UPDATED JULY 2024! Swaledale might just be my new favorite place in Yorkshire. This area of the Yorkshire Dales National Park is stunning and so quintessentially charming! Rolling green hills, drystone walls, pretty villages, barns dotted around the countryside… the whole region screams England and English countryside to me! If you’re looking for a great day out hiking in Swaledale, I hiked from Muker to Keld, up to Crackpot Hall, and then over the top of the next valley (nearly to Gunnerside) and back to Muker via Ivelet. This is how I spent my day in Swaledale!

Muker: A Charming Swaledale Village

Muker is one of the cutest places I’ve been to. The post office is tiny, and one of the shops even has a Swaledale ewe statue on the roof! There are public toilets here (they do have a charge, 20p), a village shop, a pub, and a smattering of other businesses.

There is one car park here, which is the main car park for the village. It’s operated by the Richmondshire District Council– all day parking is £5.40. There is free parking in the lay-bys just outside of town (past the bridge, towards Thwaite). If you’re exploring Swaledale, definitely take your time wandering around Muker! This is such an adorable Yorkshire Dales village.

Many of the trails are well-marked (it’s easy to follow the trail between Muker and Keld). But I’d still recommend having a map – you’ll need OS Map OL30 – Yorkshire Dales (Northern & Central). I use the OS Maps app on every single hike I do in the UK! As always, make sure to come prepared for any hike: wear sturdy boots, bring a waterproof rain jacket, and plenty of water and snacks. You can check out my outdoor gear guide for all my recommendations! I actually got really dehydrated on this hike since it was so warm and I was sweating so much – I really need to follow my own advice and should have brought more water!

Hiking From Muker to Keld

One of the nicest hikes in the Yorkshire Dales is between Muker and Keld, along the River Swale. Head up the road in Muker and make your way through the beautiful Muker meadows. If you’re visiting in summer, hopefully these will be in bloom with wildflowers! Make sure to stick to the path to avoid causing any damage to the meadows. You’ll start to notice more and more stone barns, or cow houses, as you go.

Once you get to the river, it’s easy enough to follow the trail to the left, which is signposted to Keld. You really just follow the river nearly the whole way there. It’s a beautiful hike through the valley!

Alternately, you could take the Corpse Way from Muker to Keld. Due to the remote area, people who couldn’t afford transport had to carry the coffins themselves to the nearest church. A 16-mile trail was established from Keld all the way to Grinton, which had the nearest church, and became known as the Corpse Way. The church in Muker was built in 1580, after which it wasn’t necessary to go all the way to Grinton. I’d love to go back and do part of this walk someday, but still really enjoyed walking along the river!

Keld is a small village (smaller than Muker), and there wasn’t much going on when I got here. It took me about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to Keld from Muker. This was going at a moderate pace but with lots of photo stops. You’ll walk along the Pennine Way for the very last part!

From Keld, it’s a short 10-minute walk to East Gill Force. This is a gorgeous waterfall, and the river has lots of easy access for wading and swimming. I wish I had brought my swimsuit so I could have gone swimming, it was such a hot sunny day and a dip in the water would have been so refreshing! This is a great spot for picnics in nice weather. You can do a short detour down to Kisdon Force if you like.

Best Views in Swaledale: Crackpot Hall

Leaving East Gill Force, take the trail heading up to Crackpot Hall. Crackpot Hall is an abandoned 18th-century farmhouse, located high up in the valley. In my opinion, the views from Crackpot Hall are some of the best in Yorkshire! It only took me 20 minutes from East Gill Force to get the ruins of the hall. Once we got away from the waterfall, we saw literally no one for hours! I had all of Crackpot Hall to myself.

The hall is all ruins now, with mainly leftover debris from the mining industry that used to be prevalent in the area. That being said, it’s still fun to explore. And again, the views are amazing!!

If you don’t want to go for a long hike, you can head down into the valley from Crackpot Hall. You’ll walk on the other side of the River Swale and you can cross the river at Rampsholme (where there’s a footbridge) to get you back to Muker via the meadows.

Hiking the Long Way Back to Muker

I chose to hike the long way back to Muker: to the next valley along, nearly to Gunnerside, and back to Muker via Ivelet and West Calvert Houses. This added on a lot of miles, but it also meant I got to see so much more of Swaledale!

Follow the trail from Crackpot Hall around the valley to the waterfall. This seemed like such a hidden surprise, I felt like it was something out of Lord of the Rings or another world! From the waterfall, follow the path all the way up the steps.

