The Herriot Way

(gentle music) - Well, my dad's love of walking started in Glasgow when he was a boy.

- James Herriot.

His very name evokes images of rolling green fields, endless stone walls, and farms bursting with cows and sheep.

The world fell in love with this Yorkshire veterinarian through his books that so beautifully captured his work, his family, and the stunning landscapes he called home.

They inspired the hit TV series "All Creatures Great and Small," and instilled a love of the Yorkshire Dales in people who had never even been there.

But he also made his mark another way.

- Something we can all share.

This is the Herriot Way, a four-day circular walk through the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.

And it's inspired by a walking tour the real James Herriot, Alf Wight, took with his young son, Jim.

- That's where I got the enjoyment of it, yes.

I went with him.

We sat several walking holidays, going around youth hostels and things like this.

- And people come to the area because of the James Herriot connection, and the walk walks in his footsteps.

- [Chris] Four completely different days await us.

Soft, grassy valleys, majestic mountaintops, windy moorland, and landscapes scarred by an industry that was once the lifeblood of the Dales.

- Can you imagine in winter, trudge up here, by the time you got to the mine entrance you're probably completely soaking wet.

A very, very hard life.

- We'll walk through history.

What is it that's unique about your front yard?

- Well, it's the fact that we have a hill in front of our yard, and on the top is a Roman fort.

- [Chris] And prehistory.

- They're going back maybe as far as four thousand years.

- [Lorena] No walk through Herriot country would be complete without visiting locations where the first TV show was filmed, including a rather iconic bed and breakfast.

- 80% of people stopping with us are "All Creatures Great and Small" fans.

- And that's from all over the world.

(uplifting music) - [Chris] This walk has it all.

- The history.

- The mystery.

- The views!

- Oh, the beer.

(indistinct chatter) - The people!

- The people are wonderful, aren't they, and it's just a special place to live.

- The Yorkshire Dales is my favorite place in the world.

And I've been to a lot of places in the world, and I keep coming back to the Yorkshire Dales.

(bright music) - Hello and welcome to Wensleydale in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.

- We're here this morning in the beautiful village of Aysgarth, the customary starting and ending point of the Herriot Way walk.

And for the next four days we're going to be walking through some of the most beautiful countryside in England and we want you to come along with us and share the experience.

- But first, every great walk in England has a great guidebook.

And we're gonna talk the man who literally wrote the book on the Herriot Way.

Nice to meet you.

Stuart Greig is an avid walker, a lover of the Dales, and an author of several guidebooks on long distance walks, including our companion for the next four days: "Walking the Herriot Way."

- A guy called Norman Scholes wrote the original guidebook using notes from the original Herriot walk.

I found the notes were a lot out of date and they were very sketchy in places, like we got lost twice.

Completely lost, I mean, badly lost trying to follow his notes.

And I figured I could probably do a better job than that.

I'd never written a guidebook before, but I figured how difficult can it be?

And it was quite difficult, actually.

(Stuart laughs) - [Lorena] Is there something particular about the Herriot Way that you think makes it special?

- I guess the Herriot Way is special inasmuch as it covers so many different types of terrain.

So you leave Aysgarth and you walk through Wensleydale, which is a beautiful valley with green fields and a nice river.

And the next day you climb one of Yorkshire's biggest hills, you climb over Shunner.

And the views from the top are incredible.

And then you've got the lead mining remains over, above Swaledale.

And then the walk over and through the heather and over the top back into Aysgarth.

So there's a little bit of everything.

That makes the walk special.

- [Lorena] Can anybody walk the Herriot Way?

- I think The Herriot Way is within the capabilities of most people.

Most people can walk twelve miles, but most people struggle, if they haven't done it before, to walk twelve miles day after day after day.

But I think the Herriot Way is a perfect leg tester.

If you're looking for a multi-day walk to cut your teeth on, the Herriot Way's perfect.

- Well, this is the first decision point.

If you want to do the walk counterclockwise, or "anticlockwise" as they say here, you're gonna go that way.

- But our guidebook and our baggage service suggests doing the walk in a clockwise direction.

So, clockwise it is.

That way.

(gentle music) Our Herriot Way begins with a beautiful walk through fields alongside the River Ure.

Passing the Ice Age artifact of Lady Hill, we follow a disused railway before our lunchtime stop in Askrigg, the TV location of James Herriot's Darrowby.

