A new era for Yorkshire Dales Guides

Hello Dear Friends & Fellow Adventurers,

It is with great excitement albeit nostalgia that the Yorkshire Dales Guides team both old and new announce the ending of one era and the beginning of anew.

After 27 years of excellence in guiding and instructing Dave and Pam in May 2018 hung up their wellies to enjoy their well deserved retirement. So who are the new management team?

We are Steph Dwyer – Managing Director, Mike Bottomley – Director and Paul Mackrill – Director

Between us we have over 90 years of experience in the outdoors in areas such as:

Caving

Exploratory Expedition Caving  

Mountaineering

Rock Climbing

Open Water & Cave Diving

Sea Kayaking

Downhill & Cross-country Skiing

Open water swimming

Ultra-Endurance Fell Running

Yes, we’ve been privileged enough to be the first human beings to lay our footprints in the sand of some incredible places and we can help you get there too!

Steph doing what she loves, helping young people believe in their infinite potential 🙂

Together with the wealth of experience passed on by Dave and Pam, we hope to build upon and expand this fantastic business.

Professionally we have backgrounds ranging from Psychology, Chemistry, Project management, Geology & Geophysics to Nuclear Physics but we are best known for our leading roles in the multi-award winning film, the Ario Dream, about the exploratory expedition Steph & Mike currently run. Check out: www.ariocavesproject.com for the movie trailer, more info & pictures.

Our dedication and experience in the outdoors is evidenced by: 

Steph being 1st Lady and taking over 5 1/2 hours off the women’s record in this years Spine MRT Challenger race, a 190km ultra endurance race in winter across the Pennine Way. See her and Mike in Summit Fever’s fantastic film – Resilience, https://www.reelhouse.org/summitfevermedia/resilience

Mike being the first to both descend into the World’s deepest & biggest caves, not to mention all his cave exploration in the Yorkshire Dales & beyond, and

An 11 year old Mike exploring Gaping Gill with his Dad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul being the first ever to traverse the Swiss 4,000m high mountains and in partnership with our dear friend Tony Seddon, being the first to complete the world’s deepest cave diving through trip – over 1,200m beneath the mountains.

Paul, abseiling into a cave in Norway whilst on expedition

Yorkshire Dales Guides provide bespoke Guiding, Adventures & Life Changing Experiences above & below the mountains. We cater for ALL levels of experience, confidence and ability across a wide range of activities and desired outcomes such as Rock Climbing, Caving and Potholing, Walking and Hiking, Fellrunning, Team Building, and we work in partnership with local experts to also provide Biking, Mountain Biking, Watersports and Running Coaching. We also teach caving (SRT) and rock climbing ropework, and mountain navigation through the National Navigation Award Scheme. We are specialists in harnessing the outdoors, psychological research and challenge events to facilitate whatever your schools/business/groups desired outcomes are, be them team cohesion, stress reduction or creativity. We do so by marrying our background in psychology, the outdoors and exploratory expeditions to offer you a springboard for growth tailored to you and your needs.

 

 

 

On Track Days Relaunched – its all about being safe on the hills

ON TRACK DAYS 2017 

We have relaunched our On Track Days for 2017 and they are designed for all walkers about keeping safe in the outdoors and more importantly what to do if your day goes wrong or you come across someone else who needs help.

The day course is designed and run by YDG instructors who have more than 40 years experience in mountain rescue.

We spend as little time as possible indoors before moving outdoors to learn some simple techniques that will help when things go wrong.

Learn some basic map and compass skills, reorienting yourself, giving an accurate grid reference, planning a walk, what kit to take etc.

Dealing with simple emergencies and how to get help without preventable delays if things are a bit more serious.

We don’t do minimum numbers but we don’t do more than 6 to an instructor, more than 6 we bring in an additional instructor.

Bring a packed lunch with you and walking kit appropriate for the weather on the day. Map and compass supplied for the day if needed.

Mid-week or Weekend meeting at The Barn Stainforth just outside of Settle

The day starts at 9.30am and we aim to finish at approximately 4.30 pm

Cost: – £65.00 per person, £120.00 two people booking and discount for groups

Get in touch if you need any additional information, we run our courses even if only one person books so you can be confident with your plans.

You can book a place on an advertised course HERE or ring us to book a date of your choice.

Three Peaks Challenge – what happens if you have to drop out and there is no back up.

I originally published this blog last September but now that the 2016 Three Peaks season is well on its way I thought it was worth republishing and updating any links

If you are planning to do the Yorkshire Three Peaks then there are lots of things you need to consider. The “What happens if I cannot complete the walk” is well worth thinking about too, even if you are going on an organised event.

