Length: 2.5 miles. Height change: 330ft. Time: 51min.
This is a short walk which can be enjoyed even when the weather is a bit iffy and in summer is great for children to play in the river. What’s more you can use the walk as a justification to buy an ice cream from the excellent Ice Cream Parlour just of Reeth green. Alternatively, you can finish at one of the excellent cafes or pubs in Reeth. See our Top Tips for our personal favourites.
So, the walk… it starts on Reeth Green and takes the back road from where you will descend onto the flood plain where the river forms an Oxbow and depending upon recent water flow there might even be an Oxbow lake, but it changes from year to year. You then head over to the Swing Bridge which you will cross. The bridge was recently rebuilt after a flood destroyed it – the Swale is one of the fastest spate rivers in the UK and after very heavy rain, you might be lucky to see a flood bore, although you would want to be on high ground! After crossing the river, turn left and follow the path across the field and the up a track which follows the field boundaries until Swale Hall Lane. It is then a quick walk into Grinton. Do look inside the church and if it is a hot day, there is always the Bridge Inn. The walk then takes you back across the river and through fields by-passing Fremington, before turning left along the road, over the Arkle Beck and back into Reeth. A short but perfectly formed walk.