After a side trip to see the Roman fort at Virosidum, we'll amble through gorgeous fields, as well as a bewildering array of gates and stiles, before arriving at Hardraw, and its spectacular waterfall.

From there, it's an easy stroll down to our day-one destination, the market town of Hawes.

This footpath out of Aysgarth leads us to our walking partner for today, the River Ure.

Running the entire length of Wensleydale and then some, its name means swift or strong.

We'll see some of that strength in its beautiful waterfalls at the end of our journey.

(gentle guitar music) - One of the most distinctive landmarks on the Herriot Way is Lady Hill.

Formed by an Ice Age glacier, it's topped with Scotch pine trees planted over a century ago in honor of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

120 years of westerly winds have left them in a permanent stoop.

This is truly amazing.

We are actually in Herriot country, and you couldn't ask for a more beautiful day.

The sun is shining, the fields are full of cows and sheep.

- And full of cow poop and sheep poop.

- Ah!

But when you've been away from it awhile, you love the feel of walking through that.

- Hey, look what's up ahead.

- [Chris] Get with mama.

(Lorena laughs) (sheep bleating) Landscapes like these always seemed a million miles away for a couple of Americans like us, only existing in books and on TV screens.

Now, with the Dales filling all of our senses, it's finally real.

It's easy to imagine the joy Herriot and his son felt as they walked along this lush valley.

But we don't have to imagine it.

We can hear about it from someone who was there.

Before the walk, we stopped in at the World of James Herriot Museum in Thirsk, to sit down with Herriot's son, Jim, and hear firsthand about the walk that inspired the Herriot Way.

- It was 1957 or '58, and I'd be about 14, 15 years old.

And I do remember quite a lot about it, yeah.

I remember my mother dropped us off at Leyburn and we walked to Aysgarth, that was just the first little thing.

And then we spent the night at Aysgarth Youth Hostel.

Second day we walked from Aysgarth to Keld.

And I do remember going over the road from Askrigg to Muker and I remember the heavens opening.

And my father said, I do remember him saying, "I do hope the weather's fine up there "cause the views are terrific."

We never saw a thing.

(all laughing) And then we got to Keld and my father liked the warden there, he was a grand fellow, the warden at Keld, because he took over our boots and stuffed them all with newspapers, put them in a drying room.

And then from Keld we went to, over the top of Swaledale through Gunnerside Gill, skirting those multiple lead mines that are up there, and going down through back into Reeth.

And then up to Grinton Youth Hostel.

And then it was Grinton back into Leyburn, and my mother picked us up in Leyburn.

-[Chris] Where did your father's love of walking come from?

- Well my dad's love of walking started in Glasgow when he was a boy.

Because Glasgow was always, in those days, referred to as a dirty picture in a beautiful frame.

The dirty old city of Glasgow, and it's surrounded by tremendous scenery.

And that instilled in him a great love of walking, which he passed on to my sister and I.

- [Chris] If someone were to ask you, "Why should I walk in the Yorkshire Dales?"

What do you think your dad would have told them, and what would you tell them?

- Well, the main reason to walk in the Yorkshire Dales is that the walking in the Yorkshire Dales is superb.

(gentle guitar music) I think the scenery of the Dales has changed very little.

The roads haven't changed.

The stone walls snaking up in the uplands, of course.

But why people walk in the Dales?

Cause it's a beautiful area.

It's a beautiful area with a myriad of footpaths.

(gentle guitar music) - [Chris] Back in Wensleydale, our walk continues, as the maps from Stuart's book keep us on track.

He doesn't want anyone getting lost, and with this level of detail, you'll have no trouble at all.

- "Use stone stile in wall and into lane heading for big green barn."

Look, there's a big green barn.

Ah, our first glimpse of Askrigg, as the tower of St. Oswald's Church peeks at us over the rolling hills.

(gentle guitar music) And here we are, Askrigg, the fictional village of Darrowby in the original "All Creatures Great and Small" TV show.

(gentle music) Iconic locations familiar to millions of fans come to life before your very eyes.

(gentle music) Not the least of which, Skeldale House.

The TV home and workplace of James, Siegfried and Tristan is now a bed & breakfast, owned by Keith and Lisa Wright, who saw opportunity in the allure of the Herriot mystique.

- And we realized that the people visiting for "All Creatures Great and Small" was on the increase.

So we thought if we can get this building and then, if there's any chance we can get it renamed, then we've hit the jackpot.

And so that's what we did.

We were lucky enough to buy it and then we applied for the name change, and it became Skeldale House.

