Great Shunner Fell and Nine Standards Rigg

Sunday 20th April 2014

On this walk I completely ignored everything that I had said in my previous post about what my goals and aims were for this holiday. I had said that I wanted to visit new places to find the hidden gems in places where the scenery is not as dramatic as in the Lake District. After a day spent looking at waterfalls in Wensleydale I abandoned my new-found philosophy and walked over two hills that I have been over before and didn’t go anywhere I hadn’t been before. I had realised this irony during my planning, but the alternatives, such as the Mallerstang Hills, were not as appealing as the walk that I had originally planned which was prompted by a desire to revisit Nine Standards Rigg. So, I followed the Pennine Way out of Hawes to the top of Great Shunner Fell (despite doing that previously in both 2004 and 2009), following the Pennine Way off the fell and into Swaledale until I reached Keld as I did in 2009, and then I followed the Coast to Coast route over Nine Standards Rigg (most of which was done in 2010). This walk hardly treads new ground, and yet I still saw some gems.

Knowing that this was going to be a long day I set off early from the village of Hawes over Wensleydale on the Pennine Way. In 2009 I stopped off at the Green Dragon Inn, not for a pint but to visit Hardraw Force and although this waterfall is definitely a gem, since I’ve seen it before and I had a lot of walking ahead of me I gave it a miss this time and climbed a green lane up towards Great Shunner Fell. It takes a long time to climb the broad gentle gradients of the southern ridge of this vast, grassy bulk of a hill but even though the surrounding scenery is not very inspiring, it felt good to be climbing a mountain again for the first time since September. As I climbed higher the weather closed in becoming very windy and misty, so I wrapped up warm and ploughed on all the way up to the top of the hill on a very good path of flagstones that ensured I had a dry passage over the top and down the other side where extensive bogs were easily crossed.

The views were never good despite early sunshine as extensive upland mist obscured the scenery meaning that the views down Swaledale were poor until I had almost reached the tiny hamlet of Thwaite. It was annoying to have to climb again out of Thwaite so soon after the long descent, but the path brought me to a gem that more than made for it, a wonderful terrace path perched high above beautiful Swaledale and below the crags of North Gang Scar. An interesting walk through the rock-strewn landscape led me to a delightful scene of primroses scattered all over the hillside, which was exactly the sort of hidden gem that I was supposed to be looking for on this holiday, and with an enthralling mix of rock and flower it keep me interested all the way into Keld. I ignored the sign to Kisdon Force, which I had followed in 2009 to find a tranquil, isolated waterfall, and just before reaching Keld turned down to the river beside Catrake Force.

This most delightful place is the spot where the Pennine Way and the Coast to Coast Walk cross each other, and there can be few better places anywhere in the country. In this divine valley location, a place literally made in heaven, I stopped to have my lunch on the other side of the River Swale from Catrake Force. This is the sort of place where you wouldn’t mind giving up on a walk just so you could spend the rest of the day there. Unfortunately I didn’t do that, so after managing to tear myself away I climbed past Catrake Force to East Stonesdale Farm where I left the Pennine Way and took the farmer's track to Stonesdale Road and joined the Coast to Coast Walk on an interesting little path above Cotterby Scar that brought me into the quiet little valley of Whitsun Dale where a small farm rules over the whole area.

Climbing out of the valley I followed a good track that slowly deteriorated as I passed grouse shooting butts until eventually I realised that I was actually moving away from Nine Standards Rigg. Just at that moment a large lake appeared before me that a quick look at a map revealed was Birkdale Tarn, confirming that I had indeed gone the wrong way. It’s funny how the realisation that you have gone wrong slowly begins to dawn upon you starting with a suspicion that something isn’t right until eventually you are faced with the stark fact that you have actually been following the wrong path. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to realise this, so I had to reverse my steps a long way until I eventually reached the path of the Coast to Coast and resume the trail beside Ney Gill.

By the time I reached the high point on the path between Whitsun Dale and Birk Dale I was tired and fed up with the dreary landscape. I didn’t want the effort of going over Nine Standards Rigg so considered following the route that I had taken in 2010, which is the recommended winter route around the hill via Jingling Pot. However, the reason I was doing this walk was because I’d failed to reach the summit of Nine Standards Rigg in 2010, so in the end I came off the path and headed up the vast virtually pathless hillside towards the top of Nine Standards Rigg. The contrast with Great Shunner Fell was striking as even though they are very similar hills the paths that go over them are completely different. Whereas Great Shunner Fell has an excellent flagstone path all the way over the top, Nine Standards Rigg has nothing on the ground to reduce the erosion of all those feet. Instead there are three routes for use at different times of the year and I was now taking the spring to early summer route that climbs the pathless southern slopes over increasingly wet and boggy ground until eventually I reached the top of the hill.

The sight of nine immaculately constructed cairns at the top of Nine Standards Rigg failed to wipe the memory of the bog-trot that led up to it, but they were nevertheless an impressive sight. I had actually reached the top in 2004, in excellent weather, so this was not my first time, but since then the cairns have been restored to their former glory with each one a different shape. All nine are masterpieces. Some are tall, some short, some wide, some thin, some pointed, some tiered, and one is even square-shaped. I had been gutted not to reach the summit in 2010 so I was really happy to be able to return this time and despite being very tired I came off the hill satisfied that I been back to the top of Nine Standards Rigg. The route off is fortunately very easy with a long descent that for the most part took me along a good track and down a road. This was a very long but satisfying walk and I felt great to be walking up a mountain again, I just wish there was a better path on the southern slopes of Nine Standards Rigg.

