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A word
of warning about this walk: beware of the ghostly witch.
It's
said she lives at the waterfall known as Ibbeth Peril, a couple
of miles outside of Dent. If you're the worse for wear with drink
she's likely to kidnap you and place you in a dark cave under the
waterfall.
And
it's just by here, at a parking area, that this six mile walk begins.
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| Howard
Blackie - volunteer ranger |
It's
been devised by Howard Blackie, a voluntary ranger with the Yorkshire
Dales National Park.
 Listen
to Howard Blackie and Mike Kemp on the walk
Dent,
with its narrow cobbled streets, is the only village in Dentdale.
And
as you walk one side of the River Dee before returning on the other,
you see old farmsteads dating back hundreds of years dotted along
the valley side.
They're
about a quarter of a mile apart from each other and built because
that's how the early Norse settlers preferred to live rather than
in villages or communities.
The
walk leaves Ibbeth Peril and follows the path to the north of the
minor road running along the valley floor. The path offers fine
views of the surrounding hills including Whernside.
You
eventually pass St John's Church in Cowgill before walking along
the minor road to the little hamlet of Lea Yeat, which had its heyday
during the building of the Settle to Carlisle Railway.
Quaker
history
The
area is rich in Quaker history. Indeed one man in the 1670s was
imprisoned in York for his beliefs. His wife and two children tried
to run their farm while he was away but they eventually died from
starvation.
There
are also reported to be several large Quaker burials in the area.
The
walk joins the Dales Way at Lea Yeat and you follow this path by
the river. According to Howard on a grassy bank you can see the
pinkish-coloured flowers of the marsh spotted orchids.
The
leaves of this delightful flower were just beginning to appear when
we passed by, but the end of May and early June is about the best
time to enjoy this spectacle.
The
path passes through Little Town Wood, here the temperature remains
fairly constant throughout the year, and eventually emerges to wide
open views of Dentdale.
You
soon leave the Dales Way to drop down the valley side, across the
River Dee and back to where you began by Ibbeth Peril.
The
walk can be enjoyed at a gentle stroll and leaves you plenty of
time to perhaps enjoy a glass of bitter from the Dent Brewery, which
you'd have passed on the walk. But watch out for the ghostly witch!
Discuss
your favourite walks on our Message Board
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