Yorkshire Walks

Cotterdale and the Great Shunner Fell

Map based on Ordnance Survey mapping by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. © Crown Copyright.

Start Hardraw. Grid Ref: 867912
Distance 9.5 miles (15km)
OS Map Pathfinder 608 or Landranger 98
Allow 4 1/2 hours

Great Shunner Fell is the highest point in Wensleydale, which makes a worthy goal for this energetic walk. From Hardraw it visits the pretty valley and village of Cotterdale, then climbs up through the forest, past the old coal pits, and up to the summit ridge. From the top there is a panoramic view. The return route follows the Pennine Way back to Hardraw. In places it is steep, wet or rough. Parking is limited to the roadside on the east side of Hardraw village.

Hardraw village lies across the River from Hawes and is one of a line of hamlets and villages like Simonstone, Sedbusk, Grange and Askrigg which lie at the foot of the fells on the north side of the dale. The name Hardraw means 'shepherd's dwelling' and sheep farming is as important as ever on the broad fells of Abbotside Common. There is the church, built in 1880, the old village school, a shop, cafe and the Green Dragon Inn; few of the houses are very old.

From the west end of the village, turn up the cobbled green lane to Cotterdale, past a building with its west wall clad in purple Welsh slate. The flower-bordered lane curves to the left and up the hill. The goldfinch is often seen near to the village, where there are plenty of weed seeds. A group of goldfinches is given the pleasant name of a 'charm'.

After a mile (1.5km), the walled lane comes to an end at a gate and the path divides into three. The one on the right goes along the Hearne road to the old coal pits of Fossdale Moss. This track was in heavy use at the beginning of the twentieth century, when farmers still trundled their carts along it for a load of coal. Now it starts off well, but is so overgrown further along that it becomes difficult to follow and the going is rough. The centre path is our return route from the top of Great Shunner Fell, the much-used Pennine Way. We take the left path, barely visible through the tufts of grass, to a wall which further along is crossed by a ladder stile.

From here is a fine view of upper Wensleydale between Widdale Fell and the sharp edge of Cotter End. The path descends gently to the right, and from the first gate there is a view into Cotterdale - the name refers to both the dale and the small village. The path passes through a series of stiles, past two barns and a small field kiln. Cotterdale Beck meanders idly along on the valley floor, unaware that it is going to plunge very soon over Cotter Force.

Wheatears and whinchats are summer visitors to this hillside. The wheatear has an eye-catching white rump and moves frequently from one place to another, flying low to a rock, molehill or wall top, always restless with much bobbing and tail fanning. The whinchat is also easily seen as it perches in a prominent place to deliver its jingling song. Perhaps its most distinguishing feature is the white stripe, or supercilium, above the eye.

Cotterdale is a most peaceful valley, and the little hamlet seems quite remote and part of another age. A survey of 1603 shows six titled or wealthy men lived here, and three centuries later the names of three families were used in a rhyme: 'Three Halls, two Kirks and a King. Same road out as goes in'. There are farms and cottages, some of which were colliers' homes when the pits were working and when most of the women did hand-knitting to trade in Hawes. The small Methodist chapel is now a private house, but still has one or two gravestones in the garden. A shepherd's cottage is dated 1616.

Just below the village, the two streams of East Gill and West Gill meet to become Cotterdale Beck. Pass the ford and the houses which face East Gill, keeping to the left bank, and cross the beck by the footbridge. A small path leads up through the trees and brings you out onto a forest road. There is plenty of interest for the botanist in Cotterdale and varieties of orchid are worth looking out for. The forest is mainly spruce and managed by the Economic Forestry Group.

After about three-quarters of a mile (1.2km) don't miss the turn up to the right. The track, covered with buttercups and daisies, zigzags through the conifers to emerge on the edge of the fell. To the right is a bridleway back to Hardraw, a possible retreat in poor weather. Turn left to the Cotterdale coal pits. Notice the tall beacon of Long Gill on the horizon and the cairn on the right. It is the cairn that you must aim for later. The track curves to the right and peters out among the spoil heaps, where you can still pick up small lumps of coal. The coal seam is the Tan Hill Coal, which further north reaches a maximum thickness of three feet six inches (1.1m).

From the coal pits, make for the cairn on the horizon (not always visible) straight up onto the shoulder of Shunner Fell and the line of the Pennine Way. The cairn is named Crag End Beacon and the original structure is now just a pile of stones. From it you can see the summit cairn and over to the right a small forest of beacons. It has been suggested that during the Scottish raids such beacons were built to look like armies of Yorkshiremen ready to fend off any attack. Among the moorland birds is the golden plover, and you may also hear or see the skylark, curlew, meadow pipit and kestrel. The short-eared owl frequents the Pennine Way in the early morning, before the walkers arrive.

It is just over a mile to the top (1.8km), and a little way up the track the bright little flowers of water crowfoot grow in a watery hollow in the peat. The walk to the top is exhilarating, and at an altitude of 2,340 feet (716m) the summit of Great Shunner Fell is the highest point in Wensleydale. The triangulation pillar is built of stone rather than the usual concrete and the view from it is quite magnificent. To the west, the Lake District hills are visible, with the Howgills in the middle distance. To the right of the Eden Valley is the scarp edge of the Pennines, with Cross Fell the highest point. Nine Standards Rigg lies six miles (9km) to the north, and the road up to Tan Hill can be seen to the right of it. You can see into Swaledale, though a better view can be obtained by walking another half mile (800m) along the ridge. Lovely Seat is only two miles (3km) away, then Buckden Pike, and the Three Peaks - Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside - lie to the south.

Follow the well-marked route of the Pennine Way all the way down to Hardraw. First, retrace your steps to Crag End Beacon then, after crossing a boggy area and just before the pea. hags, look out for chunks of whitish rock to the right of the path. (A streamlet and small gully starts down to the right from this point.) The rock looks rather like a limestone pavement, but is in fact is a pure quartz rock known as gannister. It contains wonderful examples of the fossil root Stigmaria. They are covered with rootlets which leave rows of dots, and the rootlets can be seen in section, penetrating through the rock. Gannister is extremely hard and represents a fossil soil where everything has been washed out of it, leaving pure silica sand. These roots belonged to coal forest trees which form a thin coal seam above the gannister.

Pass the peat hags, through the cotton grass and mat grass, an area of old coal pits (the Tan Hill coal again) and through the millstone grit (notice the white quartz pebbles in the rock); then through the beds of limestone and chert (evidence of quarrying) down to the walled lane. This is where you rejoin the route which began the walk and returns you to Hardraw village.

From Walks Around Coniston & Hawkshead by Mary Welsh

The information given in this walk has been provided in good faith and is intended only as a general guide. Whilst all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that details were correct at the time of publication, the author and Country Publications Ltd cannot accept any responsibility for inaccuracies. It is the responsibility of individuals undertaking outdoor activities to approach the activity with caution and, especially if inexperienced, to do so under appropriate supervision. The activity described in this walk is strenuous and individuals should ensure that they are suitably fit before embarking upon it. They should carry the appropriate equipment and maps, be properly clothed and have adequate footwear. They should also take note of weather conditions and forecasts, and leave notice of their intended route and estimated time of return.