And we turned it into a boutique B&B.

- 80% of people stopping with us are "All Creatures Great and Small" fans.

- And that's from all over the world.

So we get a lot from America.

We get a lot from Australia, Germany, Holland, and then from further field, we've had Tasmania, Israel, and Japan, and they all come for James Herriot.

You only have to ask them why they found Askrigg and they say, "James Herriot."

- [Lorena] Skeldale's current owners even got a chance to meet its TV residents.

- They did a big gala dinner, recently, where they were celebrating the author's 100th birthday, what would have been.

And so we went to this very glamorous ball, and we had a Skeldale House table, on which Carol Drinkwater sat with us all evening and we met the other three main cast members.

So Peter Davison, Christopher Timothy and very luckily we met Robert Hardy as well.

Which were lovely because it was one of his last appearances, and certainly the last time the four of them ever got together.

So that were lovely.

- Oh, wow.

Wonderful.

- Very special evening.

(gentle music) - [Chris] They've got the right idea.

It's time for a pint and a bite to eat.

The Drovers Arms from the TV show is actually The Kings Arms, and has been so since 1765.

It's changed somewhat from its days of TV stardom, but it's still very recognizable.

And the food and beer are fantastic.

So good, in fact, we must pay our compliments to the chef.

Hang on, it's Keith!

You own not just one, but the two iconic locations in Askrigg.

- It's been amazing, really.

Part of it were, we've got Skeldale House, we thought we should have the Drover's, as we still call it.

But also it's a beautiful pub, and it deserves to be run nicely, so we thought, "Well, we'll give it a go."

And yeah, everybody that comes into the pub, if they're not from England and you ask why they're here, they're here for James Herriot.

(gentle music) - [Chris] Time to say goodbye to Darrowby... er, Askrigg, through what Stuart calls, "possibly the narrowest gate ever."

(gentle music) (gate creaking) - [Lorena] Heading out of Askrigg, we see the neighboring village of Bainbridge.

But it's the nondescript little mound just next to it that catches our eyes.

It's owned by Wensleydale farmers Mason and Mary Scarr, and it has a surprising bit of history to it.

What is it that's unique about your front yard?

- [Lorena] That's right, a Roman fort, smack dab in the middle of Wensleydale.

It's called Virosidum.

Built around 70 or 80 A.D., it was in use throughout the Roman occupation of Britain.

A model in the nearby Dales Countryside Museum shows us how it might have looked nearly two thousand years ago.

- [Chris] It's an impressive site.

The Romans would've had a commanding view of the whole of Wensleydale.

They lived and worked here.

This is what's left of a wall, the stones resting exactly where Romans placed them two thousand years ago.

Even this humble plinth has a story.

There's only one goddess I know worthy of such a place.

- [Lorena] The fort has been excavated multiple times, and Mason has some Roman artifacts to show for it.

- [Chris] While not as well known as Hadrian's Wall, Virosidum can still teach us a lot about the history of Roman Britain.

- [Lorena] When I was a little kid growing up, we never got to go on field trips like that, to a Roman fort.

(laughs) - [Lorena] You'd have to go a long way, that's right.

Well, we still have a long way to go to get to Hawes, so it's time to push on.

(gentle music) (sheep bleating) - [Chris] If you like gates, you're gonna love this part of the walk.

Whether open or closed, the rule here is: always leave gates as you find them.

All of them.

(gates creaking) (gentle music) Cows can be curious about walkers, but it's kinda creepy when they all stare at you like this.

- [Lorena] Our spirits brighten, as we get our first sight of Hawes.

But before we reach the finish line, there's one more treasure to discover.

Down we go to Hardraw.

Through what's called over here a kissing gate.

(gentle guitar music) - [Chris] This is Hardraw Force, England's highest single-drop, above-ground waterfall.

In the week prior to our visit, the Dales got a lot of rain, so the fall right now is magnificent.

William Wordsworth visited here.

James Herriot once walked behind it.

And Kevin Costner took a cold shower here in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves."

(water flowing) (gentle music) - Here we are in a lovely meadow of beautiful flowers.

But it's more than just that.

It is a hay meadow.

Hay meadows are usually marked by the farmers letting you know that's what it is and to ask you to please walk single file.

The reason is because all of this beautiful grass and the flowers will turn into the hay that they feed their livestock in the cold, dark winters.

And they want you to walk single file because if you walk side by side you're trampling even more of the grass.

So, when you see a hay meadow, walk single file and enjoy the flowers.