Aysgarth Falls and Mill Gill Force

Saturday 19th April 2014

After going to the Lake District many times last year I decided that this year I would go to places that I was less familiar with or that I had never been to before. Everywhere you turn in the Lake District it looks stunning, there are great sights and places wherever you go, from little streams to grand mountain scenes, which makes it very appealing and difficult to avoid. The rest of the country gets neglected simply because it can’t compete with the wonders of the Lake District, especially on a wider, grand scale where the only places that can possibly compete with it are the Highlands of Scotland or Snowdonia in Wales. However, if you narrow your focus there are small pockets that can outshine even the best that the Lake District has to offer and it was to look for these gems that I came to the Yorkshire Dales last Easter, where I am reliably informed it is easier to find these gems than elsewhere in the country.

I’ve only been to the Yorkshire Dales twice, first in 2004, and again in 2009 when I walked through the park on the Pennine Way. This time I wanted to spent more time there and try to find those hidden gems that while easy to find in the Lake District, are a little more elusive elsewhere. The wider view in the Yorkshire Dales is of vast upland moors and gently curved valleys with occasional thin lines of limestone, known as scars, on the sides of some of the valleys. Compared to the grand views in the Lake District and the Highlands of Scotland it’s not particularly inspiring, but if you look down instead of up there are some very special sights, and number one in the gems of the Yorkshire Dales are its waterfalls, and among its most popular are the Aysgarth Falls, which I’d never seen before.

Following a frustratingly long journey to get to the Yorkshire Dales (on four different trains and three different buses) I eventually arrived in the picturesque village of Aysgarth in Wensleydale. Finally I was able to start walking as I passed through many squeeze gates (typical of the Yorkshire Dales) and descended steeply to the River Ure where I found the High Force of Aysgarth Falls. There were loads of people nearby relaxing, picnicking, and enjoying the sight of the falls, which are not particularly high, but are stretched across a wide river in an idyllic woodland setting. I was actually more enamoured of the limestone steps besides the river bank that were fun to walk on and it wasn’t long before I returned to the road and headed towards the Middle Force, past the National Park Centre and into Freeholders' Wood, which was an absolute delight.

For me, the waterfalls were not as appealing as the woodland flowers that were growing in Freeholders' Wood, most notably dog’s mercury, primroses and wood anemones that had formed vast blankets of white flowers across the woodland floor. It was a pity that other flowers like bluebells were not yet in flower, but the wood anemones more than made up for the lack of anything else. Middle Force, seen from a high vantage point, didn’t seem to be able to compete with the glorious display of woodland flowers as I continued down river through fantastic carpets of wood anemones until I reached the Lower Force where a fun, little scramble gave me access onto the limestone slabs of the river bank. From there I had a great sight of the multiple falls of Lower Force, but I felt my view was hindered by the large number of people in the area so I soon climbed back up into the woodland.

Leaving the waterfalls and woodland behind I took a small circular walk around the farm of Hollins House before returning to Freeholders' Wood on a different path that gave me another opportunity to sample the delights of the gorgeous woodland flowers that bedeck this wonderful wood. Reluctantly I eventually left the wood and returning past High Force I climbed back up to the village of Aysgarth where I caught a bus to the village of Worton. My target now was another waterfall, this time on a small tributary river and not on the River Ure itself. I crossed Wensleydale and after passing through the west end of the village of Askrigg I took a path into Mill Gill, a delightful little tree-lined valley that was full of fragrant ramsons, also known as wild garlic. Despite not being in flower the garlic still produced a great display carpeting the whole valley and hiding traces of the old mills that used to be in the valley.

Eventually the path dropped down to the stream at the foot of Mill Gill Force, a much taller but considerably narrower waterfall than those found at Aysgarth. It is housed in a dark amphitheatre of high rock walls clothed in lesser celandines whose yellow flowers gave the scene some delightful colour. This was a spectacular sight, but my memory of the falls will be marred by what happened as I began to leave Mill Gill Force when I dropped one of my walking poles into the stream, and ended up getting rather wet and covered in mud trying to retrieve it. Sometimes I think poles are more trouble than they’re worth. I could see a sign to Whitfield Gill, further upstream, so I followed the path but it led nowhere except higher up the bank of the valley. After reaching a deep-end with no sight of, but within earshot of, the reputedly spectacular Whitfield Gill Force I came back down the path and after crossing the deep, craggy, narrow valley I climbed up the opposite bank and onto Low Straights Lane.

This led me steeply down the hill back into Askrigg and after crossing Wensleydale I reached Worton where I had a thirty minute wait for my fifth bus of the day. The weather had been fabulous for this walk with the patchy cloud while I had been at Aysgarth clearing to leave a gorgeously sunny end to the day, but I was disappointed with the second walk of the day, not just because of my mishap with my poles or my inability to see Whitfield Gill Force, but because there were not as many woodland flowers on this walk. All day I was disappointed there were not more woodland plants in flower, though what there was had put on such a glorious display so I should not have complained. Despite spending most of the day on a train or a bus I did manage to see some real gems of the Yorkshire Dales in Freeholders' Wood and Mill Gill.