Five reasons to make Great Strides Yorkshire Dales your New Year’s resolution

Feature - 07/12/2018

It might be two and a half weeks until Christmas, but we know that many of you are planning for the new year, and even thinking about your resolutions. That's why, over the next couple of months, we'll be giving you five reasons to join one of our new and improved Great Strides events in the Peak District, Surrey Hills, Brecon Beacons and, this week, the Yorkshire Dales! Read on for tips on incentivising your fellow walkers with some local dialect, a taste of the breath-taking landmarks you'll be viewing on your walk and an exact calculation of how much cheese you'll be able to consume after completing this epic 65km route.

1. Cheese

We know it’s approaching that time of year when we all turn to kale and start juicing anything that stays still for long enough, but hear us out. The delicious, creamy treat that is Wensleydale is lovingly made a mere few hundred yards from where Great Strides Yorkshire Dales kicks off. Plus, the lovely people at the Wensleydale Creamery have thrown open their doors to the public in recent years, so you can now geek out properly and watch it being made. Think of all the calories you’ll burn off over the course of 65km (roughly 6,500 for the average man!) - what better way to refuel than cheese, Gromit?

2. Harry Potter

Harry Potter was filmed near here! Scenes from the Deathly Hallows were set at nearby Malham Cove. Also, the 1991 box office smash ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ featured not one, but two of our checkpoint locations. Aylsgarth Falls and Hadraw Force were featured, but as these scenes contained nudity and violence we wouldn’t recommend you attempt to recreate either.

3. The people

The area is very sparsely populated (the population of Hawes is a mere 1,137 people!) so if you do run into some locals you are blessed indeed. Yorkshire is renowned for its warmth (obviously not weather-wise), however the local dialect is very unusual and very strong, so to ensure you get the most out of the Dales hospitality you should familiarise yourself with some oft-used phrases. These could even come in handy when trying to incentivise your team. For example, if your fellow walkers have stopped at a check point and don’t look like they plan on moving any time soon, you could instruct them to “Stop chelpin’ and get walking”.

4. Landmarks

This fabulous route encompasses many incredible landmarks. Very early on in the day, you’ll whizz past Hawdraw Force, the UK’s tallest single drop waterfall (all 100ft of it!). Minutes later you will venture onto the Pennine Way, a 267 mile trail linking Derbyshire to Southern Scotland (don’t worry, you will only see a section of it, we aren’t complete savages). Castle Bolton, much further along the route, once housed Mary Queen of Scots and her impressive entourage for a short period. Plus, there is a village called Crackpot. No further questions!

5. Finally...

You mean the last four reasons didn’t inspire you? Well there’s always this…

Great Strides Yorkshire Dales takes place on 6 July 2019 - find out more about how you can take part, or choose from three more Great Strides events.