9.93 miles
Explorer Map OL30, - Yorkshire Dales Northern & Central Areas
A walk that takes in Calver Hill, which at one time was not open
for public access but is now accessible through Open Access. This
hill dominates lower Swaledale, and climbing it is highly worthwhile
for the views provided.
For obvious reasons, try and choose a day when the visibility
is good and the weather is reasonably fine.
Navigation is of no great difficulty, though the route up Calver
Hill is best seen in good weather.
Obviously, the walk takes in a modest amount of hill climbing,
but this can be tackled by any reasoanbly fir person.
This is a walk with varied views of Swaledale and Arkengarthdale,
and has much to recommend it.
For a Memory Map overlay of the walk described, please select the
above link.
(Overlay made with Version 5 of Memory
Map)
Some new mapping software is now availabe which you may want to try, - QUO mapping. You can download the software for free from the link below, complete with demonstration maps. Having installed QUO, you can import and export Memory Map overlays. Thus YOU DON'T NEED Memory Map to use any of the overlays provided on the Grey Panthers website, - just use QUO!!
Start from the centre of Reeth (SE03816 99292).
Take the road out of Reeth that leads to Upper Swaledale (Muker, Gunnerside
etc.)
About 200 yeards uphill, a lane on your right is signposted as a footpath
to Skelldale. Follow this lane until it emerges on open moorland.
Here, head across the open pasture at a bearing of about 280 degrees.
You should find a faint footpath heading in this direction, which
soon joins up with a broader and more obvious track heading in this
direction.
You will eventually find a broken down wall that heads uphill on a
bearing of about 290 degrees. There is a footpath on the right of
this wall.
At the end of the wall, head for the summit cairn by following the
fairly obvious track that leads to it.
From the summit of Calver Hill, head Westwards downhill following
a line of cairns.
Continue Westwards until you see the a way whereby you head by line
of sight for the footpath that runs beside the wall and ends up at
the steep cleft of Cringley Bottom.
Cross the Gill here, and then head for Surrender Smelt Mill and Surrender
Bridge.
At Surrender Bridge, head uphill along the road until you come to
the ford at Fore Gill Gate.
Here take the track that leads you to Raw Bank and Arkle Town.
In Arkle Town take the lane that leads to the Arkle Beck. Cross the
Beck by the footbridge and then simply follow the footpath beside
the beck all the way back to Reeth.