Yorkshire Dales walk: Arkleside, Horsehouse, Coverdale

Coverdale is an inspiring place for hikers and poets alike so enjoy a moment of reflection on this country trek

Arkleside Bridge Image: Paul Kirkwood 1. Walk south past the Thwaite Arms. Fork left over Arkleside Bridge and through Arkleside. Where the lane ends continue ahead. Pass over a footbridge and into a field. Proceed for 50m then turn left at a fingerpost.

2. Ascend towards Dead Man’s Hill with the wall and fence on your left. You will need to cross a small ravine. Head towards a line of white topped fence posts just to your right and pass grouse butt 8. At a fingerpost turn left through a stile and continue towards the summit with a wire fence to your right. At a track pass through a gate and continue in the same direction, now with the fence to your left.

Little Whernside from the ascent of Dead Man’s Hill Image: Paul Kirkwood 3. Near the summit turn left through a gate. (Continue over a four-bar gate immediately in front of you for 50m for a peep into Nidderdale). Bear right, keeping the wall on your right and after 50m bear left onto a broad grassy track. When it meets a stoned shooting track turn left. Keep ahead where another track joins from the left.

4. Just before sheep pens turn right through a gate onto a bridleway signed to Swineside. Descend sharply, cross a small ford and ascend. Bear left and after 20m right along a faint path. Pass through three gates and over a stream and gradually descend towards a copse. Descend into and ascend out of a ravine. Maintain the same direction for another 1.5km.

5. In Swineside turn left to descend into the hamlet. Follow the fingerpost left to Horsehouse. Where the lane ends start a gentle descent. Cross fields and go through stiles, passing an old stone gatepost and fenced pipe. Go through a small, walled wood. Paths are indistinct.

6. Just before Hindlethwaite Hall farm cross over its track and go over two stiles and a footbridge. Stay close to the fence on your left and pass through a gate. Pass through another gate then proceed at 2 o’clock towards Horsehouse. Bear left then right through two gates. At the village’s back lane turn left then right back to the start.

Descent back to Horsehouse Image: Paul Kirkwood Alternative riverside return:

Descend north-east from Swineside and use stepping stones to reach Gammersgill. A little tricky to find through the trees, the stones are more like boulders and close together so easy to cross but can be immersed when the river is in spate. On the far bank ascend through a red metal fieldgate. Pass through a stepstile (easy to miss) then turn immediately left alongside the wall for 40m. Turn left through a hand gate. Head to and through a metal field gate then descend to the riverside to return to Horsehouse.

A little slice of Horsehouse Image: Paul Kirkwood POINTS OF INTEREST

Poetry in motion

Horsehouse lies on the ancient packhorse route running up Coverdale, hence its name. Trains of up to 40 horses passed through until the mid-19th century, drivers and horses resting at the two inns. The village also provided a stopover on the coaching route from London to Richmond. Today the dale is very quiet. On a weekday in July I didn’t pass another walker. The tradition of hospitality continues, however, in the form of the Foresters Arms, an inn dating back to the 17th century that has been a pioneering community-owned cooperative since 2011.

Flatt’s Farm was home to Henry Constantine also known as the Bard of Coverdale who lived from 1791 to 1870. A stone inscribed with a verse in his memory adorns the front wall. A little further down the village on the old school and current village hall is another similar tablet bearing a poem composed by 90-year-old blind man and local resident Ralph Rider. The old post office next to the phonebox was one of a row of one up-down miner’s cottages.

Once out of the village and up on the fells the views are superb. You can peer into Angram and Scar House Reservoirs in neighbouring Nidderdale. Little Whernside looms behind you, its profile reminiscent of the lower third of a volcano, on the ascent of Dead Man’s Hill. Three headless corpses were found here on the trade route between Coverdale and Nidderdale. They were probably Scottish pedlars, murdered for their money. Rumour had it that a local woman innkeeper and her daughter were responsible but no one was ever caught.

EAT HERE

The Foresters Arms, Horsehouse. Image: Paul Kirkwood The Foresters Arms, Horsehouse. Roast Sunday lunches at £26 for three courses. Typical dinner menus include beef stroganoff, wild mushroom tagliatelli and venison sausages – and a fish and chips van calls on Thursday evenings. Drinks include Theakston’s Old Peculiar from a keg. Tables outside at the front. forestersarmscoverdale.com.

Thwaite Arms, Horsehouse. Image: Paul Kirkwood Thwaite Arms, Horsehouse. Very traditional, authentic Dales pub with beer garden boasting fine views of pastures and barns. Long standing landlord Bruce is full of charm and wit! Good value, simple food such as steak pie, casseroles and scampi. Closed on Tuesdays. Tel 01969 640206.

COMPASS POINTS

Start/finish: Horsehouse, Coverdale.

Distance/time: 11.4km/5 hours.

Accessibility: Many unclear paths and soggy after rain. Good navigation skills necessary.

Maps: OS Explorer OL30 Yorkshire Dales Northern & Central areas, OS Landranger 98 Wensleydale & Upper Wharfedale.

Parking: Long layby beside a barn in Horsehouse at SE 047 813.

Map link: bit.ly/YLCoverdale.