Up Hill And Down Ale, Helwith Bridge, Yorkshire, UK

Location: Helwith Bridge, Yorkshire
14-17th of August 2008

We headed off from Coniston on the morning of the 14th of august to pick up Ed from Leeds/Bradford airport. With Ed on board we set off to see if we could possibly squish more into the car by visiting a home brew shop.

We found a shop that was open called Things To Brew (Unit 21, Kershaws Garden Centre, Halifax Road, Brighouse, West Yorkshire, HD6 2QD). Much fun was had buying ingredients and I ended up with a shiny new mash tun.

After this we headed to Helwith Bridge in the Yorkshire Dales. We stayed in the hostel of the Yorkshire Subterranean Society which is beside one of my favourite pubs The Helwith Bridge Inn. The pub is run by the great bar man Colin and is a mecca for cavers and train spotters alike. The cavers come from the YSS hostel which is a mere two minute stagger away. A train line runs behind the pub and there are a few more lines nearby (old steam trains can sometimes be seen on them if you're lucky) which explains the train spotters.

Walk: Malham, Tarn, Cove and Village and Gordale Scar
Map: Harvey Yorkshire Dales Outdoor Atlas

I've been coming to Yorkshire for years and had never gone to Malham. We decided to skip the underground attractions of the dales this time and go for a walk.



We started by walking by Malham Tarn which is one of the biggest bits of water you'll see in Yorkshire. It's pretty but not as picturesque as the lakes in the Lake District. It's all a bit more desolate but then I like desolation. While walking a path by a cliff we saw a family of four birds of prey flying around and having a fun time. I think they may have been falcons. It was an amazing sight. We then headed down a path which was headed for Malham Cove.



This led us down a dry gorge which kept getting larger. It then joined another gorge in what looked like a fossil waterfall.





We walked along and then came out on a great limestone pavement which drops off in a cliff. As we walked across the pavement and then down a load of steps the full scale of Malham cove started to come into view. It's a great sight and it's easy to see why it's a mecca for climbers, it's immense. It was formed at the end of the last ice age by glacier melt water eroding out the massive cliff.



We walked down to the village of Malham where we stopped for a spot of mid walk lunch. A nice cheese toasty was washed down with some Black Sheep Ale. The tea house we had lunch in also had some inquisitive ducks who tried to see if hiking bags and boots were edible. I also had cream tea, well I was walking so I could burn up the calories later!





After that relaxing lunch we cracked on towards Gordale scar. A road down from Malham leads up to Gordale campsite. A crazy man in camper van almost knocked us down as we tried to jump into a stone wall to avoid him. We walked through the campsite where we again encountered the camper van man but luckily he was going slowly through mud at this stage.



Gordale is a lovely gorge but I think I prefer the name scar. We had been told that you could climb up the fossil waterfall and then complete the walk by walking back to the car park at Malham tarn. When we got there a large waterfall was flowing. It was an impressive site as the steep walls of the gorge closed in and the rocks were covered with yellow white tufa deposits.



Dave and Ed climbed up the waterfall. I wimped out as I had hurt my leg earlier and didn't feel like climbing. I headed back to Malham in the rain. I got some tea and waited for Dave and Ed to pick me up. It was a great walk. The scenery was truly spectacular. I love limestone!



Pub: Helwith Bridge
Food: Giant Yorkshire Pudding filled with Chilli and Chips. This is a yummy filling after walk dinner.
Ale: Helwith Bridge Ale. Brewed by a local micro in Settle. This is a lovely light session beer.

Drive: Dentdale
On saturday the 16th Dave and Ed headed off to Gaping Gill to do some caving. I decided to drive to Dent. I had heard it's a pretty place with an interesting history. The drive to Dent was like a free roller coaster ride. It's a very narrow road with huge hills but it's all very scenic when you manage to take your eyes off the road. I visited the Heritage Museum where they recreate the life of Dent back in The Day. Of course I found the stuff about the cottage textile industry and the terrible knitters of Dent most interesting. The people used a special needle attached to a belt so that they could knit with one hand. They could then use the other hand to churn milk or whatever. I couldn't imagine doing anything else while knitting my brain just wouldn't have it.

