After a good night's rest, Margaret and David Cullingford, the owners of Craven Cottage, prepared us a hearty breakfast while we visited with them and their young grandson.
We set out early and since Dales way goes through the middle of town, we were already on the path when we left the front door.
Just up the street was the Grassington Town Hall.
Just up the street was the Grassington Town Hall.
The old cobblestone streets were picturesque even with overcast skies.
I had to include this lovely picture from Jayz space blog
Judy, just before leaving Grassington
We're starting to climb now
Grassington in the distance behind us.
The higher we climbed, the more open the fells became.
We're on the right path to Kettlewell.
As we walked through Lea Green, a place rich with ancient earthworks, the path was clear and it was pleasant walking even though we were climbing. The whole area is a wonderful nature reserve full of archeological interest.
We passed the remains of a burial cairn and ancient bell pits--a primitive method of mining.
Approaching a lime kiln high in the moors
I wondered at the time what the lime was used for..."A field lime kiln such as this one was built to burn limestone. The quicklime produced was then slaked with water to produce calcium hydroxide (slaked lime). This was mostly used to improve grassland by reducing the acidity of the soil, especially of intake land or reclaimed moorland during the enclosures of the 18th and 19th centuries. Slaked lime was also an important ingredient in making lime mortar."
Looking back to the valley below
The moors were crisscrossed with old stone fences. Can you imagine the work in collecting and constructing them? No doubt it took a tremendous amount of physical labor even with the help of animals.
Every fence had to be crossed with some kind of stile or gate. They were there every few hundred feet for miles.
The sky looked more ominous, but we didn't have rain.
Our friends, Ann and Andy, high up on the moor
And they took our picture as well, looking the other direction.
We all started out, but everyone was ahead of me!
And finally, we started the long walk down.
Through the woods...
and back down to the valley below
The pheasants were out in force. There were a few males, but lots of hens, or maybe they were young males who didn't have their colors yet.
Russ coming in to Kettlewell...
Entrance to St. Mary's Church
Here is Russ sitting on a bench while I explore the beautiful St Mary's Church. It's a new, modern church, just built in 1885! 
But it was the third one built on this same site, so the cemetery is very old. Most of it was
beautiful, well groomed, and cared for.
However, the more I explored, the sadder I became at seeing the terrible upkeep of so many of the gravestones. At the back of the property, there were even grass clippings and trash piled on and around the beautiful old headstones. Totally uncared for and fallen into disrepair.
But otherwise, it was a lovely village with lots of interesting shops. This is the bridge approaching the Blue Belle Inn.
Soon we were again back in the countryside.
The river Wharfe is still with us....or maybe I should say we are still with the river Wharfe! It meanders along at sort of a lazy pace. Like us....
We finally made it to Buckden and our inn for the night. Buckden is a small village, and the this inn seems to be its main attraction. This was a long day, and I was so ready to stop. Russ met up with Ann and Andy again and had a drink with them on the patio, while I soaked my weary bones in a bath! Ah, bliss!
Next entry: Sept. 17 Day 4
