From Reeth up to Fremington Edge

About trip

Distance: 7 miles, Minnimum Time: 3hrs, Difficulty: Moderate, Description: Reeth has always had a strategic role in the Yorkshire Dales. Set above the junction of Swaledale and Arkengarthdale on Mount Calva, it controlled the important route westwards from Richmond. Sheep were, for a long time, the basis of Reeth’s prosperity - it has been a market town since 1695 - and there are still annual sheep sales each autumn, as well as the important Reeth Show around the beginning of September. The wool was used in Reeth’s important knitting industry - both the men and women would click away with their needles at stockings and other garments. Reeth also used to be a centre for the lead-mining industry, which extended up Arkengarthdale and over Marrick Moor. Two Bridges and a Church. Reeth Bridge, reached by the Leyburn road from the Green, has suffered over the years from the effects of the swollen River Swale. The present bridge dates from the early 18th century, replacing one washed away in 1701, itself built after its predecessor succumbed in 1547. The path beside the river takes us to Grinton Bridge. Nearby is Grinton church, once the centre of a huge parish that took in the whole of Swaledale, making very long journeys necessary for marriages and funerals. Curiously, it began life as a mission church for the Augustinian canons of far-away Bridlington Priory on the east coast. Nuns and Schools at Marrick. The approach to Marrick Priory along the lane suggests that you are about to reach one of the most important churches in the Dales. In a way that is true. Marrick in the Middle Ages was home to a group of Benedictine nuns. It was founded by Roger de Aske, whose descendent, Robert, was one of the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace, the uprising against King Henry VIII’s closure of the monasteries. Hilda Prescott’s novel The Man on a Donkey, about Robert Aske and the Pilgrimage, is partly set at Marrick. Today the nuns’ buildings are partly demolished or absorbed into farm buildings. The church was reduced in size in 1811, and the complex is now used as a Youth Centre for the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, offering outdoor sports and adventure training. After Marrick Priory the path climbs steeply uphill on rough stone steps called the Nun’s Causey (a corruption of causeway). Now used as part of the Coast to Coast Walk, from St Bee’s Head in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay on the east coast, this is said to be the route which the nuns from the priory built so they could reach the old Richmond road that ran along the summit of the hill. The original 365 steps have been broken up and removed over the centuries, but the path still retains a suitably medieval atmosphere. While you're there: See the little Swaledale Folk Museum in Reeth, which has displays about life in the Dales. Lead mining and knitting, farming and religion, trades and professions, stone-walling and building are all shown through scenes of everyday toil. Alongside the exhibits are fascinating original photographs of Reeth and the Dales in the past. What to look out for: Traditionally, Dales farmers had their own way of counting their sheep, starting (from one) yahn, tayhn, tether, mether, mimp, hither, lither, anver, danver…and wherever you go in this area you are likely to come across the Swaledale sheep. This hardy breed, which spends much of its life out in the open on exposed moorland, has thick wool that is very resistant to wet. When spun it is very hardwearing, and modern treatment methods ensure that any harshness is removed. This didn’t seem to have worried the Swaledale knitters, who from the time of Queen Elizabeth I onwards used the wool in their products. She encouraged the production of woollen stockings, and Swaledale’s first pair was presented to her. By the 18th century 18,000 pairs, all hand knitted, were being produced annually. Where to eat and drink: All three of Reeth’s pubs - The King’s Arms and the Black Bull (next door to each other) and the Buck Inn - provide good food at lunchtime and in the evenings. The Black Bull is particularly noted for its pies. There are also tea rooms and cafés around the Green. Directions: From the Green, walk downhill, in the direction of Leyburn, to Reeth Bridge. Over the bridge, continue along the road as it swings right. About 100yds (91m) along, turn right at a footpath sign to Grinton. Follow the riverside path to a signpost, then continue on a wellmarked path across fields to ascend steps on to Grinton Bridge. Turn left a few paces, cross the road and take a track beside the bridge. Follow the riverside path for about 0.5 mile (800m) to a metalled lane. Turn right and follow the lane to Marrick Priory. Walk past the buildings, over a cattle grid, and bear left through a gate signed ‘Marrick’. Walk up the grassy track, then follow the paved path through woodland. Continue through fields, with a wall on the right, on to a metalled lane. Opposite Harlands House turn left, then left again at a triangular junction. Follow the road for 0.25 mile (400m), and turn left over a stile at a footpath sign. Follow the wall, crossing to the other side at a waymarked stile. Continue along the wall then keep on in the same direction, descending slightly to meet a road. By the road sign to Marrick, go left through a stile. Go straight across a field then follow a wall on the left. The track becomes clearer as it reaches heather moorland, climbing gently over Fremington Edge, with superb views of Swaledale. All around are dry-stone walls, some reaching in long, straight lines to the summit of the moors. These were built to enclose land after the Parliamentary Enclosure Act of 1778. Such enclosure was recommended by Sir Thomas Elliot of Fremington, responsible for the improvement of much of Yorkshire’s moorland. As the track starts to descend, you pass an area of spoil heaps. Just beyond is a gate on the left. Go through the gate and follow a faint path half right. Reeth appears dramatically below. Bear right along the brink of a very steep slope (beware broken crags below), then slant down to a gap in a wall. Continue the slanting descent through the remains of chert mines. Chert, a hard flint like black or white stone, was used, finely ground, in the pottery industry. You reach a track near a footpath sign. From the sign, follow a grassy path above White House to a gated stile. Bear left on a green path, soon descending steeply to a track, signpost and stile. Go through the gate and follow a faint path half right. Reeth appears dramatically below. Bear right along the brink of a very steep slope (beware broken crags below), then slant down to a gap in a wall. Continue the slanting descent through the remains of chert mines. Chert, a hard flint like black or white stone, was used, finely ground, in the pottery industry. You reach a track near a footpath sign, Point B. From the sign, follow a grassy path above White House to a gated stile. Bear left on a green path, soon descending steeply to a track, signpost and stile. Cross the stile, walk past a barn and through two more stiles, then bear left, parallel with the river, with a wall on your left. Go through a stile, pass a barn, then through the left of two gates in a crossing wall. Continue through a long narrow field to the road by Reeth Bridge.. Cross the bridge to return to the Green.