(gentle guitar music) These fields smell heavenly.

Fresh and sweet.

James Herriot had a nose for the smells of the Dales.

He wrote about it in his best selling book, "James Herriot's Yorkshire", an affectionate memoir of his experiences living in this beautiful county.

His son shares his father's words with us.

- [Jim] "A great wave drifting over the miles of grass, carrying the fragrance of moorland turf, wildflowers, and every growing thing."

(gentle music) - [Chris] We cross the Ure once again.

Tucked neatly in a bend in the river is a cricket pitch.

Hm.

Bad luck.

No cricket today.

(gentle music) At last, we have arrived in Hawes.

An adorable maze of streets filled with pubs, cafes and shops.

(gentle music) It even has its own Herriot Hotel.

Full up, I'm afraid.

No matter, a warm welcome awaits us at Crosby House.

(bright music) - Good morning!

We had a great night's sleep last night, and our Full English has us energized and rarin' to go.

- And we're going to need that energy, too, because today we climb to the top of Great Shunner Fell.

The skies are supposed to clear up and from the 2,300-foot summit, the views should be spectacular.

- I am so excited.

Let's go!

- Alrighty then.

From Hawes, we start with some leisurely field walking.

After passing under the impressive viaduct at Appersett, we begin a short, steep climb up Bluebell Hill.

Here we join up with one of Britain's most famous walks, the Pennine Way.

A steady climb soon gets us to the stunning views from the summit of Great Shunner Fell.

Continuing on, we descend into Swaledale, through the pretty village of Thwaite.

One last challenge to end the day, a climb up and over Kisdon Hill, before arriving at our destination, the village of Keld.

- [Lorena] This is a color that doesn't exist in your box of crayons: Dales Green.

The cool, wet morning makes for a spectacular picture.

There's even a little blue, a sign of the clearing skies we're hoping to enjoy at the summit.

This 19th century disused railway viaduct marks our arrival at the last bit of civilization for a while: Appersett, a hamlet of only some twenty-odd dwellings.

There's a short road walk alongside some very Middle Earth-y landscape.

A wonderful place to hear the sounds of the Dales.

(gentle music) (birds chirping) - [Chris] A map is always a must, because sometimes a signpost isn't very helpful.

- Whew!

We just did a really steep slog up to the top of Bluebell Hill, and now we're joining this path and we're going to head up to Hearne Top.

- With literally thousands of miles of footpaths throughout England, invariably one walk will overlap another one.

And that's just what's happening here.

Right now, and for much of the rest of the day, we're going to be on the Pennine Way.

- But, we're still going to think of it as the Herriot Way.

- Cheers.

(birds chirping) (sheep bleating) We leave Wensleydale behind, as our path takes us through the open moorland of Great Shunner Fell.

(gentle music) - The climbs up can be really tough, and hard in places, really steep.

So you're going to struggle a bit.

You're going to get winded a bit.

But eventually you'll probably find you kinda get in a groove.

It's just one foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other.

Baby steps, if you need to.

But you'll get there.

And when you get to the top, it's well worth it!

- [Jim] "One of the exquisite pleasures "of the north Pennines is passing from dale to dale.

"The looking back, and the eager anticipation "of the unfolding beauty to come."

(gentle guitar music) - [Lorena] When walking the wide open places, paths are frequently marked with piles of stones called cairns.

Just a bit of reassurance telling you, "You're on the right path.

Keep going."

And if you are ever in doubt about whether you're on the path, someone else's fresh bootprint can be a welcome sight.

- [Chris] There are two kinds of walkers: those who use trekking poles, and those who don't.

We love 'em.

They get your upper body involved, taking some of the load off of your knees.

And they come in very handy in boggy areas, as you poke and prod the ground to make sure you won't get stuck.

Quick tip, sphagnum moss can hold 20 times its weight in water.

It is not to be trusted.

Bogs can be a real problem.

Decades of walking have eroded many areas of fragile peat moorland.

Fortunately, some areas of the Pennine Way like this one have been paved with flagstones.

It's great for us walkers, and it's great for the land.

(gentle music) - [Lorena] Whoa, there it is.

- Well, it was a long, boggy slog, but we finally made it, to the summit of Great Shunner Fell.

- The weather cleared.

The sun came out.

The views up here are amazing.

Ah.

Look at this.

(bright music) - Now my father always had a love of high country.

He was happier on the tops than in the dales, in the valleys, the wilder the better.

