Walking Yorkshire : Washburn Valley The river Washburn runs in the next Dale north of Wharfedale, much of the upper valley is dammed to provide drinking water for Yorkshire, the valley is an attractive mix of steep moors, woods and water. There are four major reservoirs on the river Washburn, Thruscross, Fewston, Swinsty and Lindley Wood, all owned by Yorkshire Water. There is a walking site on Yorkshire Water dot com which even has an mp3 download section for the Swinsty walk. It's an overcast day today, but warm enough and still, the clouds give Swinsty a gunmetal look. I parked in the West car park and walked through Swinsty Moor Plantation to the water's edge, across Swinsty Embankment (the 'dam') and around the reservoir, then into the woods at the eastern edge. I kept my sandwiches for myself, unlike this generous chap seen trying to feed a sizeable flock of Barnacle Geese. These ruins are on the south side of John o' Gaunt's reservoir and are known as John o' Gaunt's castle, they are the remains of a medievil hunting lodge built for the 1st Duke of Lancaster. Gorse flowering on the banks of Beaver Dyke Reservoir. At the end of Beaver Dyke I left the Dales Way and headed south for Scargill Reservoir where I stopped and ate my lunch. I have to admire our recent ancestors, when they built this reservoir there was no need to make any part of it as ornate as this bridge, it probably cost a lot more for all the stone cutting and carving and to put the matching top pieces all around the reservoir, but everything they built was made to be attractive and fitting as well as fucntional. I doubt that similar structures built today would have these pleasing lines or look so complimentary to the natural landscape. Further on from the reservoir there is a collection of ramshackle huts and a radio pylon. What strange experiaments were carried out here ? There was a distant rumbling, the sky darkened, I blinked and looked again...... ......and then hurried on, away from that dark place. On to the road for a short way to the Stainburn Plantation car park and to Little Alms Cliff. It says on the map that there is supposed to be a cup and ring marked rock here but I had a good look around and couldn't find it, there is, sadly, plenty of more recent vandalism though. Hint for vandals, if you have some artistic talent and are about to add something to the environment, go ahead, if on the other other hand you are a mindless fuckwit, please do not scratch "Tez woz ere 06" all over the bloody rocks. Part of the plantation around the Norwood Edge Transmitter has been recently cleared giving the ground a sort of post artillery bombardment look and feel, lots of big ruts covered by branches that you can easily sink thigh deep into. There is a good view from the cleared area across to the Yankee spook base at Menwith Hill. This tree in the fields below Scow Hall Farm must be the most popular local feeding spot for woodpeckers. Scow Hall farm is also home to Organic Dales Yorkshire Dairy. This bloke is an annoying prat, he's been buzzing around various farms all afternoon, flying very low, flying backwards and sideways and generally just being a dick. You don't make friends by hovering in a noisy helicopter over barns full of nervous dairy cows, idiot. Then it's back along the shores of Swinsty, this is a Great Crested Grebe on the reservoir, I watched it for a while whilst it dived for food, it could stay under the water for quite some time and would often re-appear over a hundred yards away. This walk was about 19k / 11 miles, it is mostly on good paths with hardly any steep climbs, this area is on OS Explorer 297 Lower Wharfedale & Washburn Valley.