There will be a public footpath signpost, follow this and eventually you’ll come up to the top of the ridge on a track. It took a solid 20 minutes of uphill hiking to get here from the waterfall.

I essentially followed this track the entire way to Ivelet. The views over the moors and the dales were just spectacular. I could have followed one of the public footpaths to get down into the valley, and I’d have ended up in the village of Gunnerside. But I missed these turns (after more hikes in the area, I can say the paths are extremely faint!) and never made it to Gunnerside. But I walked on the track for just over an hour, and ended up in Ivelet. Someone in his car gave me directions to get to the trail back to Muker (bless!).

If you end up doing what I did, you’ll follow the road from Ivelet to Calvert Houses, follow the winding road down, and turn right at the red phone box. It’s signposted as a public footpath and you can essentially take this all the way through West Calvert Houses to Rampsholme footbridge and back to Muker. I believe there is a river crossing marked on the map to shorten the walk and not have to detour to Rampsholme bridge and back through the meadows. But I just continued on to the bridge! It took just over an hour from the red phone box in Calvert Houses to get back to Muker. I was really hot, tired, and thirsty at this point (not a great combination), but it was still nice to walk along the riverside.

This hike in Swaledale is approximately 11 miles. All in all, it took me almost exactly 5.5 hours from leaving the car in Muker, to getting back to Muker at the end.

Planning Your Trip in Swaledale

Having your own car will give you so much more freedom, and I do recommend driving to explore Swaledale. However, the road from Reeth to Muker (the B6270) is very narrow, winding, and you may need to use the designated passing places. It may be a bit of a challenge if you’re not used to very narrow countryside roads!

However, there is some (limited) public transportation available. Bus 30 (Little White Bus) runs from Richmond through Reeth, Gunnerside, Muker, and Keld. On summer Sundays, Dalesbus 830 runs from Preston to Richmond. However, I’m unsure if any of these will be operating this year. You may need to book this in advance.

The nearest train station to Muker is Garsdale, which is about 8 miles away. This is a stop on the line that runs from Leeds to Carlisle – which are both main train stations with connections across the country. This is the same route as the Settle-Carlisle railway, the scenic journey takes you through the Yorkshire Dales including Garsdale! However, you’d then need to get from Garsdale station to Muker, and there is no direct public transportation. If you are planning to travel by train, I always use Trainline to get the best deals on train tickets.

Considering travel insurance for your trip? World Nomads offers coverage for more than 150 adventure activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more. I visited Swaledale as a daytrip from York, but it was a long day and I would much rather have stayed overnight – or even done it as a weekend trip! You can search for accommodation options around Swaledale using the map below.

Booking.com

If you’re looking to explore nearby (and have your own set of wheels), Richmond is a small town with plenty to do and a great castle to explore. The iconic Buttertubs Pass is one of the prettiest roads in the Yorkshire Dales, and is only a few miles from Muker. If you want to drive a bit further, you can visit the Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in Britain at 1732 feet (528 meters)! If you wanted a different hike, you can even follow the Pennine Way from Keld to the Tan Hill Inn! Some of my other favorite places in the Yorkshire Dales are around Grassington and Wharfedale, Malham, Ingleton, the Howgills, and Ingleborough.

Interested in a tour of the Yorkshire Dales? Check out tour options below!

The Yorkshire Dales National Park is simply a wonderful place to explore. If you enjoy hiking and being outdoors, there is just so much to see here! I loved the charm of Swaledale, and the views from Crackpot Hall were incredible. I hope this helps in planning a trip to Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales!

Have you been to Swaledale or the Yorkshire Dales before? If not, would you like to visit?

You might like my other posts:

The BEST Places to Visit in the Yorkshire Dales

The Prettiest Villages to See in Swaledale

The Best Walks in Yorkshire

Exploring Wharfedale: Hiking From Grassington to Hebden in the Yorkshire Dales

Exploring the Yorkshire Dales: Hiking Pen-y-Ghent

What to See in Malham in the Yorkshire Dales

Waterfalls, Caves, and More: Exploring Ingleton in the Yorkshire Dales

21 of the BEST Places to Visit in the North York Moors

My Outdoor Gear Guide for Hiking and Camping in the UK

The Ultimate Yorkshire Guide: 99 Incredible Places to Visit in Yorkshire

All of my hiking posts!

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