Mallerstang on Superdog Beef and Gravy

This is another of the Yorkshire Dales 2000 foot tops walks and also another walk using the Settle-Carlisle Line to enable a linear walk to take place.

Its also the first walk where Superdawg was fuelled by Superdog doggie scran – If you have a dog and you’re interested in dog food see this link http://www.burgesspetcare.co.uk/shop/supadog.html

You can also look at the link if you don’t have a dog but still hold an interest in dog food, although that might strike some people as a bit odd. still, each to their own, eh? In order to get a bag of the dog food (its a huge bag by the way) I had to promise to review it, which I will do in due course and with due honesty. I have to say that even though Bruno is not noted for his delicate feeding habits or any kind of discernment at all, his first reaction to this scoff was to raid the bin in which we’ve hidden it. So its a good start as far as he’s concerned.

But on with the walk. We caught the 9:48 train from Kirkby Stephen to Garsdale for the princely sum of £3.20. The journey was too quick for a trolley coffee although it did smell nice…. anyway, we got off at Garsdale and made our way via a rather good path over drumlins to railway cottages at South Lunds and then by a tussocky path up to the ruins of High Dyke. This lies on the High Way track – an ancient route and was once, I believe, a tavern or an Inn for drovers and packmen. Its a ruin now and won’t be long before its just a pile of stones. It’s mullioned windows testify to its age.

We continued upwards on a footpath till it was time to turn North to bag our first hill – Sails at 667 metres. Normally, this hill is a right boggy mess, but just now the hills are parched and dry if a bit bouncy in places.

A bog trot and a bit of fence following lead to Hugh Seat 689 metres and more , similar stuff went on to Archy Styrigg 695metres and High Seat 709 metres. The ridge is the Cumbria/North Yorkshire County boundary and is marked by a variety of tall, small, fat and thin cairns, sticks and small shelters. The walking gradually gets easier and drier as progress Northwards is made. It is, in fact, a romp. And the views are BIIIIIG. This is no place for an attack of agrophobia.

The ridge ends suddenly at Fells End (oddly enough….) and we headed off North- Westwards to descend by a wide and grassy ridge and then through fields to Nateby where the pub was shut. (dhuhhh). More field paths lead back to the station where the knipemobile was still parked…..

I passed an old WW2 pill box on the way. Inside (which stinks of sheep pee by the way), it becomes obvious that the placing of this defence is a bit clever. It seems there were six mountings for armaments and these would cover the railway station, the main road from Tebay, Kirkby Stephen and the road South to Wensleydale – a complete circle, in fact. Its a shame to see it falling to bits. It needs some TLC, after all it is an historic building.

Altogether this walk is 14.7 miles with 2200 feet of climbing. Its a fab walk, specially when its not soaked. The walking is generally pretty easy going although navigation might be tricky in some places.