Whenever you go for a walk whether short or long you should consider the “what ifs” and have an escape route or plan. On the best Three Peaks walks you will have someone in a vehicle acting as support. They can carry spare water and snacks as well as pick up anyone who has maybe injured themselves or who knows they cannot complete the walk. There are two or three places where the support vehicle can meet you to check everyone is ok. It can be a thankless and boring job but the walkers will get a real boost seeing them between the peaks and knowing they have backup if needed.

Some organised walks tell you to carry a mobile phone and have some money on you for a taxi or the train in case you are not keeping up or want to drop out. You maybe doing the walk with a few friends and not have anyone to provide a back up for you. A point to remember is that mobiles do not work at the road heads of Birkwith, Ribblehead and Chapel-le-Dale and the only public phone box is at the Station Inn at Ribblehead. There are taxis around here but they can be very busy, at peak times particularly, so you will need some money for a pint or two while you wait for one. The Hill Inn between Whernside and Ingleborough is available for drinks while you wait too.  Make sure you have the taxi numbers with you so you can call where you have a signal though. There are some trains at Ribblehead on the famous Settle Carlisle Railway so you can check the timetable.  There are also some buses but they are not that regular especially out of season but the Dales Bus has information. Dales Bus. Make sure you have this information with you before you set off.

We are seeing more and more people walking along the roads, especially coming back down to Horton-in-Ribblesdale from Ribblehead. Perhaps they do not have any money or would rather not pay. Walking on the road is very hard on your feet and legs and is just under 5 1/2 miles long.  It has no verge to walk on most of the way, is quite narrow and winding and has numerous blind bends and summits. It is well used by tourist and local cars and cycles but it is also well know for being a popular motorbike route and has more than its fair share of riders who think they will live forever despite riding too fast and overtaking when they cannot see. Unfortunately we have also had more than our share of serious injuries and deaths too which is very sad. All in all this road is potentially very dangerous for walkers and is not the best route back to Horton-in-Ribblesdale either.

The Alternative – The easiest on your tired legs and feet is to follow the Three Peaks walk to High Birkwith and then take the Ribble Way to Sell Gill to join the Pennine Way down to Horton. At just under 6 1/4 miles it is a bit longer but far more pleasant and much, much safer.  Another idea is to follow the much less busy road down to the village from High Birkwith and this route is just over 6 miles but again much safer.

If you plan for the possibility of having to drop out of the walk and the unlikely happens then it does not mean that the day is totally spoilt by you having to work out what to do in a place with no signal and when you have no money or planned options.

Enjoy your walking. If you need a to develop your navigation skills, a guide or safety  cover for any walk, including the Three Peaks, please get in touch Contact Us

Dark Skies Festival 15th – 21st February 2016

Join us on our Introductory Evening Caving Trip on Monday 15th February and come out to a night sky for the walk back down to the vehicles. No light pollution and with hopefully a clear view of the sky looking up towards Ribblehead and across to Penyghent. Booking essential so email or phone us now to express an interest or book.

Lots of other interesting things going on during the week too.

Our new promotional video

We have had a short video made to introduce ourselves and what we do.  Thanks to all the people who helped with it’s production.

 

Paul Rose on BBC Pennine Way programme goes caving with us.

BBC2 are going to be showing the Pennine Way series over 4 nights, 27th July to 30th July, at 7.30pm each night. It really is a good series to watch.

Yorkshire Dales Guides

Back in late November we received a call from the BBC who were producing the Pennine Way programme currently showing on BBC 1 in the North on Fridays at 7.30 pm.  Dave had been talking to Lucy from the production team earlier in the year but we understood there might not be enough room for a caving trip so thought that was that.  The call in November was to ask us if we could take Paul Rose the presenter caving in a few days. They realised, as they began filming, there was enough great material to fill another episode to make it last for 4 weeks.  Dave was on holiday so we asked Sean Whittle, who works with us regularly, if he was available and luckily he was. A star is born!

It is a great series and is available on the BBC iPlayer as well as still running for…

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Our Latest Newsletter is out.

We have just sent out our latest newsletter with information about our new web site,. There is news about the Overground Underground Ingleborough Dales Festival where we are offering discounts, The Dales Discoveries Treasure Hunt which we are helping to sponsor and have given a prize to and the new Settle-Carlisle web site which we are on too .  Have a look and if you would like to receive a newsletter of your own you can sign up here. We do not send out many and you can opt out at anytime. Don’t forget we have caving this Monday (25th May) too.

