The Mosaic Trail Revisited

Last March I hiked part of The Mosaic Trail with my hiking group. Uncharacteristically, the group leader got lost. We only managed to complete about half the trail and spent about two hours trying to find our way back to our cars.

Today we took on the Mosaic Trail again. This time we completed the trail with little difficulty. (There were a couple of moments when we stopped and puzzled over our maps and directions.) It was a long walk, at least for this group -- 6.5 miles. There are other rambling groups that hike twice as far as that, or more. For me 6.5 miles felt like just enough. Aside from the mosaics, we passed many creatures along the way: piglets, grouse, pheasants and of course sheep around every corner. This week the wild blackberries are in season and many of the hikers snacked on them as we followed the trail. It is a great trail and one of my favorite. It is situated high up on the moors above Nidderdale. It takes us about 30 minutes to drive to the starting point (and quite a drive it is with steep climbs, hairpin curves and single track roads) but once we are there we feel so isolated. We passed by the odd farm or cottage here and there and a few derelict buildings as well. The views over Nidderdale would have been lovely if the morning hadn't been shrouded in mist. By noon, the sun had burned through the mist and it got quite warm. It felt good to be out there soaking in the sun's rays. Especially since the weather forecasters predicted today would be the last nice day until next April.