Keld is at the crossroads of the Coast to Coast
running west to east, and the Pennine Way running south to north.
Technically the Coast to Coast is not a recognised
trail in the UK as it has start and an end point but the bit in the middle is up
to each walker, so no real defined path to catalogue.
The Pennine Way however is a recognised National
Trail and well signposted, it is one of the busiest trails in the UK with 12,000
long distant walkers and 250,000 day walkers using all or part of it each year.
I am told that the Pennine Way cannot match the
beauty and varied scenery of the Coast-to-Coast, that I can believe.
Leaving Keld Lodge I headed down through the Keld
village and briefly I joined the Pennine Way just past East Gill Force.
Following the Swaledale River for about 20 minutes,
at which point, I have a choice, the lower river route which I took in 2011 or
the higher route across Gunnerside Moor, Melbecks Moor, Reeth High Moor then
heading down Reeth Low Moore before arriving at Reeth itself.
This high ground is a wasteland of abandoned lead
mines and their remnants that litter the moorlands.
The lower route is a glorious walk along rolling
meadows aside the Swaledale River, and by far more attractive, but I have been
that way before, today I would like to see the rougher side of the trail and because
of that I turn left, at the cairn alongside the half decomposed rabbit, and up
to Crackpot Hall, once a handsome farmhouse, with panoramic views up the Swaledale,
now abandoned due to mining subsidence and a sign of things to come.
The sight of a red grouse running up the hillside
was worth the climb.
However, I was distracted.
Terry? Yes.
You know how you reconfigured your waypoints, in
order to make this high ground? Yes.
And how you highlighted the guidebook? Yes.
And how you made note of “not this way”? Yes
Well what part of that did you not understand?
All of it, apparently!
It didn’t matter though.
The wrong trail I was on along Swinner Gill was at
best scary, the gill 200m below down a ravine was pretty but not something you
would want to fall into. My toes gripped the ground as best they could through
my boots.
No harm done the path I should have taken and the
one I am on eventually met up at Swinner Gill Mine (in ruins).
From there following the gill up to the moor top was
tedious, it was warm and humid and at times boggy underfoot then at times a
scramble, but it was enjoyable.
Reaching Gunnerside Moor the gill disappeared into
the moor top from whence it came.
And without the babble of the gill I was alone in
the silence, there was no wind, just me.
These moor tops are less trodden than the Nine
Standards but no less inhospitable. The pony cart track along the top made
walking easy and if not for my boots hitting the ground the sound was silent.
I stopped, and listened to nothing.
I figured I was in the middle of Great Britain, in
the middle of nowhere, no one in sight, no one to care, no one to hear my call.
It was calming.
I carried on making a left turn down the valley to
the Blakethwaite ruins, then along Gunnerside Beck before turning east up
Bunnerside Hush.
A what? You ask. A hush. I will get to that later.
The climb onto Malbecks Moor was strenuous in the
humid air, but once reached it was an easy walk along the limestone track
across the “waste lands”.
Nothing grows up here, all poisoned by the lead.
Dropping down to Level House Bridge then onto the
Old Gang Smelting Mill (in ruins).
Passing Surrender Bridge the moor gave way to the
open green fields along the Swale River and I thought about the walkers who
took the easy trail along the Swale and how much they had missed along this
high road.
I didn’t mind, I had it all to myself, I saw no one
for four hours and I loved every minute of it.
Dropping down from the ridge into the village of
Healaugh I followed the road to Reeth, making the Buck Inn I turned off my GPS
and went in for a pint or two.
What’s a hush I asked at the bar? Well I’ll tell you
if you have a minute.
A hush is made on the side of a hill, above which
you collect water in a pond (read dam if you are an Aussie) the water from the
pond is then control released down the hill, washing the earth as it goes.
Along the hush boards are constructed to slow the flow of water and to collect
the heavy metals, washed by the rushing water, in this case lead.
The result is that the hush washes away all the
soil leaving the exposed rock down the hillside, not the best thing to walk up.
But wait there is more.
In Wales there is not only lead but gold in them
there hills and using the same hush technique but wrapping the boards in
sheep’s fleece the water running down the hill would flush out the gold and it
would be caught in the fleece.
Giving us the name we know today as the Golden
Fleece.
It’s amazing how much you can learn over a couple
of pints.
Daily Stats.
Distance 18.3km
Assent 681m
Descent 803m
Time out 5h 16m
Stopped 1h 3m
Moving average 4.3km
per hour
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