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.

Coast to Coast Path: Nine Standards Rigg

Saturday 29th August 2026

My seventh day on the Coast to Coast Path started in the market town of Kirkby Stephen and I was keen to get going as quickly as possible because rain was forecast in the afternoon. This is a significant stage on the Coast to Coast because at the top of Nine Standards Rigg I crossed the national watershed, which means that up to that point the water in the rivers had all flown towards me, finally ending in the Irish Sea, and from that point they all flowed away from me into the North Sea, though the halfway point on the whole trail would not come until the end of this section of the Coast to Coast Path. Before then I needed to climb over Nine Standards Rigg, which I have climbed several times before, first in 2004, and then in 2010, while on the Coast to Coast Walk, though I actually went around it, and finally in 2014 I went in the opposite direction. The second edition of Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk introduced an alternative route from Kirkby Stephen towards Nine Standards Rigg via Ladthwaite Beck and I am very keen to take it, but a quiet road has always been the preferred route of the Coast to Coast Walk and in view of the impending rain I reluctantly decided to take that way again this time. The Ladthwaite Beck alternative will just have to wait. Despite the poor weather forecast, the sun was still shining as I left Kirkby Stephen, crossed the River Eden and passed through the quaint village of Hartley before climbing steeply up the road. 

Wainwright’s route of the Coast to Coast Walk continued along the public right-of-way beyond the end of the road up the western slopes of Nine Standards Rigg to old coal pits at Robinson Haggs and then climbed pathless, avoiding peat hags, up to the summit. By the nineties the erosion to the peat was so severe the trail was moved to Faraday Gill and seasonal alternatives were devised with the December to April route bypassing the top, which is the route I took in April 2010. National trail status has finally provided the funding to make that all unnecessary and soon I discovered flagstones lining the path beside Faraday Gill and these led me up to the nine magnificently constructed cairns that are the eponymous standards. I didn’t stay long and soon I made my way along the flagstone path past a viewpoint and up to the trig point that marks the summit of Nine Standards Rigg. The flagstones continued over a dip, at the head of Whitsundale Beck, to the junction where the August to November route previously took unlucky Coast to Coast walkers down into the valley. When I was here in September 2004, those on the Coast to Coast struggled over the muddy peat at this point while I returned to Kirkby Stephen. Now, the flagstones continue along the original route of the Coast to Coast Walk heading south over White Mossy Hill and Lady Dike Head.

The flagstones cover a long distance over the mountain and is an impressive sight marching across the peat. I had an enjoyable walk briskly crossing the top of the mountain, slowly descending until eventually the flagstones led me onto a track where I turned left and followed it to a shooting hut. Beyond, a slender path through the grass made me think I had lost the trail because it was so faint, but it soon became clearer again alongside Ney Gill and led me to the tiny farming hamlet of Ravenseat. After passing the farm I followed the footpath through many grassy fields and past many abandoned buildings slowly making my way down the valley of Whitsun Dale to the infant River Swale. Before reaching a bridge over the river I turned left to follow a narrow path through tall bracken above trees and the crags of Cotterby Scar, and when I reached a road I turned right to cross the river and head into the village of Keld. Despite having been in this area on three previous occasions I had never been to Keld, because I had always kept to the north of the river and avoided the unnecessary climb into the village. Now, I kept strictly to the trail walking along the road that led me into Keld where this stage of the Coast to Coast Path ends. Keld is not only the halfway point for the trail, but nearby is the point where the Coast to Coast crosses another mountain-crossing national trail: the Pennine Way. After walking through the tiny village of Keld I descended to the junction with the Pennine Way and then steeply down to the River Swale. A short climb then led me to another junction where the two great national trails part company with the Pennine Way heading north and the Coast to Coast Path east into Swale Dale.

There is little choice of accommodation in Keld, so in 2010 I did two stages in one day, which was very exhausting, so this time I wanted to split it into two days and my solution was to divert onto the Pennine Way north to Tan Hill Inn. After an initial, exhausting, steep climb, the gradient eased, but was still unrelentingly uphill until eventually I reached the highest inn in Britain, which I had previously stayed at in 2009 while on the Pennine Way. The rain had held off, though I was teased with a few drops while on the approach to Keld, so when I reached the crowded Tan Hill Inn I decided to occupy some time by continuing along the Pennine Way heading onto Sleightholme Moor. However, the landscape soon became very depressing with hardly any change in gradient and heather moorland in all directions. This is typical of the Pennine Way and why Wainwright didn’t like it, which is also why he felt compelled to create a better trail, the Coast to Coast Walk. I kept going along the Pennine Way until, after fifteen minutes, it finally started to rain so I turned around and retraced my steps back to Tan Hill Inn.