) and Stu & Lainey (Stuey).  Those who were unable to make it were sadly missed.

Come midday at the hotel, the only Ferrets present were Julie, Rob and Clive, who took advantage of being early by ordering a bite to eat and some beverages, so by 12:40, and with nobody else turning up, they were ready and about to leave on the afternoon's walk when Garf and Sue walked in.

They were keen to go on the walk, so were reassured that there was plenty of time for them to get something to eat and drink before needing to leave at 1 p.m.  However, they were insistent that they didn't hold us up and elected to stop off at a local cafe to buy sandwiches and soft drinks to eat on the way .... bad move! 

The grub that they bought from the Naked Man Cafe ended up being one of the two options of eating or breathing that the ascent up onto the tops presented them with.

So, by the time we were approaching Jubilee Cave there was still a fair bit of sandwich left, and two hungry walkers.  On top of that the sandwiches proved to be poor fare when they were finally consumed.  But the view west and looking back towards Settle from the vantage point of the cave entrance was well worth the trouble.  It was fortunate that the very strong westerly wind helped no end on the ascent.  To the northwest the sky was a leaden colour, full of threat and foreboding tempered only by our confidence in the weather report that promised that the heavy rain that it held wouldn't move down to where we were.

Jubilee Cave is only small, more of a couple of adjacent rooms set into the hillside, but we're sure that it would be very romantic in the right weather!  However, the blowing gale chided us into moving on fairly quickly...

... stopping only for Clive to have a wee, before returning the short distance back along the path and clear past the gate that we should have taken to go south along Attemire Scar.  Whoops!  Clive blamed Rob for getting him deep into an interesting discussion and thereby distracting him from navigating.  A bit of retracing of steps, and sticking to the Ferrets' maxim of always having at least one U-turn to every event, we were back at the gate and on our intended way.  As we passed along the Scar we had sight of Victoria Cave, set into the hillside a fair way above us.  The shortness of the day and the thought of even stronger winds that much higher dissuaded us from scrambling our way up for a look-see.

Before long, and enjoying the panorama of Sugar Loaf Hill below us in the south, we were at the southern end of the Scar, and it was up and over a stile that gave us access to our shortened route option.  Given the strength of the wind on the tops, and the fact that the daylight was limited, it was wisely decided to choose the 4 mile option in preference to the 6 mile one.  Unfortunately, this did mean that we didn't get to see Scaleber Force waterfall - maybe another day.

So, by turning westwards and coming into a broad valley with no protection we were headfirst into the strong and consistent headwind, making progress pretty damned hard.  Head down and determined we eventually came out of the valley onto the ridge above Settle, where we descended quickly down the steep hillside back onto the path that we'd taken leaving the town.

True to the forecast, the weather remained dry and unusually warm for the time of year, and having come down out of the wind we were all warming up those extremities that had suffered from the wind-chill - not something that sheep seem to be overly bothered by.

Especially not the cosseted rare breeds that we came across in a field of donkeys just before coming into Settle.

And within a very short space of time we were once more back in Settle and heading back to the hotel.  Rob & Julie decided to have a bit of a wander around the town, leaving Sue, Garf and Clive to sample the further delights of the hotel's wonderful service.

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28/06/2008 23:54