Pickering 2019

One again we've spent a week in Pickering.  The access to moorland, coast and in foul weather, York and Malton is a great combination for a break close to home. The weather was mixed, mostly changeable with occasional heavy showers until Friday when it was quite warm. Unusually there wasn't a day which was very wet and so we didn't visit York,

Running

Regular readers will know that I'm gradually re-starting running after an achilles tendon issue and so I didn't do any major runs. I went out briefly early evening twice and was glad of the flatness around the town as that gave me an easy time and allowed me to run  for a few minutes longer,

Swimming

I managed to fit in 3 swims. A basic internal session at Ryedale Swim and Fitness Centre which was great (for me) due to being nearly empty. I also managed to be at Helmsley Open Air Pool at opening time. The pool is freshly relined but the changing facilities are basic. Nonetheless it was lovely to swim under a blue sky in pleasantly warm water. Whilst I was there the pool became progressively busier and it became hard to swim repeated lengths as they don't have a lane system.

Finally we drove out to Northallerton and Ellerton Lake. The lake is a great resource and unlike most swimming lakes it's open practically all day, every day. I find the buoy layout very confusing but I suspect that is my problem and no-one seems very bothered about traffic so long as it's clockwise.

I managed just over 1500m, supposedly three full laps is a mile, with a fair few breaks to work out where I was going and due to being tired! I'm out of practice at swimming into the wind.

Hiking

We did a variety of hikes including a short one on Sutton Bank and a longer one through Dalby Forest. We walked a fair way along Filey Beach, a few youngsters were paddling but even though the wind was slight I wasn't tempted as the sea is susceptible to poor quality, especially when there is heavy rain.

To the Tabular Hills

My long-for-me run was postponed from Saturday to Sunday but with the bonus of being based next to the North Yorks Moors. I planned a 25km run northwards out of Pickering, picking up the Tabular Hills Walk before returning south to Pickering.

My workflow of Viewranger on Android via gimporter to Garmin 935 worked a treat to set up a instant route to follow. However this approach doesn't work when the route is diverted, as it seems to be in the quarry. As it was a Sunday I allowed myself to hunt around in the quarry for the path to Haugh Rigg. However being sandwiched between quarry workings and a live rife range I had to accept that I'd missed the track.

I resorted to the road and then a sunken track to Newton-on-Rawcliffe. Next time I'm in the area I'll have to try descending along the ridge into the quarry to show the correct route.

Next my route continued through the lovely woodland of Stony Moor, which is no doubt boggy when the weather is normal, along the Tabular Hills Walk to Cawthorn Moor. I must say that I was finding the run to be hard work and was glad to note 'only' 10km remaining.

In Cawthorn I headed south, off the signed walk through expansive fields with Pickering just visible in the distant valley.

I finished off with a few km along the A170 back to town. I must admit that even though there were no obstacles I started on a run/walk routine to stay comfortable as I'd a week of hiking ahead of me.