Following Arthur Puckrin’s funeral on Friday 20th July, I crossed W-E as a tribute to him as a good mate, a great Yorkshireman and one of the finest of Dirgers of all time; a truly inspirational character. In the early days of the Lyke Wake Walk there was no guide book and only general rules of what constituted an acceptable crossing plus the fragmentary route descriptions that had appeared in the Dalesman, Yorkshire Post & one or two other local newspapers. Arthur Puckrin first crossed as a teenager in 1956 having been told about Bill Cowley’s challenge & the first crossing by a scouting friend, Bill Dell who had taken part in the 1st crossing the year before. At that time there were no tracks in many places on the moors so Arthur planned his own route with the intention of going directly eastwards from the Trig Point start, over Whorlton Moor (a route that had been considered for the 1st crossing), then beyond Rosedale, Arthur used to go more northerly route across Egton Moor in order to go north of the Fylingdales military firing range (you needed a Ministry of Defence permit to go that way & there were unexploded bombs on the ground).
So I departed Scarth Wood Moor directly to Holy Well Gill shooting hut, round the head of Scugdale via Green Howe & Cock Howe to Chop Gate (the Buck Inn has great ice cream!), onwards to Urra Moor. From Rosedale Head Arthur’s route goes further north than the Classic Route to Glaisdale Head, then Pike Hill, Goathland, Sil Howe, May Beck, Evan Howe, The Flask, Beacon Howes and Ravenscar. 45 miles if anyone else fancies having a go! A flipping long way round if you ask me, definitely a young man’s route!
God bless you Arthur mate, Rest in Peace. I hope you are as fleet of foot on your journey over Whinny Moor as you have been in this life.