Another successful Practice Expedition. Great weather all weekend and the kids had a great time. Although they were starting to flag by the end.

Day 1

There was wet weather during the drive up towards the starting point in High Bentham. Everyone arrived bright and early and headed off towards the first campsite. The routes on day 1 were not difficult in terms of elevation, but there was some quite challenging navigation across fields and farms.

The campsite was a lovely campsite near Austwick and everyone cooked their hot meals and then relaxed in groups either playing football or sitting around enjoying the evening weather.

Day 2

Day 2 was a little more challenging. There was a trail running marathon to contend with, as well as hot weather and a steep climb across to Horton in Ribblesdale. Spirits were good and everyone made better time than expected and there was plenty of time to enjoy the good weather at the second campsite. It is within a beautiful setting but unfortunately this time the Hogwarts express did not pass us on its way to the famous Ribblehead viaduct from the Harry Potter film (only rumoured to be filmed there unfortunately). Quite often a steam train can be seen passing close to the campsite.

Day 3

Day 3 was tougher than expected. People didn’t get away until 8:30am to 9am as the expectation was that it was not as hard a day. But tired legs and hot weather meant that there were a few people at the end that were well aware of the hard work that had been done over 3 days. There was a nice pit stop half way when the leaders felt that it was a sensible option to allow ice creams for all at a small shop in Stainforth. Everyone enjoyed a sit down and some refreshment. But after that there were still a few hills to climb before the end point at Settle.