I’ve wanted to get out into the countryside for ages, so on Saturday I took myself off to Malham to explore the area round Malham Cove. I’ve been to the cove a couple of times but never any further, so armed with an OS map (just in case) and some quavers I felt ready to have an adventure.

It takes about an hour and a half to get to Malham from Boston Spa, it’s just straight up the A59/A65 and then signposted from Gargrave so pretty easy to find. One thing I like about Malham is that there’s a big car park with loos and a visitor centre and it’s only £4 to park for the day. It was almost empty when I got there at 9.30, but what surprised me was the number of cars parked out on the main road. Do that many people really avoid paying the £4 parking charge…which presumably contributes to the facilities and upkeep that makes Malham a nice place to visit?

Anyway, I went to see the cove first – a really magical place where the stream comes straight out of the base of the cliff and is fed by numerous little springs nearby. I had the whole place to myself so had a bit of quiet reflection. The path isn’t brilliant going up to the cove and at the end it’s easier to walk in the stream (it’s about an inch deep at the edges). This is one of my favourite places in the world.

Coming out I met two older ladies on the last day of their walking holiday. I kind of wished I’d asked their names – they must have been in their 70s but they told me about all the hikes they’d done round and about – one of them climbed Gordale Scar when she was 15, and seemed very impressed that I was out for a solo hike. It made me smile anyway (I hope I’m still hiking at that age) and I left them by the stream while I tackled the climb up to the top of the cove.

It was deserted on the top too – windy, and it started to rain. The limestone pavement is normally good fun for some jumping about but it was super slippery and after almost falling over (and being glad no one saw) I decided to skirt round it. It would be pretty easy to break a leg on that:

The path splits off at the edge of the pavement – you can either go left towards Malham Tarn or straight on towards Gordale. I wasn’t really sure how far the tarn was and since I was relying on my own sense of direction and map-reading skills decided to play it safe and head for Gordale. You walk through a field and eventually come to a road – cross this and the path from here on is surfaced. It’s an easy stroll to Gordale Scar.

You hear Gordale Scar before you see it. There’s a campsite first, next to a wide and shallow stream, and the path goes through this and continues on as hills rise up on either side. At the end of the path there’s a sharp turn which opens out into a natural amphitheatre – way above a flock of birds circled, and the waterfall crashed over some stones at the base of the Scar.

Gordale Scar isn’t just pretty – it’s also a wind tunnel. Apparently you can climb up it, and earlier I’d seen a path that looked like it might go up on top of the cliffs but I’m not quite sure.

Going back through the campsite and out onto the road, Janet’s Foss is signposted almost immediately. There are two paths here, one going up and one going down. I chose the down path as the most likely, and this takes you straight to the bottom of another waterfall. It’s a really enclosed space, with steep hills on either side and trees and mossy stones galore. I couldn’t get a good picture because it was crowded with people and dogs, but Janet’s Foss is prettier (imo) than Gordale Scar. Apparently it was named after Jennet, a fairy queen said to live in a cave behind the falls. It seemed quite apt.

The waterfall is part of Gordale Beck (the same stream as at Gordale Scar) – you follow this through the greenest woods ever away from the falls. There are fallen trees stuffed with coins just like at Malham cove. After a short while the woods end and it’s fields the rest of the way. The path is paved from here – you can see Malham Cove not far away. It’s just a short walk back to Malham village.

I reckon this walk’s about 4 or 5 miles – not long at all but there are plenty of places to dawdle (it took me three hours to get round because I kept stopping to look at things). The main road was packed with cars by early afternoon so if you want a quiet walk it’s best to go early. I’m glad I found all of the places I’d heard about, and next time I’ll have to get up to Malham Tarn. You could easily do them all in one day, at least while the weather’s okay

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Last night I dreamt I climbed a mountain. The path was long and steep and stony, and I was all alone.

When I got to the top there was a cabin, and I wanted nothing more than to sit there and rest for a while.

I went in, but there was already a blanket on the floor. Someone had slept there.

More people came in, and the cabin was the inside of a caravan. I wanted to leave but couldn’t think of a way to go politely.

Then I was walking down a sloping jetty on to a boat, somewhere in China. The boat had a candy-cane awning. There were people in some of the seats, but I was by myself.

The city was a river-city, with huge shining skyscrapers rising out of the water. On the river, enormous sunflowers grew, and the flowers opened as the boat passed.

I kept asking myself if this was a dream, but I couldn’t wake up.

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When I was at Kielder Star Camp last week, the sky was really clear on the first night. It was -5C by around 8pm, so cold I was shivering even in my thermals and lots of layers. The Milky Way was overhead – the first time I’ve ever seen it, and the stars were so bright…it was amazing.

I sat and looked through some binoculars, to try and find stars and constellations that I knew, and then I saw something strange. Directly overhead was a group of stars that looked absolutely symmetrical, and although I couldn’t see them with the naked eye every time I looked through the binoculars there they were. They weren’t on any of my iPhone apps, but it was so magical to see this little group that I decided to call them “The Owl”, in honour of my few days spent living in the woods.

Here is how to find it:

This picture shows Orion on the left – you can see the three stars in a row that make up his belt – and the Pleiades on the right – the bright blue cluster of stars. We’re going to look in the area right in the middle of these two, which apparently is the constellation of Taurus. This is the other red outline in the picture below.

Zooming in on the “horns” of Taurus, you can see The Owl for the first time.

This is about how I saw it through the binoculars – it really stood out it was so weirdly symmetrical. I hope you get the owl connection – the star in the middle is the head, and the others are some big long wings.

I found the stars on my World Wide Telescope desktop app, so I’ve labelled a picture with their names. They’re pretty dull numbers, so maybe I should rename them too?

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Gravity’s Rainbow, I have defeated you!

