Nine Standards (Kirkby Stephen Circular or to Garsdale) walk

18.1 km (11.2 mi) or 29.3 km (18.2 mi), with 584m or 899/819m ascent/descent. For a shorter or longer walk, see below Walk Options.

6 out of 10 or 9 out of 10, with 5 or 8 hours walking time.

This is relatively short excursion up to a magnificent viewpoint at the top of Hartley Fell, overlooking the North Pennines and the Upper Eden Valley, also with views across to the Howgill Fells and the Lake District, despite only reaching the modest height of 660m above sea level. The top is graced by nine enigmatic differently shaped cairns up to four metres high, the Nine Standards. They are at least 500 years old and believed to be markers of the historic boundary between Westmorland and the North Riding of Yorkshire.
En route you experience an exciting stretch of the Eden River, where the water noisily tumbles over exposed rock slabs, down rock faces and a tight gorge, where water and gravel have created holes, cup-shaped incisions and mini-gorges in the river bed. Further along, you follow a narrow woodland path along the rushing Ladthwaite Beck, which speeds down a chute at the bottom of a high rock face and down a waterfall.
The route then joins the Coast to Coast Walk and heads to the top along a good track. The descent leads through some upland peat bog (on a decent path) before entering limestone country with shake holes and swallow holes and follows dry paths around the stunning Dukerdale and around or over Tailbridge Hill. The final descent down Nateby Common provides for fine views across a patchwork of pastures to heathery commons and into the Eden Valley, before passing a tea stop in Nateby, about 30 minutes before the end.

An Alternative Descent leads through Kirkby Stephen town, cutting out Dukerdale and Nateby Common.
An Alternative Ending leads over exposed high ground along the British watershed to Garsdale Station.

An Alternative Descent off Hartley Fell part-reverses the ascent route and follows lanes and paths into Kirkby Stephen for its tea options: 20.1 km/12.5 mi with 611m ascent/descent, 6/10 rating.
An Alternative Ending in Garsdale follows the British Watershed between the Eden and Swale catchments across high ground, broadly along the Cumbria/Yorkshire Boundary. Cross High Pike Hill, High Seat, Gregory Chapel and Hugh Seat without much undulation to then descend through the upland moorland that is the source of the Eden River and pick up The High Way above the Mallerstang Valley by Hell Gill Bridge. Continue along a good track into the River Ure catchment: 29.5 km/18.3 mi, 914/834m ascent/descent, 9/10 rating.
On the Alternative Ending, you can cut out the last 1.4 km by taking the Garsdale Station Shuttle Bus (Mon-Sat) or the Wensleydale Explorer 885 (summer Sundays only) from the Moorcock Inn.
On the Main Walk, the descent through Nateby Common can be varied by going over the top of Tailbridge Hill, an excellent viewpoint, rather than skirting around its flank.
A loop from Nateby to and through Kirkby Stephen links to the Alternative Descent and passes many tea places and some sights (add 3.6 km and 47m ascent).
Shortcuts:

• Outbound and return route are never far away from each other, so the middle bit of the route can be cut quite easily using straight forward rights of way, for example either of the two south westerly footpaths from Ladthwaite Farm or the south easterly bridleway from halfway up the ascent of Hartley Fell, from Faraday Gill across to Rollinson Gill;
• Another obvious shortcut is to follow the route only as far as the top of the tarmac lane north of Ladthwaite Farm, and descend from there along the Alternative Descent;
• The Most Direct Descent from the Standards is achieved by initially turning back down the route of the ascent and then picking up either the alternative descent through Kirkby Stephen (see below) or reversing all of the main ascent route from the station.

OS Landranger: 91 (Appleby-in-Westmorland) & 98 (Wensleydale & Upper Wharfedale)
OS Explorer: OL19 (Howgill Fells & Upper Eden Valley)

Kirkby Stephen Station, map reference NY 762 066, is 360 km northwest of Charing Cross, 60 km southeast of Carlisle and 263m above sea level. Garsdale Station, map reference SD 788 918, is 15 km south southeast of Kirkby Stephen Station and 343m above sea level. Both are in Cumbria and on the Leeds - Settle – Carlisle Line, with eight trains per day Mon-Sat and seven on Sundays (six at Garsdale). Journey time to Kirkby Stephen is 55 minutes from Carlisle, 44 from Settle and 106 from Leeds. Garsdale is 12 minutes further from Carlisle.

Saturday Walkers’ Club: The walk is not practicable as a daywalk from London.

Picnic

Kirkby Stephen Ending
The Black Bull at Nateby Nateby, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, CA17 4JP (01768 371 588). The Black Bull is located 2.3 km from the end of the Main Walk.
Numerous options in Kirkby Stephen on an alternative route from the top to and through the town. See the walk directions for details.

Garsdale Ending
The Moorcock Inn Garsdale Head, Sedbergh, Yorkshire, LA10 5PU (01969 667 488). The Moorcock is located 1.4 km from the end of the Alternative Ending in Garsdale. It is a former inn now (09/23) run as a ‘Bed & Breakfast with a licensed tea shop’ with kitchen and bar closing at 17.00 hours (earlier on Sundays) on the few days it is open to the public at all.

beck: stream, brook; brig(g): bridge; -by: habitation; cam: bank, slope, ridge; carr: marshy woodland or shrubland; clough: narrow valley, cleft in a hillside, ravine, glen, gorge, cliff, rocky precipice; crag: steep rugged mass of rock projecting upward or outward; currick: cairn, pile of stones, often locations used to keep watch for Scottish raiders; dale: valley; -ey: island, dry area in a marshy place; fell: hill, mountain slope (especially rough moorland); firth/frith: long, narrow inlet of the sea or estuary; force/foss: waterfall, rapids; frith: area of peace, protection, safety, security; garth: small grass enclosure adjacent to a house; gate: way, street; gill/ghyll: small narrow valley or ravine; hagg: part of an area of woodland, especially on a sloping bank; holm(e): island, inland promontory, raised ground in marsh, river-meadow; how(e): barrow, small hill; hush: (Roman era) mine on steep hillside, using dammed up water to wash away topsoil and boulders, revealing the underlying lead or ore veins; ing(s): meadow(s), especially water meadow near a river; keld/kell: spring or well; kirk: church; laithe/leeath: barn, agricultural building; lang: long; ling: heather; lonning/lonnin’: lane or track, something less than a road, more rural than a street, usually short; mell: sand dunes; mire: bog; moss: bog, marsh; ness: headland, promontory; nick: shallow notch, cut or indentation on an edge or a surface; pike: spike, sharp point, peak; rake: slant, incline; rigg: ridge; scar/scaur: cliff, rocky outcrop with a steep face; seat/set(t)/side: summer pasture or dwelling place; seaves: rushes; shaw: hurdle, gate; sike/syke/sitch: small stream or gulley, gutter; stang: pole, shaft, stake, wooden bar; stoop/stowp/stoup: post, gatepost, distance marker (milestone), standing stone; -sty: ascent, ascending lane or path, narrow pathway or course; tarn: lake or pond (especially in an upland location); thorp(e)/t(h)rop: village or small settlement; thwait(e): village or small settlement; toft(s): small farmstead with enclosed land, later applied to a village or small settlement; wath: ford; whinny: gorse, furze, thorny vegetation; -wich/wick: village or settlement.

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National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Oct-23 Thomas G