The Bishop of Bradford's Ramble

Sun 16 July 2006 Austwick to Clapham
Yorkshire Dales

Zigzag clover seen en route- a special clover with a zig zag stem - was this an echo of the route we took?

____________________________________________________________________

The six mile long route, planned by local vicar (and ex RAF chaplain) Ian Greenhalgh of Austwick included the main part of Settle Harrier's Christmas Handicap Challenge Route so everyone did very well to complete it...

The walk finished at Clapham where there was a Songs of Praise service at the caravan club marquee, attended by about 90 people.

Pale blue Giant Bellflower, Betony, and yellow ormentil were just some of the other flowers we passed on the way.

The track above Wharf is good for ferns - Male Fern, Lady Fern, Broad Buckler Fern and Bracken.

On the clapper bridge at Washfold on the path to Crummackdale. Bishop David is 3rd from left

Twenty people accompaned Bishop David, coming from places as far apart as Huddersfield, Todmorden, Bentham and Long Preston,.

Here we have a rest on the Old Silurian slate/greywackes rocks that are 450 million years old. They have been folded in the past. In the last ice age, maybe 15 000 years ago, the ice scraped across here.
In the background flat beds of limestone can be seen that were laid down on top of the old "slate" when the area was under a shallow warm sea.

The long slog up to Norber

Just before Norber we stopped at the "Unconformity" - We are standing on an old seabed, on rocks that are 450 million years old and touching limestone rocks that are 350 million years old, that formed from corals and other creatures in the sea. So we are straddling 100 million years.

Whoops there is a hole in the wall - we did not make it! Think of all the work done by farmers in building and maintaining these walls.

At Norber there are famous glacial erratics. You can see the flourescent green lichen Rhizocarpon geographicum (map lichen) on the old "slate" rocks. these rocks were scooped up from the valley below by the galcial ice and left on top of the newer limestone rock.

Back at the Caravan Club Marquee they had kept mugs of tea for us. Then we joined the campers for a Songs of Praise Service.

Bradford Diocese Web site and
Bradford Diocese EarthCare Group
Churches Together in Settle and District
Settle Harriers

Dalehead Church and Wind Turbine (The Bishop had been to rededicate it on the morning)

Web page and botanical and geological notes by Judith Allinson

Post script: By chance, exactly one week later Rev Ian Greenhaugh was preaching at The Web Editor's Methodist Church in the evening. He preached on the need for R and R - Rest and recouperation - He showed how Jesus took his disciples away to a quite place -