Walking the Hills of Upper Swaledale

by: Keven Shevels
Swaledale, regarded by many as the most beautiful of the Yorkshire Dales, is a magnet for walkers who come to sample its breath-taking scenery. Yet many walkers miss the harsh rugged hills that line the upper reaches of this dale and make the watershed that both surrounds and forms this iconic valley.

In a series of eight new walks the author takes a journey to the summits of these hills which range in character from the sheer bulk of Great Shunner Fell with the Pennine Way running across it's top to the rarely visited High Carl and Gibbon Hill which stands watch over the lower reaches of the upper dale. For those with a love of the wilder places this book will open up a new facet to one of our favourite walking areas.

Each walk chapter begins with a short description of the route plus practical data including distance, ascent, terrain, time and start point with grid reference. The route descriptions are clear and comprehensive with grid references given for major navigation points along the way. Each walk has also been assigned a Ferguson Grading System rating and the book gives details of this system and how to interpret the grades which are used to give you an understanding of the difficulty of the route from the point of view of navigation, physical exertion and safety. The book includes an informative introduction to the area and is illustrated with colour photographs. The coloured sketch maps give an outline of the route but are fairly basic, so we would recommend carrying the relevant OS Explorer map and a compass on these walks.

The walk locations are:
High Carl and Gibbon Hill - 8 miles
Fremington Edge and Calver Hill - 7.9 miles
Rogan's Seat - 9.4 miles
Lovely Seat and Great Shunner Fell - 10.8 miles
White Mossy Hill and Nine Standards Rigg - 9.9 miles
Oxnop Common - 7 miles
Hills above Ravenseat - 6.5 miles
High Seat Ridge - 9.4 miles

ISBN 9781905444540 Pages 96 (2013) 148mm x 210mm