Bank Holiday Monday dawned bright and sunny so we decided to go and find Gaddings Dam across in the Calder Valley. After low-level agonising - say 2-3 minutes - on my part, we elected to keep our feet on the ground, leave the wetsuits at home and save the pleasure of swimming for another visit. Last summer at Boundary Breeze in Cheshire as the weather grew warmer, the weeds took over, clogging up the water, making swimming difficult and unpleasant. On my last trip there, I also got snagged on a fishing line. That was the final straw, I wanted to find a better place to swim this year.
Across in Yorkshire, we parked up at The Shepherd's Rest Inn and hiked up to the reservoir, a steepish moorland walk which took about 20 minutes. On the way we passed a dead sheep which looked like it had been savaged by a wolf, a sobering sight. There was a flurry of hailstones and the wind was bitter, so I was mighty glad we'd ruled out a swim.
Here is the first encouraging sign that we were close to our goal
then up the steps
to the beautiful sparkling ex-reservoir, ruffled by an icy wind
Oh wow!!
there is a lovely little sandy beach
and the water is clear and sweet
I suppose it's easy to say from the comfort of my armchair, but I'm excited at the thought of going back up there and taking the plunge!!