A lot of people think it's bleak up there.

He didn't think so.

He never used to say, "This is bleak."

He'd say, "This is absolutely beautiful!"

If it was raining, which of course, it was awfully bleak, then he wouldn't say anything.

(Jim laughs) - [Lorena] The view from up here, atop the third highest peak in all the Dales is indeed beautiful.

Great Shunner is topped with a terrific shelter.

It's in the shape of a cross, creating four cozy nooks so that no matter which way the wind is blowing, you can always find shelter from it.

- [Chris] Looks like everyone's having lunch, so we'll tuck in, too.

- [Jim] "Sandwiches taste so much better "when you can look out on a sight like that "as you eat them."

(birds chirping) - Well, we just had possibly the best lunch ever.

- Mm hmm.

Tuna mayo and cucumber sandwiches- - My favorite.

- On the summit of Great Shunner Fell.

Oh, it tasted so good.

- But now it's time to saddle up again, head down this mountain, and the village of Thwaite awaits.

Let's go.

(gentle music) (sheep bleating) (sheep bleating) - And there it is, Swaledale.

Moorland gives way to a rough and rocky track.

Ankle support is essential here, though sometimes it's best to walk on the grassy verge instead.

It gives your feet a bit of a break before tackling our climb over Kisdon, which now looms just ahead.

(gentle music) (bird squawking) A road.

Haven't seen one of those in a while.

Our first Swaledale village, and a place Herriot and Jim remembered fondly: Thwaite.

- [Jim] "This is a typical Dales village "if ever you saw one.

"The inevitable humpback bridge, "the massive houses of grey stone, "the whole clustered atmosphere suggesting a nearness "to the head of the dale."

- [Chris] The village shop is a little gold mine for the weary walker.

They think of everything, including booties so you don't have to take off your boots while shopping.

Rest.

Get your bearings.

Top off your water.

- [Lorena] Time to hit the trail, though the path out of Thwaite can be a little hard to find.

Aha!

There it is.

- [Chris] The climb up Kisdon is a bit of a thigh-burner.

The footpath passes a rather extroverted cairn.

And then something unexpected, the path and hillside are completely pockmarked with hundreds of rabbit holes.

Treacherous footing for man and beast.

Y'know, Elmer Fudd may have had a point.

(birds chirping) (sheep bleating) Boy, that was a long climb out of Thwaite.

Ah!

What a day.

We have spent most of it walking the beautiful Pennine Way.

But now it's time to say goodbye to that path as it heads off that way.

- And we are going up that way over Kisdon to Keld.

(gentle guitar music) The walk across Kisdon is a grand one, with soft grass underfoot, and great views all around.

Take a look back.

There's Great Shunner Fell.

It's one of the most affirming things you can do on a walk, looking back to see where you've been.

(gentle guitar music) We're finally here.

In Keld.

We're spending the night here at Keld Lodge.

James and Jimmy stayed here when they did their walk, back then it was called Keld Youth Hostel, and it cost them 1 and 6 to spend the night.

- That's right, it's a little more expensive right now, but certainly no less welcoming.

Let's go.

(gentle music) (birds chirping) (bright music) - Good morning!

Look at this.

Isn't this amazing!

Yesterday when we headed out, it was dreary and drizzly and overcast.

But today, we've got this beautiful sunshine and fluffy clouds and there's little birds all around us.

What a great way to start Day Three of our Herriot Way walk.

- Today's walk takes us up into lead mining country, a bleak landscape that represents an important part in the history of Swaledale.

- All right.

So let's get going.

- Let's do it.

- [Lorena] It seems a shame to not linger in so beautiful a place as Keld, but Swaledale beckons, so let's take a look at today's walk.

We set out from Keld with a brief but scenic walk above the River Swale.

We'll stop at Crackpot Hall before climbing onto moorland that's home to heather and grouse.

Soon after, we're fully into lead mining country, passing historic hushes, mines, and mills.

The tour of ruins continues, all the way down to the smelting mill at Surrender Bridge.

We leave lead mining behind and stroll through the sleepy village of Healaugh.

After a quick reunion with the Swale, we arrive at one of our favorite villages in all of Britain, Reeth.

Immediately upon leaving Keld, we cross the Swale for the first time.

Like the Ure back in Wensleydale, tree-lined banks and rocky falls run for many miles along its picturesque path.

- [Lorena] One of the great pleasures of walking is meeting other walkers and their dogs.

Rosie walked like a seasoned pro alongside her two-legged companions.

