Reeth

This is a village to settle into rather than a single sight to tick off. It sits on a plateau above the River Swale, built around a large central green framed by stone and whitewashed inns, shops and tea rooms, with hills and moorland rising beyond. Come for the setting, the walking and the slow pace, and use the village as a base for exploring Swaledale and Arkengarthdale.

• The green is the centre of everything, with cafes, pubs and tea rooms around its edges
• Hudson House, at the top of the green, is a volunteer-managed visitor centre
• The Swaledale Museum covers local lead-mining and farming history
• Views out to field barns, drystone walls and heather moorland in most directions

• Reeth Low Common for a short outing with big valley views
• Reeth to Healaugh, with a riverside return along the Swale
• The Swale Trail, around 20 km, starts here
• An Old Gang route towards the smelt-mill ruins; the first 3 km follows a well-compacted track
• The Ivelet Moor route, around 11 km on a wide, well-surfaced track with a few short steep sections

Hay meadows are at their best in early summer, when the walled fields around the village fill with flowers. Look for Swaledale sheep in the fields and on the moors. On the moors listen for red grouse, curlew, lapwing, golden plover, skylark and meadow pipit, and along the Old Gang route you may see or hear buzzard and raven.

Reeth grew through the 18th and 19th centuries as a service centre for the lead-mining industry, helped by its position at the junction of the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale roads. Grinton was the older centre of the valley, reached by corpse ways from further up the dale. Mining remains survive at Old Gang and around Grinton, and they make good targets for a walk.

Aim for the large village green in the middle of the village, with Hudson House at its upper edge; it is the natural starting point for exploring the village.

• Parking is around the edges of the green, using honesty boxes; street parking is limited
• Fine summer weekends get busy, and spaces are easier to find outside peak weekends
• Public toilets in the village include an accessible toilet and baby changing
• Hudson House has an accessible entrance, parking and restroom; this accessibility information applies to Hudson House, not the whole village
• Wear proper footwear if you plan to head onto the moors or the riverside paths, which can be wet and uneven