Wednesday 29th July 2026
Looking at recent walks I realised I was eating up sections of Lady Anne's Way. I realise I am not going to backpack this as a continuous route, but along with other unfinished campaigns I intend, for the moment, to see if I can keep doing short sections with circular walks. The route does seem to lend itself to that approach with adjacent footpaths and escape routes. I feel it is appropriate at this stage to outline the history so here is a chunk of Wikipedia for you to digest.
" In 1605, Lady Anne Clifford was disinherited from her father's estates by his death and the act of it passing on to the next male heir. 38 years later, it came to her when the last males in her family lineage died, and despite ideas that females could not accede to baronies, she became Baroness Clifford of Westmorland and Vecsey.[1] She then set about repairing the castles and houses that she owned and when completed, she continually travelled between them all taking her household retinue with her.[2]
In 1995, Sheila Gordon created a path that linked all the castles and fortified structures that Lady Anne Clifford used to travel between.[3] The walk crosses from Airedale, Wharfedale and Wensleydale in North Yorkshire to the Vale of Eden in Cumbria.[4] The route links Skipton Castle in North Yorkshire with Brougham Castle in Cumbria. The route then continues into Penrith, where it finishes.[5]
As the route became more popular with walkers, funding was obtained to allow the entire route to be waymarked in 2018.[6]"***
***I reckon I have now walked about 15 miles on the route and I've never seen one dedicated way mark, although conventional standard undefined ones appear. sporadically.
I have been keeping walks to around 4 miles in view of my advanced years and my respiratory problem but I seem to have been coping quite well and today's effort looked fairly easy, but it creeps up to 5.5 miles, however I have to say I felt more spritely at the end of this than recent lesser distances.
The first half of the route was the means to gaining the next section of Lady Anne's. That followed a previous walk, but for a change, in the opposite direction. There was perfect lay-by parking on the east side of the road about a kilomtere south of Nateby.
There was a hint of rain from time to time but otherwise it was all good country country wslking on estsblished paths and spirits were high. I noticed later when downloading my photos that this overcast weather often produces better landscape photos with enriched colours than bright sunny days.
Wherever paths crossed fields later on they were well defined and easy to follow, and that was before I was on the LDP which I joined at my furthest south at Pendragon Castle. After some field work the route crosses the B6259 then branching off that road after a few hundred yards to pass through Southwaite Farm. Here they have a barn that may qualify in the Guinness Book of Redords for the largest corrugated iron building? Two farmers were repairing a strange piece of agricultural equipment. That turned out to be a feeder for lambs with access holes only big enough for lambs' heads but not big enough for adult sheep, fascinating. These two farmers were complaining at having to keep on those nameless long dingy fraincoats which look as though they have been gadged* up from some disused agricultural material, and here we are with our hundred pound plus designer outdoor waterprrofs - each to his own.
*a verb which I think my mother, who had way with words, invented. My online dictionary does not oblige. My weighty Chambers lists only a noun with the brief definition of "an instrument of torture."
I was now on the Lady Anne route in earnest traversing the rough reedy tussocky sheep pasture on the lower slopes of the Pennine hills,.The paths were always well defined and generally providing easy walking. At one stage a long stretch through a wood and bracken, and then just bracken had been well cleared; If not it would have been one of those desperate struggles through chest high bracken that we all know sbout.
I am now looking forward to exending this campaign northwards.
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| Leaving the road a few hundred yards from the lay-by parking |
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| Dropping in to the Eden vlley |
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| Lammerside Castle 14c. Zoom, too far to visit - I have commented before |
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| River Eden, Low due to our current heatwaves |
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| Dalefoot on the B 6259, My route went right before the road following the valley on its higher slopes |
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| Dropping down to the elusive Pendragon. I'm not sure of its location and couldn't see it this time but I have commented before if you do a search on my blog. |
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| From now on we are on Lady Anne's Way |
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| A masterpiece of corrugated iron construction - somebody had a vision. |
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| Well cleared bracken |
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| What a gnarly tree |
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| My route yellow, also overlayed onto Lady Anne's Way, orange. Ignore green, or watch this space |
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