Overground Underground – The Festival of the Ingleborough Dales

For the 5th year we are involved in this brilliant festival which is a “weekend of diverse activities that will bring the unique landscape of the Ingleborough Dales to life in inspiring and unexpected ways”.  The Festival runs over the weekend 19th – 21st June. We will be running two opportunities to try caving for anyone eight and over who is reasonably fit and able to bend a bit.  The trips are designed to introduce people to the wonders of the underground dales.  These will be on the Saturday and Sunday starting at 5.00 pm and finishing by 8.00 pm. For more information and to book visit our Eventbrite page or give us a call.

We will also be running a “Developing Your Compass Skills” day on the Saturday which is for people who know the basics of map work but have either never used a compass or are a bit rusty.  On Sunday we will be running an “On Track – Getting Started with Navigation ” day which is designed for people who are real beginners.  Both these days run from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm.  They are suitable for anyone 14 and over.  More details on all our activities can be on our web site www.YorkshireDalesGuides.co.uk .   If you visit the festival site at www.ogug.co.uk you might just find a code for some discount and all of our events over this weekend.

There are lots more events over the weekend of the Festival including Art Exhibitions, Free Airbay Jump Day, Indoor Bouldering Competition, Films, Talks, Archaeology, Running, Wildflower walks, Mountain Rescue Search Dogs Demonstration and Water Zorbing.  A real action packed weekend with something for everyone.

Paul Rose on BBC Pennine Way programme goes caving with us.

Back in late November we received a call from the BBC who were producing the Pennine Way programme currently showing on BBC 1 in the North on Fridays at 7.30 pm.  Dave had been talking to Lucy from the production team earlier in the year but we understood there might not be enough room for a caving trip so thought that was that.  The call in November was to ask us if we could take Paul Rose the presenter caving in a few days. They realised, as they began filming, there was enough great material to fill another episode to make it last for 4 weeks.  Dave was on holiday so we asked Sean Whittle, who works with us regularly, if he was available and luckily he was. A star is born!

It is a great series and is available on the BBC iPlayer as well as still running for another 2 weeks on BBC1. We understand in the future it will be showing nationwide on BBC2.

Here is the link to the episode with Sean in and it also includes great footage of Malham Show, Climbing at Malham Cove, Pen-y-ghent Cafe and the Three Peaks.  Well worth a watch.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05qt6vr/the-pennine-way-episode-2

So if you fancy trying caving with us then get in touch. We have holiday evening caving trips that individuals, families and small groups can join in, you can join a course or you can book your own instructor for a day and time convenient for you. We also run navigation courses for those of you that might want to tackle the Pennine Way or maybe just parts of it.

Special offers up to 31st March

We have several open courses and events coming up over January, February and March for navigation skills and caving at all levels and ……….  

if you book one place at the full price you can have a second one for half price.  

Just because it is winter does not mean you have to hibernate as it is a great time to practice your navigation skills as the sometimes more challenging weather can help you develop and gain confidence in the skills you need to go “off road”.  If you have not done any navigation before you could try an On Track Day.  If you know the basics and would like to learn how to use a compass then a Developing Your Compass Skills day is for you.  If you would like to spend a weekend learning and developing your navigation skills you could join one of our NNAS (National Navigation Award Scheme) 2 day non-residential courses. These are accredited courses and you get a certificate and badge on completion.

If you felt you wanted to be a bit more adventurous then you could try caving on a Monday evening during the school holidays or an Intermediate Caving day if you wanted to try going down a small pitch on a ladder.  If you have been caving before then why not learn some vertical caving skills ready for the warmer weather on our Introduction to Vertical Caving (SRT) course which takes place in our barn so is not weather dependent.

Here are all the dates in one place. If you are interested in finding out any more information on any of our events just get in touch

Event	Dates	Price per person	Usual minimum age
NNAS Navigation Course	Sat 24th & Sun 25th January	£115.00	14 years old
Introduction to Vertical Caving (SRT) Course	Sat 14th February	£75.00	16 years old
Developing your Compass Skills Day	Sat 14th February	£60.00	14 years old
On Track Day	Sun 15th February	£60.00	14 years old
Holiday Evening Caving Trip	Mon 16th February	£25.00	8 years old
NNAS Navigation Course	Sat 21st  & Sun 22nd January	£115.00	14 years old
Holiday Evening Caving Trip	Mon 23rd  February	£25.00	8 years old
On Track Day	Sun 14th March	£60.00	14 years old
Developing your Compass Skills Day	Sun 15th March	£60.00	14 years old
Introduction to Vertical Caving (SRT) Course	Sat 21st March	£75.00	16 years old
Intermediate Caving Trip	Sun 22nd March	£45.00	12 years old
NNAS Navigation Course	Sat 28th   & Sun 29th March	£115.00	14 years old
Holiday Evening Caving Trip	Mon 30th March	£25.00	8 years old