Bardon Moor is a big old grouse moor north of Skipton. A nice longish walk would link the three trig points on Halton Height, Crookrise and Thorpe Fell with the highest point, the Marilyn Cracoe Fell with its towering war memorial, maybe taking in the two reservoirs. I had something like this in mind for today but an evening in Leeds with an old friend to see Opera North’s beautiful production of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Snow Maiden ended with us sitting up boozing till four a.m. At my age you would think I would know better. Cut a long story short the end result was me parking my car by Embsay Reservoir and heading off uphill at about 2p.m. with the much curtailed plan of heading up Cracoe Fell and down it again. I followed the track along the edge of the reservoir to where it bends sharply right near Crag Nook. Here the map shows a path that heads of north, becoming a track and crossing the top of East Harts Hill. On the ground, but not on the map there is a signposted path, a bit further west, that heads off from the same bend and follows High Edge northwest to Crookrise. I took this path but did pay very close attention and managed rather early on to lose it. By the time I figured ourt I had done so, I was rather far away from it, off to the east on the wrong side of Lowburn Gill. Och well, I thought, I will just forget the path over Crookrise and head straight north towards East Harts Hill with a bit of luck picking up the more easterly path on the map. If the latter was anywhere to be found I never found it. I struggled over rough heathery ground over East Harts Hill passing deer Gallows Rock on my right, eventually meeting the path that crosses the moor from the top of the road near Halton Height to near Rylstone.
From where I was now to Cracoe Fell using the paths on the map would be a bit of a detour but I found a path of sorts not far away heading more or less straight towards my summit which I reach a little before 4, turning and racing the failing light back over Crookrise to the car park. I won. Just. (Before you protest, I’m a sensible fellow and carry a headtorch but it was satisfying not to need it.)
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