Hawes, Sedbusk, Pike Hill and Hardraw

At the centre of the dale is the small market town of Hawes, which sprang up relatively recently following the granting of its market charter by William III in 1700 (previously a small farming village; derived from 'hals' meaning a pass between mountains). The walk begins from the Upper Dales Folk Museum housed in an old station building (the railway is long gone), and winds along a part of the Pennine Way National Trail. Before Haylands Bridge was constructed in 1820, wheeled vehicles had to ford the River Ure here.

Throughout April and May, low-lying meadows around the River Ure resound to the bleating of newborn lambs. Although there are plenty of sheep around Hawes, milk is its main produce (and has been since the railway arrived in 1878, when a nightly milk train left for London), vital for producing world-famous Wensleydale Cheese.

Beyond the village of Sedbusk, the route heads up North Rakes Hill past old lime kilns and lead-mining evidence. The wild moorland is the preserve of curlews, and from the cairns on High Clint there are spectacular views towards Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent, looking down on Hawes nestled by the River Ure. Care must be taken crossing Abbotside Common due to numerous swallow holes in the limestone bedrock where foaming moorland becks plunge deep underground.

On the road heading south to Hawes, pause at Sowry Head to look across to the Hearne Coal Road (where villagers once made trips by horse and cart to purchase coal from small mines near the top of Great Shunner Fell). The route soon leaves the road, passing through fields before dropping via a wooden stair into a magical wooded riverbank. Here, wild garlic and honeysuckle scent Upper Hardraw Falls as they cascade over slabs of rock, with pied flycatchers nesting in tree holes and dippers walking among rapids.

After paying a small fee and passing through Hardraw village and the Green Dragon Inn, it is a short walk to the majestic Hardraw Force. In Victorian times its ravine's acoustic qualities prompted brass band competitions — now revived — providing an ideal soundtrack before returning along an easy section of the Pennine Way back to Hawes.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.