With the Christmas festivities and New Year passing, my thoughts turned to the weeks ahead and an irresistable urge for some adventure. A couple of phone calls to like-minded friends, and some rooting around the internet for some cheap travel tickets, and plans were set.

One of the joys of car-free walking is making up your own routes. Rather than sticking to a well-trodden path, or a particular peak, you can select two stations or bus stops - one to start and one to finish - and make up the bit in between. With this cunning plan in mind, I spread out my maps of the Yorkshire Dales and started scanning.

These days, the narrow crests and rocky peaks attract their fair share of walkers and scramblers, but rarely suffer from the overcrowding that afflicts other parts of the National Park. If the views alone don't take your breath away, then the sharp breezes that whip in from the Irish Sea will finish the job.