Day 3 Water Day Keld-Reeth 13 miles

The Herriot Way leaves Keld near Kidson Force climbing into Swinner Gill which is a deep cut tributary valley of #Swaledale, the area was once a thriving scene of the lead mining industry there are various, spoil heaps, ruined buildings and mines as a testament to the miners who have long since gone, mining was at its peak in the 1800s, we follow in the miners footsteps  and explore the upper reaches of Hard level gill  another place where lead mining was in abundance going past the impressive Old Gang Smelt Mill, the walk exits the Gill near Surrender bridge  which is the opening scene of All Creatures Great and Small the walk goes through the tiny village Healaugh then joining the banks of the river Swale to Reeth , the river Swale is said to be the fastest flowing river in  England, its name is from the Anglo Saxton Sualuae  meaning  rapid and liable to deluge

Reeth in its heyday was producing over 10% of the country’s lead, Reeth was a saxton settlement, the name may have come from an old English word Rough place

There are lots of amenities in Reeth one of the best pubs is The Black Bull Inn that dates back from the 1680s

Day 4 History Day Reeth- Aysgarth 13 miles

The route heads of to Grinton, The village was known as Cathedral  of the Dales as its church ST Andrews was the only church that had a burial ground in the middle ages , corpse were carried as far away as Keld, from Grinton the walk heads onto Harkerside moor then down into Apedale Then onto Castle Bolton, The Castle was built in 1399 it is one of the country’s best preserved Castles   it has a fascinating history Mary Queen of Scots was held there against her will there is so much history it is worth a look round they have things such as falconry displays, archery displays and crafts then from there  follow the walk follows field paths to Aysgarth waterfalls, the waterfalls have a upper ,middle, and lower falls they did feature in Kevin Costner film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves

Wensleydales takes its name from the village of Wensley once the dales was known as Yoredale, Wensleydale is different as it is the only major dale in the dales that does not have its river named after it

There are plenty of Amenities in Aysgarth

The Herriot Way is a good walk to do if you want to take a #guidedwalkingholiday then Northern Guiding runs Guided walking holidays on the Herriot Way for more details go to www.northernguiding.co.uk/herriot-way-guided-walking-holiday/