Muker: 8 August 2010
- Distance
- 12 miles
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Location
- Muker … Map of start point
- Leader
- Alistair
Despite the long drive and dubious weather forecast, a good-sized group turned out for Alistair's first walk (first of many, we hope!) in Swaledale, the quietest and most rugged of the Yorkshire Dales. Jonathan disappeared in search of an early morning ice-cream, and then we were off! We crossed the river and then climbed over 100m, leading some to question Alistair's description of the first half of the walk as "flat and easy", then dropped down a steep, winding road to the hamlet of Ivelet. We then turned back towards Muker along the riverbank, and this time it really was flat and easy!
After lunch by the riverside, we carried on, crossing over our outward route from Muker and making this into a figure-of-8 walk - is this a first for the group? We followed a wide, easy track along the valley floor to the waterfalls of Swinner Gill, then the track climbed slowly but steadily to Keld, and a delightful tea room. After stuffing ourselves with cakes and ice creams, we set off on the homeward leg, following the Pennine Way skirting around the edge of Kisdon Hill, with superb views down the steep-sided valley. Leaving the Pennine Way, we dropped down a steep track back to Muker and back to the start.
Sensing that a third loop making the walk into a cloverleaf would not be popular, Alistair called a halt there, and we headed off to a lovely pub in Reeth for dinner, and a good time was had by all.
Photos by Stevie