Wainman's Pinnacle & Lund's Tower 16th August 2007

Getting out on walks has been difficult this year with the terrible weather, so on this occasion it was nice to grab an available window and beat the rain for once.
This was an evening walk starting from the Dog & Gun pub at Glusburn near Skipton, Yorkshire. Walking in the evening this summer has suffered not only from the rain but the accompanying thick cloud which can effectively steal up to an hour of useable light from the end of the day. During the excellent meal at the pub the heavens opened and rain lashed the windows, the rugged hills disappearing in the murk. We had hoped to be under way by 7.30pm but here the unpredictability of events came to the rescue. Neil's later than hoped for arrival meant it was closer to 8pm as we put our boots on...and the rain stopped. The sky cleared, and we were on!

Lund's Tower from the Dog & Gun

Wainman's Pinnacle from Crag End

After an easy start along farm tracks the paths soon became indistinct and it soon became very heavy underfoot on the spongy, thick turf. Eventually we reached Wainman's Pinnacle, raised in 1815 to celebrate the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Wealthy Yorkshiremen in this era seemed to have something of a fetish for building obelisks on hill tops - Stoodley Pike, a similar (but much larger) monument to the south of here was also built around the same time, to commemorate the same event.

The view from Wainman's Pinnacle

From here it was an easy walk along a ridge to the other folly occupying this hill top - Lund's Tower, built in 1897 to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. By now it was nearly 9pm and even with a fairly clear sky the light was failing badly. We descended the steep path back towards the Dog & Gun, darkness falling even faster in the valley's shadow.

Lund's Tower

Head torches were required for the rest of the journey but the paths were mostly along tracks allowing a more expeditious return. As the lights of the pub grew near the occasional heavy droplet of water began to hit us, increasing in frequency as we reached the car park. It soon turned into a full downpour but too late - we were already inside enjoying a pint of Timothy Taylor's Ram Tam. Four miles, one hour forty minutes - and we had won.

Video: