Laura's Route

About trip

Distance: 6 miles, Minnimum Time: 2hrs 30mins, Difficulty: Moderate, Description: Keld - its name is the Old Norse word for a spring - is one of the most remote of the Dales villages. Set at the head of Swaledale, its cluster of grey cottages is a centre for some of the most spectacular walks in North Yorkshire. This walk follows, for part of its way, the traditional route by which the dead of the upper Dales were taken the long distance for burial in Grinton churchyard. Leaving the village, the walk takes the Pennine Way as it follows the sweep of the Swale on its way down to Muker. This is Kisdon Side, on the slopes of the conical hill known as Kisdon. It was formed at the end of the ice age; the Swale used to flow west of the hill but glacial debris blocked its course and forced it to the east, in its current bed. Muker and the mines. As the Pennine Way goes west, eventually to climb the slopes of Great Shunner Fell, the walk joins the Corpse Way and descends into Muker. It is worth taking some time to explore the village. Like many Swaledale settlements, it expanded in the 18th and 19th centuries because of local lead mining. The prominent Literary Institute was built for the mining community; though in a nice reverse of fortunes, when the new chapel came to be built in the 1930s, dressed stone taken from the ore hearths at the Old Gang Mine down the valley was used. The Anglican church, which eventually did away with the long journey to Grinton, dates from 1580. Rocks and Crackpot. Beyond Muker, the walk passes through hay meadows and along the banks of the Swale. Both sandstone and limestone are found in this section; look out for the sandstone bed underlying the river. The limestone of the area is part of the thick Ten Fathom bed, one of the Yoredale series of sedimentary rocks. Where the valley of Swinner Gill crosses the path are the remains of a small smelt mill which served nearby mines. As you ascend the hill beyond, the ruins of Crackpot Hall, a farmhouse long abandoned because of mining subsidence and changes in farming fortune, are to your right. Its name means ‘Crows Pothole’. As the track descends the valley side, the waterfall of Kisdon Force is below you on the Swale, and there are high overhanging crags on the opposite bank. Further along, you turn downhill to the footbridge over the river, passing East Gill Force. Like all the Dales falls, the volume of its water can vary wildly from the merest summer trickle to a raging winter torrent. Whatever its condition, the rocks around can be very slippery and you should take special care if you leave the path to get a better view. While you're there: Take the minor road that leaves the B6270 just west of Keld to reach Tan Hill and its inn, the highest in England at 1,732 feet (528m) above sea level. With no neighbouring dwelling for at least 4 miles (6.4km) in any direction, it is as welcome a sight for walkers today as it was for the packhorse-train drivers of the past, and the coal and lead miners who worked on the surrounding moors. It’s not advisable to attempt the drive in fog, snow or icy weather. What to look out for: Around Muker, traditional hay meadows are still to be found. They are an important part of the farmer’s regime, which is why signs ask you to keep to single file as you walk through them. Such a method of farming helps maintain the wide variety of wild flowers that grow in the hay meadows. The barns, too, are part of older farming patterns, and form one of the most important visual assets of the Dales. The Muker area is especially rich in them - there are 60 within 0.5 mile (800m) of the village. Their purpose was to store the hay after it was cut, to feed the three or four animals who would be over-wintered inside. This was to save the farmer moving stock and hauling loads of hay long distances. It also meant that the manure from the beasts could be used on the field just outside the barn. Where to eat and drink: Muker has a top-notch tea room, attached to the Village Store. Just round the corner, the Farmers Arms provides excellent beer, plus good homemade bar meals in the cosy bar with its open fire. Keld Lodge has a good restaurant. Directions: Walk back down the car park entrance road, and straight ahead down a gravel track, signed ‘Muker’. Continue along at the upper level, ignoring a path downhill to the left. Go through a gate, pass a sign to Kisdon Upper Force, and continue along the path below crags to a signpost. Turn right, following the Pennine Way, and go up to a gap in a wall and another signpost. Go left and follow a rough but mostly level path along Kisdon Side, first above woodland then across more open slopes. Cross a ladder stile as the path starts to descend. Go down to a signpost and bear right to another signpost, where the Pennine Way goes right. Bear left down a walled track, marked ‘Muker’. The track becomes gravelled and then metalled, finally descending into a walled lane on the edge of the village. Continue to a T-junction. Turn left and in a few paces left again by a sign to Gunnerside and Keld. Follow the paved path through six gates to the river. Turn sharp right and walk downstream to a footbridge. Ascend steps beyond the footbridge and turn left, signed ‘Keld’. Follow a clear track up along the valley, until it curves right into Swinner Gill. Cross a footbridge by the remains of lead workings, and go up to a wooden gate. Go straight ahead up the hill and through woodland. The track levels out, then starts to descend, winding left round a barn then swinging back right. Continue steadily downhill to reach a gate above East Gill Force. Fork left by a wooden seat, at a sign to Keld. Follow the path down to a footbridge then bear right, uphill, to a T-junction, where you turn right and follow the track back to the car.