We took a trip to Booths supermarket in Settle where the massive range of bottled beer astounded us. Naturally we bought a large selection to try. We also got some cheese and olives to make it look like a classy session.



The cheeses were Wensleydale with Cranberry, Blue Stilton and Applewood Smoked Gouda. I can confirm that beer and cheese go very well together. Hopefully following further research I'll be able to write an article with some recommendations on which beers and cheeses go well together.



Roisin Tayberry Beer from Scotland was my favourite beer. The Tayberry is a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry and gave a lovely fruity tang to the beer without it being too sweet tasting like many fruit beers. My other favourite was the Black Dog Ale.





The rest of the photos from this part of the trip can be seen here. On the sunday we packed up and headed back for the ferry. All in all the Up Hill And Down Ale trip was a success.

Up Hill And Down Ale, Coniston, The Lake District, UK

Location: Coniston, The Lake District
12-13th of August 2008

On the morning of the 12th it was raining so before we moved to stay in the village of Coniston near Hawkshead we went for a drive up to Cockermouth. We ended up passing the Lakeland Sheep and Wool Centre, I wonder how that happened... They had a show where you got to see different sheep which was quite entertaining. However their giftshop ony had some bog standard aran knitting wool, nothing at all special. It seems there are rare breed sheep in the UK but getting hold of their wool is difficult. In Cockermouth we found a wool shop where I bought some beautiful Noro blossom which will be a bag eventually.



We also went to Jennings Brewery where we bought some on sale ale. Unfortunately the brewery tour was booked out.

Arriving at Coniston we booked in to Lakeland House guesthouse which while not as nice as Merlin House had a fantastic view.

Pub: We checked out the local pubs and found one of them is a brewpub The Black Bull Inn home of the Coniston brewing company.



Naturally we went in. It's a lovely pub serving great food. That night we had the veggie options, a nut roast with goats cheese and a vegetable curry. Both were lovely and I can highly recommend either Oliver's Light Ale or the Bluebird Bitter to go with them. The Bluebird bitter is named for the boat used by Donald Campbell in his ultimately tragic attempt to break the water speed record on Coniston Water. It's a lovely english bitter which won beer of the festival at the Great British Beer Festival which is high praise. Oliver's Light Ale I really liked. It's a light golden ale which is quite low in alcohol at 3.4%. I like these light english session beers since you can have a few pints without falling over.

Walk: Coniston Coppermines
Map: Walk 2 on Footprint Walks Around Coniston
Harvey Lake District Outdoor Atlas

This was a slightly longer and harder walk from Coniston. We had a good day on the wednesday (13th august) so decided to start the walk early in the day. Our guesthouse made packed sandwiches so armed with a ploughmans and a raincoat off we set.



The walk up follows Levers Water beck up past the old Coniston Coppermines and youth hostel. Then it becomes steeper going up the hill where you can see the still working mines. The walk on the map goes up to the right of the beck to Levers water. We however crossed at a footbridge and made the steep climb on the left of the waterfall to come out on the wonderful view of Levers Water.





The route then wends it way down past a gigantic rock called the pudding stone.



A track then leads past fine views of the Old Man of Coniston. We decided not to go up as the weather was starting to close in.



Instead we messed around taking photos of some mushrooms one of my favourite things to photograph. They look like strange alien cities.



Pub: Black Bull Inn

Food: Bangers and Mash. This was the nicest bangers and mash I've had I think. The sausages were local cumberland ones with chilli and lime in. The mash has spring onions in and the sweet chilli and roast pepper sauce was perfect with it.

Ale: Well after that walk it would have to be the Old Man Ale named for the hill we'd just been to see. It's a rich dark complex ale rather like the hill itself.



More photos can be seen here. I can recommend Coniston as well. I'd like to go back when I'm fitter to do more walking there. The Black Bull Inn is well worth a visit as well.

Up Hill And Down Ale, Hawkshead, The Lake District, UK

The Up Hill And Down Ale Trip
9th - 17th August 2008

This august me and Dave went on a trip to the Lake District in Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales. The idea was to go up lots of hills and then after down lots of real english ales. I'm going to recommend a walk to do and then a pub to go to afterwards where you can get good ale and food.

