Coast to Coast Path: Richmond

Monday 31st August 2026

It was raining when I arrived at the Grinton Lodge Youth Hostel at the end of the previous day, but now at the start of this day the sun was shining and a cold wind was blowing. This is a very short stage on the Coast to Coast Walk, which I struggle with because I like to go at a brisk pace and I find it difficult to slow down, so there have been occasions on a trail where I have kept going further than planned because I didn’t want to stop, I wanted to keep going. But all my accommodation on the Coast to Coast Path was booked in advance, so when I reach my accommodation I have no choice, I have to stop, so to ensure I don’t get there too early I needed to force myself to slow down. Therefore, slowly, I made my way down the road, through Grinton and over the River Swale where I immediately turned right onto a footpath that follows the river. When Wainwright created the Coast to Coast Walk he took the trail out of Reeth along the road and through Fremington, but a popular alternative came off the road soon after crossing Reeth Bridge and this has now been adopted as the route of the newly instated national trail. So, I was beside the River Swale again, which I had first seen two days ago and I was not going to part company yet. The footpath soon led me onto a tarmacked access road that led me to Marrick Priory where I came off the road and climbed through gorgeous ancient woodland on damp, stone steps. I previously did this section of the Coast to Coast Walk at Easter 2010 and I remember Steps Wood was then full of wild flowers, but even at this time of the year it was still a magical place, especially in comparison with the farmland that inevitably dominates the landscape.

The path beyond led me into the village of Marrick where Wainwright made a mistake with the trail, originally taking it down a short lane that does not have public access. I am fascinated by the changes that have been to the trail over the years, firstly because of a lack of public access, all the way through to achieving national trail status this year. The first revised edition of Wainwright’s guidebook introduced the change in Marrick, which means you now turn south instead of north, soon turning in a wide loop back north again to pass behind the private lane and out onto fields at the top of a exposed ridge, while ahead of me the limestone crags of Clints Scar was a distraction from the monochromatic grassy fields that covered the hills. After taking the low level route through Swale Dale the day before I’d already had enough with this sort of monotonous terrain and a section of road walking, descending into the village of Marske, did little to relieve the tedium. It was only after crossing a stream that the scenery began to improve with an excellent path that climbed towards Applegarth Scar through unimproved pasture to reach a tall, white cairn where the view back revealed far more trees than had been seen earlier. 

An interesting and delightful walk now followed a track below the crags, with the River Swale in the valley to my right, while passing a series of buildings that are collectively called Applegarth. Eventually the path undulated through Whitecliffe Wood and on reaching Whitecliffe Farm I joined a road with views ahead of me towards the town of Richmond. This is the largest settlement that the Coast to Coast Path passes through and dominating the town is the castle, which I could clearly see ahead of me as I slowly descended while far away in the distance was the hills of the North York Moors across the wide Vale of Mowbray. Wainwright made this section of his Coast to Coast Walk very short to provide plenty of time to explore the medieval town, so I also lingered a while and took a look around the castle. When I was previously there in 2010 I didn’t go inside the castle, because this was where I had caught a bus to head home, with the Coast to Coast trail being resumed some months later. The sun shone while I was in Richmond so I enjoyed the rest and the chance to explore the castle, including climbing to the top of the keep where the views west, back up Swale Dale, reminded me that I had now left the Yorkshire Dales behind and I was about the start the longest part of the trail outside of a national park.

Wainwright made the next section of the Coast to Coast Walk very long, reasoning that the tedious Vale of Mowbray should be crossed as quickly as possible. However, I wanted to reduce the next day’s demanding mileage, so with still a few more miles to go I resumed the trail, through the narrow streets of Richmond, over the bridge and immediately took to a path that follows the river. This led me through an interesting, wooded landscape that soon brought me onto a road, the A6136, which I had to walk beside until, after crossing Sand Beck, the trail turns down the access road for a sewage works and then, after passing the works, returns to the banks of the River Swale. The river would never be far away and often return to my side like an obedient dog while I passed through some lovely woodland, though often I was walking through tedious, flat farmland. The monotonous drone of the A1 motorway grew gradually louder until eventually I passed underneath, which is a significant moment as it marks two thirds of the way across the country on the Coast to Coast Path. The third and final phase of the walk had already started. Soon I reached Catterick Bridge, which the trail crosses while my overnight accommodation was nearby. This walk saw me leave the Yorkshire Dales and start to walk across the flat, tedious farmland of the Vale of Mowbray, which would take me the whole of the next day to cross. The highlights were few in number and were going to become even rarer before I reached the North York Moors.

