A couple of weeks ago my walking buddy and I went on another local walk. This one was in a leaflet called Another Four Walks round Otley, it was from Otley to Pool Bank and back over the Chevin, about 6.5 miles which was just the sort of length we wanted. We walked from my house which added another mile on in theory…

It turned out to be one of those lovely autumn days, a bit crispy, blue skies after a bit of mist first thing, much better than the weather forecast reckoned! The low sun at this time of year makes the photos look a lot darker…

We walked into Otley, picked up some extra supplies, like a sausage roll and a Belgian bun, and then followed the route out towards Pool. The route soon took us off the roads and onto old lanes and then tracks and paths, following along side the old railway line. The low sun made for some long shadows…

We sat on a stile for our morning coffee, one on each side of the step, not a bad view for a cuppa, by this time the mist had cleared and it was quite warm in the sun…

The instructions in the leaflet were OK, but we did have a few moments trying to work out how far along we were, not helped by trying to negotiate some very wet fields. We finally reached Old Pool Bank where the old toll cottage is, which was the turning point for our walk. I was surprised to see we had already walked five miles as this was about half way! Alarm bells started to jingle about just how long this walk was going to be!

We ate our sandwiches and set off back over the Chevin and up to Surprise View, time for our sticky bun break, though the skies were now threatening rain so we didn’t dilly dally for long.

The path took us right to the other end of the Chevin where it’s much quieter. We descended via path I’d not been able to find before which comes out on West Chevin Road. It was pretty steep and rather muddy. We took our time but I still ended up on my bottom and had a near miss too!

Once we finally reached the bottom it was just another mile home along the old railway track at the back of our house. We sat outside for a much welcome cup of tea in the garden, my friend checked her fitbit, we had walked 10 miles!!! My OH was trying very hard not to say ‘Told you so’ as he had reckoned the day before that it was nearer ten miles!!

We were quite impressed with ourselves for walking ten miles, it was a bit of a challenge towards the end but we did it. We’ve come to the conclusion over the years that however long the walk is, the last mile is hard work!

I soaked my aching muscles in a lovely hot bath and they hurt even more when I got out!! I limped for two weeks with a painful knee, but I’m not sure if it was the walk or the digging in the garden the day before! It was a good walk though, undulating on the whole and a lovely autumn day.