Location: Hawkshead, The Lake District
9-11th of August 2008

Hawkshead is a great little village in the Lake District. We stayed in the lovely Merlin House guesthouse which has lovely rooms and did a great breakfast.

Pub: Queen's Head

Food and Ale: A nice pub serving a good local menu. The portions were big and hearty with lamb being a specialty. This was washed down with one their guest cask ales which I can't remember the name of. It was a nice hoppy brew which went well with the food.

Walk: Latterbarrow from Hawkshead
Map: Walk 14 on Footprint Walks Around Coniston
Harvey Lake District Outdoor Atlas

To start off with an easy walk which started from our B&B in the village of Hawkshead. It's a nice walk through fields, country lanes then up onto Latterbarrow where there is a great view of Lake Windermere.



The walk then descends through Claife Heights forest. It was drizzling when we set off and this turned into proper rain so we decided not to extend the walk to Sawry which would make it into a longer pleasant day. Not too taxing for most but if like me you haven't been walking in ages and been sick it was a good start.

Food and Drink: For lunch we headed to Poppi Red Cafe where I got an amazing hot chocolate and a cake to heat myself back up.




Walk: Tarn Hows
Map: Walk 15 on Footprint Walks Around Coniston
Harvey Lake District Outdoor Atlas

This was a nice easy afternoon stroll around the beauty spot of Tarn Hows. There is a footpath the whole way so it's nice and easy. It's easy to see why this place is so famous.



Drink: On the way back we popped into The Drunken Duck Inn for a quick half pint. They brew their own beer here, the beers being named after dogs that the owners have had. This was fitting as dogs are really popular around here. Every pub has a dog bar for water. I had the Cracker Ale and Dave had the Westmorland Gold. I liked the Cracker but Dave wasn't as keen on his.



Pub: King's Arms, Hawkshead

Food: The specials are great here. Dave had venison in a berry jus which was lovely. I had bangers and mash which was really good too as they use local Cumberland sausages. Also while in the village you should try out the Hawkshead Relish.

Ale: Lakeland Gold from Hawkshead Brewery

This is a lovely golden ale that goes very well with food. It's a bit more hoppy than some english ales and has the wonderful aroma of cascade hops. We also tried the bitter but didn't like it as much as the Lakeland Gold.




Walk: Rydal Water And Nab Scar
Map: Guided Walk 8 in Lakeland Explored
Harvey Lake District Outdoor Atlas

This walk went along under Nab Scar through a forest with great views of Rydal Water and Grasmere before descending into Rydal village. We then walked along the track by Rydal Water to finish off a very wet but satisfying walk.



Food and Drink: We ambled around Grasmere village after the walk where the weather cleared up a bit. After all that walking we treated ourselves to a proper cream tea in the garden centre. I love scones with jam and clotted cream. Also they know what they're doing with tea in this part of the country. They always give you a small pot of hot water so you can have an extra cup.

It was wet that afternoon so we decided we'd had enough hiking. We went into Windermere and Bowness to have a look around. This really isn't worth it as they are both packed with tourists even though there isn't much to see. In hindsight we probably should have stopped in Ambleside as this looked nicer. We did however find some Lindisfarne Mead in an off license. We tried it out and agreed it was a very strange drink. I liked it but it was odd as I've never had anything quite like it before. I think my taste buds were struggling as they had nothing to compare it to. The only thing I could think of like it was Sauternes white wine from France. We also sampled some Damson stout from the Hawkshead brewery. This I really liked. There was a lovely sharp damson taste coming through and balanced up by the roasty stout.

Ale: That night it was back to the Kings Arms. The guest beer was York Brewery Peaches and Cream ale. I loved this beer, it had a real refreshing fruity taste without being cloying like many fruit beers are. Lovely stuff. There was also some real cider being served in what was a home brew pressure barrel. This was great stuff and very different to the commercial cider most of us are used to. The barman said he drives down to a certain junction on the motorway to where the guy sells the cider. I also got some knitting done in the pub which got some funny looks from people.

I would really recommend Hawkshead as a great base to explore the Lake District. There are loads of things I didn't get to do and I'd happily go back.

More photos of this part of the trip are here.