Coast to Coast Path: Swale Dale

Sunday 30th August 2026

After spending the night at the Tan Hill Inn, Britain’s highest inn, I made my way south down the Pennine Way. The previous day I had reached the halfway point on the Coast to Coast trail in the tiny village of Keld and then headed north along the Pennine Way, climbing to Tan Hill Inn and so, now, I retraced my steps back down the Pennine Way. Despite bad weather overnight, the sun was shining on Tan Hill Inn and there were blue skies to the north, however, the skies to the south were grey and full of rain, which is unfortunately where I was heading so soon I had to put on all my waterproofs, for the first time on this holiday, but the rain didn’t last long and eventually I returned to Swale Dale. When I rejoined the Coast to Coast Path I had make a decision because it would soon split with a high level route, which was the one recommended by Wainwright, that would take you over moorland and past former lead mining areas or the low level route beside the River Swale, which Wainwright called the royal road to be taken if the day is wet or misty. I was unsure which to take. When I previously did most of the Coast to Coast Walk in 2010 I took the high level route in good weather and I have always wondered what the low level route through Swale Dale would be like, so, despite the weather improving with some breaks in the clouds, I decided to take the low level path. This initially provided me with stunning views into Swale Dale before reaching the junction where the main route of the Coast to Coast Path climbs past the ruins of Crackpot Hall and high above Swinner Gill while I began to descend steeply to the bottom of the valley.

As soon as I reached the side of the river a short shower passed overhead, which was promptly replaced by sunshine that illuminated the view behind me towards Swinner Gill. It was a stunning sight, but tragically it was soon gone with clouds spoiling the view again so I set off beside the River Swale. When I came near the village of Muker, the other side of the river, the trail began to cross countless small fields, through stile after stile after stile, later passing through the hamlet of Ivelet and more of the same small fields until eventually after many miles of peaceful walking I reached the village of Gunnerside where I stopped for lunch in a tea shop. I must admit that the tea shop was a strong part of my motivation for taking the low level route through Swale Dale. Wainwright never described what route should be taken through Swale Dale so other guidebooks have had to come up with their own route, which has mostly kept as close to the river as possible, all the way to Reeth. However, when the Coast to Coast Path was made a national trail the low level route became an official alternative so a definitive route had to be established and after Gunnerside it takes a surprising turn, climbing the hill north of the valley. After lunch the sun came out again so I had good views behind me looking back up the valley as I ascended the track until the path eventually levelled off, leaving me with a relaxing stroll across the hillside, and then on a narrow road with stunning views ahead of me down the valley.

When I came off the road the path climbed again to continue across the hillside until finally I reached a road that took me all the way down to the bottom of Swale Dale and into the tiny village of Healaugh. Dark clouds now covered the sky and soon after I returned to the side of the River Swale it started to rain heavily, which eased when I entered Reeth but started again as I left the village. Reeth is usually a stunning, picturesque location, but it didn’t feel like it in the rain. I had now been reunited with the high level route and this section of the Coast to Coast Walk from Keld ends in Reeth, but I was staying in Grinton Lodge Youth Hostel, so I continued out of the village, over the River Swale and up the road until I reached my accommodation. This was a very relaxing walk with no pressure for time and in the sunshine it was a pleasure. In hindsight, would the high level route have been better? Possibly, but I appreciated the walking through Swale Dale which let me clear my mind and recover from the exertions of earlier in the holiday. I love some variety on a trail, so I appreciated the change of scene on this much easier day.