An easy walk in scenic Swaledale, with an adventurous option to witness the austere beauty of Swinner Gill.
A
Muker walk
posted on 04/01/22 by Walks from the Door. Last update : 05/01/22
Description
(S/E) From the car park entrance in Keld, walk out past the farmhouse and take the track ahead, with an information board on your right and a stone barn on the left.
(1) Pass another barn in the field on your right, then turn left and descend the steep wooded path to the River Swale. Cross the footbridge and climb the hill to a track by East Gill Force (the Pennine Way to the left provides a return route to Tan Hill).
Turn right above the waterfall and go through a gate. Climb to a second gate and contour above the woods leading down to the Swale. The track bends left and right past a barn.
(2) When it divides, for the shorter, easier route stay on the lower (right-hand) track, descending to cross Swinner Gill at a footbridge by the ruins of a lead mine and rejoining the described route at step
For the longer and more difficult route to Swinner Gill lead mine, take the left fork and climb the hill to the ruin of Crackpot Hall. Just before the ruin, take a stony track on the left, climbing alongside spoil-heaps to another, higher ruin.
Continue to a gate with a dramatic view of Swinner Gill.
(3) Follow the narrow path along the valley side, then descend to a stone arched bridge over the stream which gives access to the ruined building at the lead mine.
Returning over the bridge, turn left and take a lower path that runs along the top of the crags to the right of Swinner Gill (take care). As you descend towards the stream there is a short rocky scramble where you may need to use your hands.
(4) Pick your way across the stream above a small waterfall and locate a narrow path in the bracken beyond that leads to a stile over a wire fence. Follow the path along the steep valley side until the crags above peter out.
On reaching a fence, turn right and descend steeply to the track at the bottom.
(5) Turn left. Cross a small side-stream and follow the track with the River Swale on your right. Continue along the track for a mile. When the track starts to climb, take a narrow path on the right that leads along the top of a small cliff and then turn right again (signposted Muker) and descend to Rampsholme Bridge.
(6) Cross the bridge and turn right, now heading upstream with the river on your right. Ignore the path to Muker on your left and continue to a stone barn.
The path continues along the valley across fields, passing another barn on the left before dropping through a gate and continuing through riverside fields. Below a wooded slope, the path leaves the river and passes some more old barns (to left and right).
(7) Level with a ruined farm the path climbs gently above the valley bottom, passing more barns with views over the river to the spoil-heaps and assorted buildings of Beldi Hill Low-Level lead mine, a scheduled monument with several visible remains including the mine level.
Beyond a gate in a wall, the path enters an area of trees and bracken and continues to climb, becoming rather rocky under foot.
(8) Just beyond an old lime kiln on the right, the trees open up and there is an optional detour to Kisdon Force, via a gap in the wall that gives access to a narrow path that descends through bracken to the river, steeply at the bottom (care).
Returning to the main path, turn right and continue towards Keld up the brackeny hillside. The path then descends below a limestone cliff and the Pennine Way joins from the left. Pass a signpost to Kisdon Upper Force.
Continue along the top of a wood with fields on your left, passing the junction with the outward path, and continue back to Keld. (S/E)
Waypoints
- S/E : km 0 - alt. 324 m - Keld
- 1 : km 0.43 - alt. 305 m - River Swale - Footbridge
- 2 : km 1.51 - alt. 364 m - Two options
- 3 : km 2.44 - alt. 410 m - Stone arched bridge
- 4 : km 2.87 - alt. 363 m - Small waterfall
- 5 : km 3.35 - alt. 289 m - Small cliff
- 6 : km 5.3 - alt. 257 m - Stone barn
- 7 : km 7.46 - alt. 286 m - Mine
- 8 : km 8.29 - alt. 311 m - Kisdon Force
- S/E : km 9.2 - alt. 324 m - Keld
Useful Information
Start: Park Lodge Farm car park, Keld (41⁄4 miles by car, 4 miles via Pennine Way). Payment by honesty box (£2 all day in 2021).
The shorter route presents no particular difficulties, but the optional route beyond Swinner Gill lead mine uses a narrow and slightly exposed path with a short scramble and an awkward stream crossing (which could be impossible if the water is high).
Pdf Link : http://walksfromthedoor.co.uk/i/walks/No...
THE TAN HILL INN
Reeth, Richmond, Swaledale,
North Yorkshire DL11 6ED
Web www.tanhillinn.com
Email info@tanhillinn.com
Tel 01833 533007
Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.
During the walk or to do/see around
On a lonely hill high in the Yorkshire Dales stands a unique and historic inn dating back to the 17th century with its exposed beams, stone-flagged floor and welcoming fire. The world-famous Tan Hill Inn is Britain’s highest public house at 1,732 feet (528m) above sea level. Situated in Swaledale, just near Keld, the highest inn in Great Britain is a warm meeting place known internationally, where walkers and cyclists brush shoulders with bohemian like-minded individuals. Y ou’ re likely to converse with people from the arts, music, film and theatre, and possibly a sprinkling of celebrity, as well as sports-minded people who have made their way up to the “Top Pub”, all set against the backdrop of some of the most stunning scenery to be found in the UK.
The views down Swaledale from the ruined farmhouse of Crackpot Hall are exceptional.
The river is reckoned to be the fastest-flowing in England, draining much of the northern Dales before flowing through Richmond to the River Ure.
Kisdon Force is one of the more dramatic waterfalls on this section of the Swale. The water level drops 10 metres over the upper and lower falls, which canoeists have graded as IV (“difficult”) and V (“extremely difficult”) respectively.
East Gill Force, on a tributary of the Swale, is one of the more accessible waterfalls in the area, being located at the point where the north–south Pennine Way and east– west Coast to Coast Walk cross. The upper fall has
a drop of about 15 feet.
The Coast to Coast Walk was conceived by Alfred Wainwright, and first described by him in 1973. Although not formally adopted
as a National Trail, it is one of
the most popular long-distance walks in Britain, and runs for 182 miles from St Bees on the Irish Sea to Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea coast.
Ravenseat is a delightful hamlet on Whitsundale Beck. Most of the stone buildings, including the fine packhorse bridge over the beck, are listed buildings. TV personality Amanda Owen, the “Yorkshire Shepherdess”, lives here with her nine children.
The Pennine Way was the first official long-distance path in Britain. It runs for 268 miles from Edale in the Peak District to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders and was opened in 1965.
A circular earthwork and some stone walls mark the site of a well- preserved 19th-century horse gin, where a pony would have wound a vertical capstan to haul kibbles (large buckets) of coal via pulleys from nearby mineshafts.
Reviews and comments
Clarity of route description
5 / 5
Clarity of route map
5 / 5
Walk interest
5 / 5
Date of walk : 29/04/22
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Took the easy route due to time limitation so missed out Swinner Gill. A lovely walk down the valley & back.
