A walk with Doncaster Ramblers: Blubberhouses in the Yorkshire Dales

The Doncaster Rambler’s took this walk in Blubberhouses without shedding a tear.

After a slightly delayed start due to traffic and road conditions, the 26 of us who had made the slightly longer than usual journey up the A1 and enjoyed a wonderful day out in delightful countryside.

It was cool and breezy as we set off in a southerly direction across fields and through woods before passing through the pretty hamlet of Timble, with Swinsty Reservoir glistening on our left.

The route then took us east, and during our 11am coffee break on the fringe of some woodland we saw the welcome appearance of blue skies and warming sunshine.

Blessed by improving weather we took the Six Dales Trail south, before changed direction and heading north towards our lunchtime stop at the very accommodating Sun Inn at Fewston - a lovely old pub with a resident pair of peacocks to welcome us. Our afternoon stretch took us first directly east towards Swinsty Reservoir then south towards the southern dam wall of the reservoir then north east back on the Six Dales Trail, and into Swinsty Moor Plantation - a tree lover’s paradise!

A picnic site on the way provided the facilities for a comfort break and a quick drink before we joined the bankside path on the western shore of Fewston Reservoir for the easy walk back to our cars. This lovely walk was well worth the effort and ably led and backmarked by Tony and Phil who shared the leadership. Everyone said how much they had enjoyed their day out in what was a new area to most of us.

There are many points of interest along this pleasant walk Points Of Interest include:

The Six Dales Trail. This is a 39 mile long distance footpath opened in 2010 by Janet Street-Porter connecting Otley with Middleham Swinsty Reservoir.

This was built from 1871 to 1878 with a capacity of 866 million gallons, with surface area of 63 hectares (155 acres). It was built by the Leeds Waterworks Company and it employed 300 men.

Fewston Reservoir is another interesting feature along the walk. It was built in 1879 with a capacity of 769 million gallons.

This was also buiult by the Leeds Waterworks Company, which is now managed by Yorkshire Water for the benefit of walkers, anglers and wildlife.

Another interesting area is Timble. In the 17th century Timble was the home of the Witches of Timble, who were accused of witchcraft by local poet Edward Fairfax, but the witches were acquitted twice.

For more information about the Doncaster Ramblers and to find out about future activity please visit our www.doncasterramblers.org.uk home page website. The website is also full of photographs of past walks and includes information about our walks

Doncaster Ramblers have more than 200 members and are part of the Ramblers, a national charity. They provide walks on Tuesdays and Saturdays throughout the year. These walks are usually of about 10 miles in length and vary in location from local walks starting from Thorne, Fishlake, Edlington and Epworth, to Grindleford, Calver and Hathersage in the beautiful Peak District.