We spent a little while having a final look around Askrigg in the morning sunshine. At 10am we set off up the very steep road out of the village, with frequent stops looking back across Wensleydale towards Addlebrough hill.
The final climb brought us up over a cattle grid and the road levelled off onto Askrigg Common. With views all round of the open wild moorland it no longer felt as though we were walking along a road, especially with so little traffic.
The road became a gated track as it branched off along the top of Oxnop Scar and over Satron Moor. Ahead we had our first glimpses of Swaledale.
As we began to descend, the views opened out down over Oxnop Gill and further along into Swaledale.
A friendly Swaledale lamb in Swaledale.
As we descended into Swaledale there were great views up the valley towards Muker and Thwaite. The valley was a patchwork of little fields with numerous hay barns dotted among them.
We crossed the River Swale over the picturesque Ivelet Bridge, a tall packhorse bridge.
The path took us through a series of fields with narrow gated wall gaps on the approach to Gunnerside. Some of these were a tight squeeze with large bags.
By now the day had really warmed up and we were looking forward to a nice drink at the pub in Gunnerside.
10.Kings Head, Gunnerside - 1:00pm
Unfortunately not open for lunch today. We stamped our log book and continued on.
The sun was shining well which provided great views back across the river towards Gunnerside as we continued down Swaledale. Shortly afterwards we stopped for our packed lunch and to admire the scene.
Fording Haverdale Beck was quite tricky. The water wasn't too high, but the surface underneath was extremely slippery. Walking poles saved us from falling over!
We climbed up through a series of fields and rejoined the road at Birks End Farm. After a short while we were back on to the moors where there were continuous cries from the lapwings all around. This was lovely walking along the contours high above Swaledale.
We sat on the moor side and enjoyed the sunshine and fantastic views for almost an hour before continuing down in to Reeth.
After a thoroughly enjoyable day we arrived in Reeth at 6:00pm and headed to Ivy Cottage, our B&B for the night.
11.Buck Inn, Reeth - 7:50pm
Dark wooden, low beamed bar. A quiet and relaxed pub with a nice view out over the green.
12.Kings Arms, Reeth - 9:30pm
Very smart bar, staff very welcoming.
13.Black Bull, Reeth - 9:50pm
Extremely busy, popular pub. Several benches out on the front looking over the green.
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