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| I'd long wanted to hike the secretive Cumbrian valley of Longsleddale, and last weekend's visit to my mother-in-law, who lives in the Lake District, gave me the opportunity. |
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| The curvaceous river Sprint . . . |
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| . . . seduced both eye and heart. |
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| The walk began in the tiny settlement of Sadgill. |
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| A clear and easy track led up the valley . . . |
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| . . . through an exquisite autumn landscape. |
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| These old stone walls were a constant and sinuous delight. |
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| On my left rose the lower slopes of Kentmere Pike . . . |
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| . . . while on my right towered the precipitous rocks of Buckbarrow Crag. |
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| A meeting of two mountain streams. |
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| I climbed effortlessly up a gently forgiving path . . . |
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| . . . towards Gatesgarth Pass. |
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| In this eastern area of Lakeland, peat meets rock to create a lonely but sublime desolation. |
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| Entrance to a sheepfold in Longsleddale. |
