9.38 miles
Explorer Map OL30, - Yorkshire Dales (North)
This walk takes in a great variety of scenery, - the delightful
dale of Arkengarthdale itself, woodland, high moorland, and remnants
of the area's lead mining industry.
It is a walk best undertaken in good weather with high visibility,
as much of the enjoyment comes from the stupendous views.
The walk across the high moorland is one where it almost essential
to use a satellite navigator, or a compass at least, and should
NOT be undertaken in poor visibility (due to the remnants of the
lead mining industry). The path across the moorland is faint at
the very best, to non-existent.
There is a fairly steep ascent up to the hamlet of Booze, followed
by the track up to the high moorland.
The steep descent from the high moorland is over rough tussock
grass with no obvious path.
If you are lucky enough to have good weather with high visibility,
this walk ranks amongst the best.
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 Point : The car park just outside the hamlet of
Langthwaite (NZ00518 02321). Fee payable.
Walk into Langthwaite and cross the Arkle Beck by the bridge, then
head uphill to the hamlet of Booze using the roadway. The road is
very steep and narrow, and care must be taken for traffic.
Ignore the first signposted footpath on your left. Instead ocntinue
almost to the hamlet itself, where a track on the left heads up to
a farm. Just before the farm, there is a gated entrance to a walled
lane which heads up to the open moorland.
Once up on the moorland you come across a shooter's track. This is
followed initially, but when you come to an area of past lead mining
activity follow the compass rather than any shooter's track and make
sure that you continue in a Northerly direction. When you come to
Dry Gill Edge, there is no discernable path or track. Here, you descend
steeply downhill, and aim for the left of the small tarn by Dry Gill.
Continue on a bearing of about 350 degrees to reach the roadway by
a bridleway sign.
Head South down the road until you come to the stone bridge over the
Shaw Beck. Now follow the footpath North of Shaw Farm to High Eskeleth
Farm. Initially the footpath is quite clearly marked, but it helps
to use the 1 : 25000 map to check your route.
At High Eskeleth Farm, turn right along the road and continue to where
the road descends and bends sharply to the left at Faggergill Wood.
Continue along the road to Whaw Bridge and then along the field footpath
to the footbridge over the Arkle Beck just upstream of Wood House.
Now take the field footpath up to the road.
Turn left, and walk along the road for 2 - 300 yards. Then take the
track on your right and almost immediately take the very faint footpath
over rough grassland at a bearing of about 150 degrees until you come
to a gate just past the old lead mining flue.
Through the gate, continue along the footpath until you come to a
track.
Here you turn sharp left and go through the entrance gates of a private
house ("Hill House"). To the left of the house is another
gate which takes you to the field footpath.
Turn right and head downhill, aiming for the right of the school where
there is a gate onto the road.
Turn left, and go past the CB Inn. Past the CB Inn, on the right,
is a walled lane that takes you down to the stone bridge over the
Arkle Beck just South of Scar House.
Head up the roadway towards Scar House. On the left is a track that
takes you into woodland, where you will find the footpath (behind
Scar House) that returns you to Langthwaite.