Date: Monday 22nd April 2019
Route: Aysgarth to Hawes
Distance: 13 miles (20.9 KM)

My last day on the trail! I had booked a train back to London from Garsdale at 7pm but as this last day was relatively flat, I knew that I would have plenty of time to get there. After leaving Coleman’s Campsite with my delicious take-away breakfast, I made my way towards what is technically the start of the Herriot Way. There is no official signage for this trail and finding the “starting point” is actually kind of tricky! Luckily, a local was out walking his dog and could see that I was looking a big confused and pointed me in the right direction.

The trail starts off going downhill through some fields until reaching a farmyard which used to be the old Aysgarth Mill. I always find it awkward walking through areas where people live but it was quite early and so I managed to get through without any awkward encounters.

After following the lane away from the farmyard I found myself in the woods down by the River Ure – it made a nice change being in the woods, albeit for a brief while. It reminded me of some of the Great Glen Way in Scotland and I relished being in the shade of the trees.  For most of the morning, I found myself walking alongside the river, following the old railway line to Askrigg. It was so refreshing being on a flat track away from the dust of the moors!

I had my first encounter with some grumpy cows along this stretch! They were lying down behind a stone wall through which I had to climb through a stile to get to the other field. I’m not sure who was more startled by my sweaty lunging through the stile, the cows or me…

When you get to Askrigg, I highly recommend stopping in at the Humble Pie. The owner of the campsite I’d stayed in the night before mentioned stopping in there and I’m so glad I did. The ladies working in the shop had actually been at my campsite the night before and recognised me, so it was nice having a chat with somewhat familiar faces. I did manage to spill my pot of tea all over one of their tables, but it wouldn’t be a normal day without me almost breaking something.

Just after leaving Askrigg, there is Mill Gill Force which was probably my favourite waterfall that I came across on the trail. Apparently when there has been recent rainfall, this Gill is more impressive than Hardraw Force, but it was so hot while I was there that it was quite low.

After leaving Mill Gill Force, the trail climbs steeply through the woods until you reach the public footpath to Helm. I met a really lovely couple here and walked with them for a while, talking about the farm they own and how beautiful the area was. We parted ways when they stopped to visit the restored Grange Gill Lime Kiln and I carried on ahead.

From the small hamlet of Skell Gill, the trail mainly follows a path through various farmyards and fields. The path is really easy to follow along this section and it passed by quite quickly. Just after Litherskew, there is another property where the Right of Way goes through their garden. The guidebook had me laughing out loud as it says to “be brazen” when walking through as the owners are used to people walking through their garden but I still sped through as quickly as I could!

After leaving Sedbusk (which is the tiniest hamlet I have ever come across), the next .6 of a mile takes you through more fields with 11 different stiles to climb through. I have never been so frustrated at having to climb through so many gates, I swear each one got smaller and smaller, to the point where I was having to take my backpack off just to fit through them. Thankfully this didn’t last very long and I soon turned on to a track which takes you down into the village of Hardraw. This village is the home of the Green Dragon Inn and Hardraw Force, the tallest single drop waterfall in England.

I stopped for lunch at the Green Dragon Inn but I stupidly hadn’t thought to keep any change to pay the fee for visiting the waterfall and so I sadly had to give it a miss! This just means I have to go back for another visit in the summer…

Directly opposite the Green Dragon Inn is a signpost for the Pennine Way and this takes you all the way back to Hawes while following the River Ure again. It was such a beautiful day and the locals were out in force and I stopped to chat to quite a few people while making my way back into Hawes.

I had some time to kill before catching my train back to London, so I stopped in at the Dales Countryside Museum. This is a really cool museum with an old Victorian railway station, an outdoor trail and some really interesting exhibitions inside showing how the local people used to live and work in the area.

I absolutely loved walking this trail – it challenged me in ways which I’d never experienced before and I will definitely be looking at doing more like it in the future. I saw this sign when leaving the Museum just before heading back to London and it really resonated.