Third day, and our legs needed some good exercise after the weekend and this was achieved with a trip to Stainforth, with a hope of watching the salmon running up the river Ribble.
Our plan was simple, have a good walk up on Malham moor, and then descend to the river level, walking up stream to the local Stainforth waterfalls at Stainforth Force, which is a naturl pool carved out of the limestone. Salmon during the season are frequently seen jumping the falls as they make their way up stream to spawn.
On the border with Cumbria, the moors were reached with a good climb so typical of the Dales and Yorkshire landscape. Mile apon mile of maticulously built grey stone walls guided our path, as we strolled up to the green open heights of the moor.
We weren’t going deep into the landscape, and we only stopped briefly to view the Catrigg Force, another waterfall on the heights above Stainforth.
From this shortest of detours from our path, we walked over the top of the footpath and around the farm of Higher Winskill, back down through the dell to the railway bridge that crosses the Settle and Carlisle line to the river Ribble.
From there we walked up the river to Stainforth Force, with an expectant eye on the river, looking out hopefully for the Salmon running.
We reached the Force to find a number of people had had the same idea, and came to the spot to watch natures spectacle.
Eating our lunch, watching every splash and ripple of the water, we expected any moment to see the shiny healthy body of a leaping salmon,…the more we waited the more we hoped, the more we ate,….our sandwhices gone, crisps diminished, and eventually we had to admit defeat and respect the salmons descision not to jump on that Monday afternoon. However, despite the curious doubt of my companions, I was fortunate to see one fish, (I assume a trout) jumping in the water up stream, as I looked up towards the beautiful stone bridge which tops this blog.
From the river we decided a coffee was in order, and a short trip to Settle found us in the Old forge, and discussing the local scone called the Scallywag, more here.
