Pateley Bridge & Smelthouses

Sunday, 16th January
12.4 km (7.7 miles) 3:00 hrs

Glorious Nidderdale in glorious rain !!  Although to be fair the temperature was nearly 10 degrees, so it didn't feel cold at all.  This is walk no. 4473 from the WalkingWorld website,described as a "moderate" walk I think all the "moderate" bits come at the beginning which is a pretty steep pull out of Pateley Bridge itself.  However, the reward was a visit to St. Mary's Church.  This ancient but now preserved site dates back to the 14th Century and, above all, it is the cemetary that receives the plaudits. After a short stay amongst the yew trees, we plodded on (and up) stopping for some spectacular views down across Pateley Bridge itself also up Nidderdale.

The route, at this point, follows the contour lines and is fairly level, although there are a couple of pulls up the hill and the world's wettest bridleway, or so it seemed as we dragged ourselves up through the mud !

Eventually, the going got better as we dropped down to the woods above Smelthouses and took a break for a spot of lunch.  Then it was down through the woods to cross the main road near Low Laithe to pick up the banks of the Nidd.  The final section simply hugs the bank of the river to return you back into the centre of Pateley Bridge.
Whilst this was only 7 1/2 miles, I have to say it felt longer and my legs seemed too think it was longer as well !!  Thankfully, the worst of the rain kept off until we got back to the car but it did drizzle for the whole walk.
A collection of photographs from this link