St John – Bentham Footpath Group

Kirkby Stephen poetry stones and river walk

6.9 miles | 11.1 km | 199 m Ascent | 7.9 Naismith miles |Terri Kwiecinska
In April 2023, Bentham Footpath Group enjoyed a great walk in Ravenstonedale and Smardale, where we explored a disused railway line and crossed the magnificent Smardale Gill viaduct. At the time, we made a mental note to come back and explore other parts of this line, and so when one of our group members suggested a walk at the poetry stones in Kirkby Stephen, we grasped the opportunity to combine the two. This walk visits the poetry stones on a route that includes parts of that disused railway line, and two more viaducts. We add interesting geology, a lovely riverside section, and Kirkby Stephen town centre – all crammed into a relatively short and easy walk.

Appersett Mosaics

Easy

6.4 miles | 10.3 km | 270m Ascent | 7.8 Naismith miles | Kate Rowe
This easy walk offers great views and includes a number of the Millennium Mosaics placed around Hawes in 2000.
The route starts by crossing the Widdale Beck, then the River Ure before climbing up to Hardraw. From there we go to Simonstone and take a path along the fellside into Sedbusk Village. We start back on the Sedbusk lane, but soon divert left to head down to the River Ure at Haylands Bridge.
We then follow the river upstream until we meet the A684 where we walk left along the road for a very brief spell before heading up onto the fells again at Thorns. A path along Spillain Green Sike offers good views of cascading waterfalls before we head back down to a minor road at Appersett Viaduct. From there we follow the road downhill back to the cars. On route we see eight of the twenty two mosaics.

Appersett Mosaics Read More »