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In the interest of keeping track of things, this is a update on the goals list I wrote two weeks ago.

Catch up on my reading

Gravity’s Rainbow – this is a work in progress. I’m about a third of the way through.
Kraken by China Mieville
The book I started on NLP
Finish the LOTR audio book (not strictly reading) – currently on CD 9/13 (hooray!)

Learn things

Re-read The Logic Book (well, some of it)
Listen to/watch some educational programmes

Be Healthy

Go on at least one epic walk each weekend – I’ve been on a couple of epic walks each weekend so this is going well.
Keep a diary – I’m writing almost ever day

Better cash management

Put at least £300 a month into savings – I’ve put away £150 this month. There have been a couple of unexpected expenses so this could be all I manage.

Online stuff

Blog once a week – I’m doing it now!
Make a new affiliate site – this is my plan for tomorrow

Other

Spend more time/effort catching up with friends – I’ve seen friends a few times recently so I’m happy with this one
Get an eye test – I had an eye test and am not blind, just not taking enough screen breaks
Get a haircut (omg seriously)

Extra Things

I’ve been super organised this week and finally changed my address on things like my driving licence/V5 etc so that’s a big job ticked off my list. I guess it means I should stay in Thorner at least a few more months too, so I don’t have to do this all over again so soon!

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I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the coming year and the goals I should have. I can’t really think in long-term goals at the moment – my mind won’t even think beyond the next few months – but it’s nice to have some aims so here are mine. They’re not very challenging, probably not even terribly interesting, but they’re things I’d like to get done.

Catch up on my reading

• Gravity’s Rainbow
• Kraken by China Mieville
• The book I started on NLP
• Finish the LOTR audio book (not strictly reading)

Learn things

• Re-read The Logic Book (well, some of it)
• Listen to/watch some of these

Be Healthy

• Go on at least one epic walk each weekend
• Keep a diary

Better cash management

• Put at least £300 a month into savings

Online stuff

• Blog once a week
• Make a new affiliate site

Other

• Spend more time/effort catching up with friends
• Get an eye test
• Get a haircut (omg seriously)

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Around this time last year I did a pretty lengthy roundup of things I’d done or achieved in 2009. I’d like to do the same for 2010, but so much has happened this year that I’m not sure I can. On a practical level I’ve moved jobs again to work at Bronco, downgraded my car to something super cheap, and moved house again to a flat in Thorner. In a church.

On a personal level I certainly feel like an adult (something I didn’t really for a lot of 2009) but I haven’t achieved stuff like I did last year. I think I ended 2010 not sure where I am or where I’m going. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that next year is pretty open as far as plans go. If I’m trying to work something out in my head or find a way to accept it I sometimes think “what would Marcus Aurelius say?” (no really!) so here he is on the future:

“Let not the future trouble you; for you will come to it, if come you must, bearing with you the same reason which you are using now to meet the present.”

That’s my 2011.

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Frog and I saw Death of a Salesman at the West Yorkshire Playhouse last Friday – last time I went to the theatre was to see Othello back in 2009 so it was a bit of a treat!

Reading up on the play, I’m pretty astonished to find out it’s been around for over 60 years – I knew it was old but to have been on stage for that long is quite an achievement. I can see why – one of the first scenes involves the eldest (and prodigal) son Biff, talking about how he’d rather be working on a ranch somewhere than wasting his life in a City job, always hoping for something better. He talks about being a cog in the machine, and not even knowing you are, and he makes it sound like a waste of a life. He says if you know yourself, and stay true to yourself, you’re happier…even if it means turning your back on what people ‘expect’ you to do.

It’s really evocative of the despair some people feel once they’re trapped in the system, and it still resonates even today.

The acting was probably the best I’ve seen at the theatre, with a strong central cast. There are some quite physical scenes, and a lot of the scenes segue seamlessly into each other taking us back and forwards in time. Three hours went by really quickly, whereas before I’ve found plays to drag on a bit.

I totally recommend seeing Death of a Salesman- it’s on at the Playhouse till the 29th May.

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Karen Bruce, Labour activist in my contituency, has a website. I quote from her latest blog post entitled “What will the parties do for women?”:

“I was sorry to miss being at the LSE’s ‘what about women’ election debate I was meant to be at this week. I have just watched it on video and it was a great debate. You can watch the debate between Harriet Harman, Lynne Featherstone and Theresa May here. It’s a disgrace though that women (apart from the leaders’ wives) haven’t had the chance to be more prominent and at the forefront of the general election campaign as they should be. You may not get the chance to see women from the three parties debate in a high profile TV debate such as the leaders’ debates, but it’s well worth watching it via the LSE website.”

Sorry, what? “It’s a disgrace though that women (apart from the leaders’ wives) haven’t had the chance to be more prominent…”

Since when was it universally accepted that leader’s wives (or husbands, or whatever) should be prominent in politics? They’re not politicians! When leader’s wives get in front of the cameras, all that comes out of the media is who looks prettiest, or who’s the most fashionable. It would do us all a favour if they stayed in the background and didn’t detract from actual, political discussion. We need to be voting on policies, not who has the nicest family.

There’s more:

“Labour has taken action and through the new equalities legislation employers will be banned from having secrecy clauses. Employers will also be able to take positive action to allow them to diversify their workforce.”

Nooooo! Positive descrimination is bad! You can’t descriminate against men just to get more women into a workplace!

Argh! Karen Bruce looks to be a staunch supporter of Harriet Harperson…possibly the most terrifying, dangerous woman in politics today. Her closing sentence:

“Next Thursday I’ll be casting my vote to keep Harriet and her colleagues in a position where they can keep up the good work already done for women, there’s a lot more to do and only the Labour Party will do it!”

Good work? I would disagree.

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