Upper Dentdale

• An engineering spectacular
• Views down Garsdale and Dentdale
• Circular from a station or a pub

Not many people visit Upper Dentdale so I was not surprised that I met nobody on the walk. Even the roads are empty so the final 2 miles, which are on tarmac, are perfectly pleasant (I was passed by only one car). However the area was once famous for being the home of Dent Marble which is not in fact marble but is a dark limestone with a high fossil concentrate. Primarily used for fireplaces the marble is most dramatically shown on the 2 great viaducts of upper Dentdale which carry the famous Settle to Carlisle railway over the deep valleys. The walk up Arten Gill passes through one of the great arches of the Arten viaduct (used in the film Ms Potter) as it travels along the famous bridleway on the lower slopes of Great Knoutberry Hill (Widdale Fell). Great Knoutberry itself is rather a dull lump with nothing to commend it unless, like me, you travel off route after the summit and visit the twin tarns of Widdale, the shake holes and meet the masses of swallows that live in the swallow holes.

Recommend: This route may be best taken by train with a start and finish at Dent Station. If so travel down in to Dentdale first. I did the route by car from the Sportsman’s Inn.

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© Crown copyright 2010 Ordnance Survey. Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

OS Map:	O/S 1.25,000. OL2 Yorkshire Dales Southern & Western Area
Start Point:	768863. I asked the landlord if I could start at the Sportsman and he was fine. Alternatively parking is limited in a tight valley but Dent station is another possibility.
Terrain:	I went off the normal route from the summit which is trackless from the tarns. The summit area of Great Knoutberry can be very wet.
Eating & Drinking:	The Sportsman's Inn is a fine and traditional Dales pub, well worth a pint.
Similar Walks Nearby:	Whernside from Dentdale Dick Turpin & the Source of the Eden Twisleton Scars from Chapel le Dale
Places to Stay:	George & Dragon, Dent