The walk starts at Muker, a village in Upper Swaledale. From here it climbs steeply up Kisdon Fell before dropping down to Keld. The low level return from Keld follows the embryonic River Swale.
Kisdon Fell is unusual (and the better for it) in the Northern Dales due to it’s splendid isolation, steep sides and the lack of any public rights of way to the summit. The deep clefts of Angram, Straw Beck and the upper reaches of the River Swale contrive to leave a square block of deep limestone. This has then been gauged out by the glacier’s retreat. Here Kisdon Fell sits. At three of the four corners of the fell are the quintessential Dales villages of Thwaite, Keld and Muker. Each one is exceptionally attractive with individuals qualities that make them stand out. As an example the village of Muker, where the walks starts, is perfect with a nice pub. It is possible to start the walk at Thwaite (my favourite of the 3) but there is a lack of parking.
Having climbed the steep slopes from Muker I enjoyed a rough and trackless ten minutes to the summit (a Marilyn mountain at 1,635 feet). There is a dry stone wall between the very faint path and the summit but some convenient steps in the wall means most visit the highest point. The tall boy cairn has beautiful views west and lies a few metres from the highest point.Next is an equally steep descent to to Keld. Finally there is a long stroll down the upper Swale with its small but picturesque waterfalls.
Leaving Keld for the second part of the walk there are two options. Either drop to the valley floor and follow the path on the west side of the river. Alternatively a second and better path follows a higher route on a wide bridleway to the east. This gives superb views across the embronic River Swale befor dropping down to cross the river 1km shy of Muker village.
The walk is enhanced in May and June when the hay meadows just to the north of Muker are at their best.
Kisdon Fell from Muker is one of the best 20 walks in the Yorkshire Dales.
The summit of Kisdon Hill lies 600m from the bridleway that crosses the summit plateau. The terrain between is quite rough, peat hags and challenging. It is best to cross the plateau from the gate on the bridlepath at the west end and then keep close to the wall to the summit cairn which lies a few metres over the wall.
A beautiful colourful circular walk recommended in the autumn. We did this walk yesterday starting from Muker. Being caught in Storm Aidan ensured we just remained focused with our footing rather than admiring the views. It was very challenging to say the least, but undeterred we arrived at Keld and ate lunch at the falls which were spectacular. The return walk and descent back to Muker was stunning as the sun finally shone and we had the most fabulous views of the winding River Swale nestled between the glorious autumnal colours of the trees. Absolutely stunning and breathtaking views. My friend and I are two novice walkers as a result of Covid we took up this hobby and are enjoying it immensely. Many more to come.
Great walk. Easy to navigate with OL30 OS map. Took a short cut and came back on the West bank of the river Swale to make sure we made it to the Farmer’s Arms in Muker (pronounced “Mew-ker” not “Mucker” as we found out!) in time for lunch which was very reasonable and the perfect place to stop when most of the walk was done. Thanks for posting it.
Really nice circular walk. We did this today in a mixture of sunshine and cloudy weather with some strong winds. This made it a bit chilly now and then but great walk with nice mixture of paths and views. Especially liked the bit unto the top of Kisdon Fell. As you said no marked paths but easy to find, just keep an eye on the little stone pyramid on the top.
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