Week 8: Sunday Walk in Bolton Abbey
I think that anyone who has been to Bolton Abbey would agree that it is a pretty special place. The area boasts impressive medieval ruins of an Augustinian Monastery along with some rather challenging stepping stones across the River Wharfe. All walkers wander through Strid Wood and down to the Strid itself where the water passes through a very narrow ravine creating fierce rapids, quite a contrast from the tranquillity from the surrounding woodland. The long walkers will also get to pass through open heather moorland and climb up to the rocky summit of Simon's Seat, which yields stunning views of four of the surrounding valleys.
We'll take a coach to Bolton Abbey, and from there split into two groups, one group takes a medium-length walk whilst the second group take on a larger route. Both walks are preplanned and lead by our trained walk leaders.
Medium walks are generally between 6 and 8 miles (10-13 km) long, and tend to be at a reasonably gentle pace and always include a stop for a pub lunch. Long walks are slightly more challenging and are between 10 and 12 miles (16-19 km) long and don't include a pub lunch but instead stop for a packed lunch along the way. At 4.00pm all the groups meet back at the coach and return back to the University, arriving no later than 6.00pm.
