What a grand day out.  Unfortunately, we missed out on the ice creams at Jervaulx due to us being there too early.  Our route took us from Fearby VH car park (near Masham) through local fields and farms on to a track of the Six Dales Trail.  Much of the route followed this sometimes very overgrown national trail, which caused much hilarity, as at certain points on route we wondered where each other might have disappeared to!!  Not to mention the wonky stile(s) ... some of us needed more help than others with a bum lift to prevent toppling too rapidly into a prickly hedge.  

 

Passing through Jervaulx Abbey (a great Cistercian abbey built in the 1600s, now a charming, atmospheric ruin) we followed the River Ure before turning up to the peaceful village of East Witton; soon out of the village and up on the moors to pick up the SDT again.  After passing through and descending from High Sourmire we had our well earned lunch at the top of the other side of valley.  It was a really sad point at this moment in time for one of our fellow walkers; :( he had "broken" his favourite socks - well one of them, and in the ruin of the sock had developed a blister....poor man!!).  Crossing the top of Roundhill reservoir, with view of the sighting tower (built in 1903 as one of three towers to survey the line of an aqueduct tunnel to take water from Roundhill reservoir towards Harrogate) we made our way to the outstanding Comb crags and Shooting House with magnificent candleabras on show.   

 

Soon leaving the SDT we followed good long tracks to Ilton and returned to our destination through wild, overgrowth (again) and back to our base.  We were lucky the weather had stayed good all day only showing signs of drizzle at the end of the walk.