Smardale Gill Walk

This is a figure-of-eight circuit of 6.8 miles (11 km) total, not one way, starting and finishing in Ravenstonedale village. Allow about 4.5 hours with normal stops for photos and a sandwich; some route guides put it at 3 to 4 hours, so treat it as a half-day rather than something to squeeze in before dark.

From the roadside triangle by Ravenstonedale school you cross a waymarked stone stile and the A685, then drop into pasture and follow Scandal Beck downstream. The old Smardale Bridge takes you over the water, and from there you join the dismantled railway, passing former lime kilns before the payoff: the 14-arch Smardale Gill Viaduct, carrying the old line nearly 30 m above the beck. The path continues through woodland and past the Settle to Carlisle line toward Smardale village and Smardale Hall, then climbs onto a bridleway over Smardale Fell, with long views toward the Howgill Fells and the North Pennines. The descent returns you to Smardale Bridge and back through pasture and lanes to the village.

Moderate in practice, around 5 out of 10. There is no scrambling or technical ground, but there is plenty of variety underfoot:

Wayfinding is by public footpath and bridleway signs and field gates rather than one continuously branded trail, so keep a map or GPS track handy and count your gates. Boots with ankle support are the sensible choice. This is not an accessible route.

• Village lanes and field paths with stiles, gates and steps
• Uneven and often muddy beckside and old railway surfaces
• A long, open moorland bridleway with some airy high-level walking

Keep children close at the A685 crossing, along the beck, on the bridges, and around the old railway and industrial structures. The fell section is exposed to wind and weather with little shelter, so carry layers even on a promising day.

The walk is essentially a tour of Victorian engineering set in limestone country. The trackbed you follow was built to haul coal and coke, the lime kilns beside it processed local stone, and the viaduct still stands as the centrepiece. The gill slopes are steep and wooded, while the ground opening out from the viaduct is species-rich limestone grassland, which is why the reserve here is managed for conservation.

Nothing is guaranteed, but the reserve is known for red squirrels, roe deer and dippers along the water, birds of prey overhead, and woodland birds including redstarts, pied flycatchers, wood warblers and nuthatches. The Scotch argus butterfly flies here in late summer. Orchids and rock-rose appear on the grassland, with bluebells and primroses in the wooded sections earlier in the year.

Dogs are welcome on this public route but should be on a lead, under close control around livestock and nesting or grazing wildlife. Parking is roadside in the village road triangle near the school, and there is no dedicated car park at this start, so park considerately and leave access clear.

If 6.8 miles of stiles and open fell is more than you want, there is a shorter walk from the Smardale car park entrance out to the viaduct and back, roughly 3 miles (4.8 km) return, with part of the surface suitable for easier access. It reaches the same landmark by a different and gentler route.