National Trail Guides UK HOME   FOOTPATH GUIDES NATURE SOUNDS THE AUTHOR THE SPONSOR         NATIONAL TRAIL GUIDES Pennine Way Wolds Way Two Moors Way   Southern Upland Way Footpath Guides : Dales Way : Day 5 Dales Way

Contents : DALES WAY               Introduction Day 5   Day 1 Day 6   Day 2 Day 7   Day 3 Day 8   Day 4 Day 9           THE DALES WAY RUNS FROM ILKELY (YORKSHIRE) TO BOWNESS (LAKES)     NATIONAL TRAILS GUIDES UK - DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS & GALLERIES           Day 5 :: Into Cumbria :: Holme Hill to Dent :: 10 miles           I left my camera behind today and didn't realise it until we began to walk. This meant completing the walk, returning for the camera and then having to drive to various points on the route to take photographs. As it turned out most of the Dales Way between Holme Hill and Dent is along a minor road, so this was not too problematical, just inconvenient and less enjoyable. We started at the Dales Way signpost almost opposite to Gearstones Lodge on Holme Hill. We parked one of the cars here and walked along a well made path uphill until reaching Winshaw Farm. We passed to the left of the farm and crossed some very boggy moorland to the base of a steep hill and followed the path up it. Near the top of the hill the Dales Way turned right, where we negotiated a deep gully and then followed a stone wall for some distance until coming to High Gayle Farm, which had a number of flags flying high in the air atop tall masts. We walked along the perimeter of the farm. We were walking on Blea Moor, and aiming for the minor road to Dent, which would occupy most of our walk today. We walked uphill for awhile before the track leveled off and we then followed the base of a large hill on our left on a good track that weaved through tough moorland grass that was infested with flies..               The start of today's walk over Blea moor   Leaving Blea Moor at the gate to the Newby Head road           When we reached the end of Blea Moor, after about 2 miles, we turned left onto a minor road (Newby Rod) leading to Cowgill and Dent. The Dales Way follows this road for a considerable distance. At a point just before the road, the Dales Way crosses into Cumbria. We joined the road at a gate through a barbed wire fence. On the road we passed Mossy Bottom, a conifer plantation on our left and then walked downhill, with an attractive view of the hills far into the distance. After a short while the Dent Head Viaduct came into view, far below us and far in the distance. The road seemed to go on forever, but eventually we passed beneath the arches of the viaduct and the road leveled off. There was scaffolding around the base of one of the pillars to support some work that was obviously going on there.             View of Dent head Viaduct from the Newby Road   Scale Gill Bridge over River Dee near Cowgill         After a while the almost completely dried up River Dee appeared on our left, exposing smoothed stones and rocky waterfalls (small ones). We stayed close to the river for the remainder of the walk. I am sure it would have been very pretty had there been some water in it. The River Dee eventually joins the River Lune to flow through Lancaster. There were many attractive bridges crossing the river, one of which had a wall missing and looked very dangerous. After a long trawl along the road it eventually curved westwards circumnavigating Langhaw Wold, rising high above us to our left. At this point we entered Cowgill, passing a well populated pub on our left and then leaving the road via a stile which took us to Ewegales Bridge. We then took a very small road where we saw some interesting and unusual South American farm animals in an abutting farm.             Dried up river bed of the River Dee   Ewegales Bridge (or part of it)             The village of Dent   Fountain stone commemorating Alan Sedgwick           We then passed through farmland and Little Town forestry plantation and then through many fields of rough pasture, the path through them not being easy to follow. This eventually brought us back to the River Dee where we followed the river bank for a short distance only to be deflected uphill at Tommy Bridge and again through fields of rough pasture up to Mill Bridge and then immediately back again to the river. We soon came upon a camp site, and found tents strewn right across the path. After a short distance we emerged at a bridge and onto the road once moor and into the village of Dent. Dent is a charming town with cobbled streets. It was bustling with activity. On the whole this part of the Dales Way was not as enjoyable as our four previous days, being spoiled by the amount of road walking. However, the scenery was still attractive and the walk still enjoyable. Perhaps we had just been spoiled by the quality of the Dales Way which we had already traveled.         Day 4 Day 6       Author - Roy McKee Copyright © Roy McKee 2006