Today I completed the final day of a 4 day trip based on the actual footsteps of James Herriot (Alf Wight) in his ’Youth Hostels’ story described in the book “James Herriots Yorkshire”.

And since this is my final day I urge anyone that hasn’t read this book to get hold of a copy. The current TV series and the original one filmed in the 1980’s are both excellent. But I must say that if you haven’t read the whole sequence of James Herriot books then PLEASE do read them too – you are in for a treat!

You can get the books from ‘The World of James Herriot’ in Thirsk or online here:-

https://worldofjamesherriot.com/herriot-gift-shop/

Back to todays journey… Grinton Youth Hostel was Alfs last overnight on this route. It is a proper Youth Hostel with a proper cooked breakfast – they have hungry walkers and cyclists to cater for and it certainly didn’t disappoint me this morning. I had one last wander down the stone floored corridor and it struck me that this place was built to last. Everything about it was solid, utilitarian and characterful.

Alfs story mentioned that it was an old Hunting Lodge – the full history is described inside the hostel:

This explains why the cycle storage building was referred to as the ‘game room’ when I arrived. It was the place where they hung up the hunted birds and game.

But today there was no game, just bikes. Lots of bikes. I managed to extract mine and after one last look back at Reeth I set off in the direction of Leyburn for the last day of my Herriots YHA route. This was the shortest leg of the 4 days and I intended to take my time, but was a bit worried about the moody looking clouds gathering above.

One of the images, by Derry Brabbs, in ‘James Herriots Yorkshire’ is of a lone windswept tree. Alf remarked that it was a reminder of the harsh conditions up there on the moor. Its quite an atmospheric photo and an example of what a good photographer Derry was. (He also did the photographs for Wainwrights book ‘In the Valleys of Lakeland’). With this image in my mind I was surprised to find an equally windswept tree on the harsh moorland adjacent to the road. Maybe even the same one? The clouds also seemed quite gloomy much like in the picture so I didn’t stop long before continuing on my way.

The road then undulates like a big dipper, with a bridge in one of the dips and then it climbs again. I wanted to find the place on Grinton Moor where Alf stopped on his first journey along this road where he stopped his car by a small stream, got out to admire the view and fell in love with the Dales. And I think I found it…

I stopped here and could imagine how he must have felt. The road inviting you on into the green undulating wonderland beyond Reeth and up Swaledale. But for me the road continued on up until I reached to top of Whipperdale Bank. Another stop and another view. This time in the far distance I could just make out what I think were the industrial factory buildings and chimneys in Teesside.

This reminded me of another of Alfs stories. The story of a young man called Frank Metcalfe who gave up his job in the distant steelworks to start out in farming. He launched into it with every ounce of enthusiasm and dedication he could muster – farming in the Dales then was not an easy option. Alf admired him very much and they became friends as he built up his dairy herd. He had great plans for the future. Sadly his herd were struck with Brucellosis and Alf couldn’t cure them. In the end the young man had to sell the farm and return to the steelworks. This is an example of Alfs stories illustrating the things that just happen to us in life. His stories cover disappointments, yes, but also triumphs. They cover hardship and opulence, romance, bereavement, kindness, cruelty, love and I could go on and on. I started out as a teenager thinking the stories were going to be about animals and gory operations but as I read more I came to realise that they are actually about people. The things that happen to us and the way we respond.

I turned for the long final downhill section in to Leyburn and had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for all these stories which have guided me when the ‘curved balls’ of life present themselves. And it is one of his stories, ‘Youth Hostels’, that bought me into the Dales this weekend to follow in his exact footsteps.

Once back in Leyburn I packed up my bike and gear into the car but just couldn’t bring myself to drive home straight away. I wasn’t ready to go. And besides it was lunchtime, so I made my way into the Golden Lion Pub and found a table which looked out on what Alf described as a ‘grey horseshoe of houses‘ that surround the market square and I treated myself to a Yorkshire ‘Butchers Board’ from their simple menu.

This would be my last taste of Yorkshire for a while and I wanted to take stock of my trip. The lady serving the food saw my astonishment when this selection (see below) arrived and went on to describe that it included a thick slice of local Yorkshire Ham – and Piccalilli.

I have a feeling that if you have read The James Herriot Books and you have read this far then you will know exactly what I was thinking….

THANK YOU for following my little journey this weekend.
THANK YOU for those that I have met and spoken to along the way – online and face to face.
And THANK YOU most of all to Alf whose books mean the world to me.