Maiden Castle and Harkerside

The weather's been a bit uninspring of late, or at least at the times I've been able to get out in it. Frustrating. So, today, with the mountain leaders' motto "If it aint raining, it aint training" in mind, I decided to visit Swaledale.

I was keen to visit Maiden Castle and take in Harkerside, a modest hill near Reeth.

Maiden Castle is thought to be an Iron Age hill fort but its position is so defensively weak, with dead and rising ground in the vicinity, that its function remains enigmatic.  The misty, damp conditions heightened, for me, the sense of history and mystery. Notes from Julian Cope's Modern Antiquarian website here.

Ditch and banking of Maiden Castle overlooking Swaledale

Harkerside, in common with much of the local moorland, has been historically worked for galena, lead ore. This activity, together with modern grouse shooting, has resulted in a network of cycleable tracks through picturesque heather moor and sometimes strange industrial landscapes.

I must come back with my bike someday and visit Dales Bike Centre. Closed (winter opening hours) when I turned up for coffee and cake. :-(

A couple more photos here.

The Duke of Edinburgh meets Joe

On Saturday I travelled to Goole to take part in training as a Duke of Edinburgh's Award Leader.  There were youth-workers, teachers, instructors and prison officers from all over the Yorkshire and Humberside region in attendance.  I was there with colleagues from Creative International Adventures for whom I start work in March.

One of the training activities involved inventing a young person; drawing a pen portrait of their likes and dislikes, interests and background then considering the barriers they may face and a programme which may suit them.  Interesting to note how my younger collegues heaped problem after problem onto poor Joe Bloggs. Merciless!

It was impressive to hear how prison officers from HMP Doncaster aimed to introduce the award to young prisoners in their care; how they balanced the need for punishment with the prospect of rehabilitation.

Any how, here's my certificate. I'm now an accredited DofE Leader and I'm really looking forward to helping young people gain their award.