- [Chris] Rosie has sniffed out something unusual, the rusting remains of an old tractor.

- Little gray Fergies.

- [Chris] Fergie is also a landmark.

This is where we turn off to begin our climb into mining country.

- Right away we come across a major landmark of this walk, the ruins of Crackpot Hall.

This site has been occupied since at least the 1500s.

The building we see is all that's left of an 18th century farmhouse.

The house is mysterious enough, but for decades, a strange tale was told about a little girl called Alice, who was said to be roaming around Crackpot Hall in the 1930s.

She was described as having a wild, chuckling laugh and had the madness of the moors about her speaking in a dialect so strong, it sounded like a foreign language.

But was she real?

(Alice laughs) - [Interviewer] So how old were you there?

You look about four?

- About four or something, or so, like that.

- A 2015 BBC radio documentary discovered that not only did she exist, but that she was alive and well.

Alice Harker wasn't some feral moorland child.

She was, in fact, one of six perfectly normal, happy children living with their parents at Crackpot Hall.

Normal, that is, apart from living in this remote and enchanting part of Swaledale, with this magnificent view to greet her every morning.

Alice, the last of the Harker children born at Crackpot Hall, passed away in 2019.

Something as simple as this, the remains of a stove, that cooked Alice's food and kept her family warm, transforms this crumbling ruin into something far more personal and real.

This was a home.

Alice's home.

(gentle guitar music) - [Chris] Next to the falls at Swinner Gill, we find the remains of a smelt mill, the first sign that we are now walking through Swaledale's lead mining history.

(gentle guitar music) This next section is a treat for walkers.

A vast, gentle moor.

The landscape, covered in heather, is home to grouse.

It also provides spectacular views of the Dales.

And if you look closely, you'll spot the summit cairn of Great Shunner Fell.

In contrast to the wastelands you're about to visit, this part of the walk is tranquil and unspoiled.

James Herriot would have been chuffed.

- [Jim] "The peace which I always found "in the silence and emptiness of the moors "filled me utterly."

(gentle guitar music) - Yesterday, we shared the path with the Pennine Way.

Today, we share it with one of the most popular walks in the world: Alfred Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk.

Alfred Wainwright was England's most beloved fellwalker.

His guidebooks to the fells of the Lake District, meticulously detailed and lavishly illustrated have inspired generations of ramblers.

But his crowning achievement was the Coast to Coast Walk, a 192 mile trek from the west coast of England to the east coast; a journey Lorena and I had the great pleasure of walking ourselves.

Generations of walkers have cherished Wainwright's books, including James Herriot.

- My father liked the way Wainwright wrote.

He used simple words in the right way, and his enthusiasm, my father thought his enthusiasm shone through.

His love of the high country and the fells.

- [Lorena] It sounds like what he liked in Wainwright is what we all like in him.

- Exactly, because his secret, a bit like Wainwright, his secret is that he uses simple words in the right place.

- [Lorena] Exactly.

- They're not difficult to understand, this isn't flowery stuff, James Herriot.

It's easy stuff.

Yeah, my dad would've loved to have met Wainwright, because they had very similarities, interests with the mountains.

And also they were both football fans.

Now one thing my father loved talking about was football, soccer.

So they would've had a lot to talk about.

- They may not have met face to face, but out here, where their paths walk side by side, I think an introduction is in order.

Alf Wight, meet Alfred Wainwright.

(gentle music) - [Lorena] As we leave the track, we see a telltale sign of lead mining, and one that has literally scarred the land.

This is a hush.

Miners would've dammed the waters here, then released them.

The resulting torrent would scour away the topsoil, exposing the vein of lead ore beneath.

The result: moorland forever gouged by rocky ravines.

(gentle music) Once discovered and mined, the ore would've ended up at a smelting mill like this one, Blakethwaite Mill.

(gentle music) Up on Melbeck Moor, the desolation is profound.

Centuries of lead mining have left an almost lunar landscape, a rusting, abandoned piece of machinery the only sign that anyone was ever here.

- [Chris] Another valley, another mill, and this one's a beauty.

This is Old Gang Mill, one of the best-preserved lead smelt mills in the Dales.

The process here was fairly typical.

A waterwheel here operated a bellows, pumping air into the furnace.

The incredible inferno would melt the lead ore, generating not only lead, but also poisonous fumes, which escaped via a system of flues and chimneys that extended almost a half mile up and over this hill.

With this combination of brute force and hellish heat, mills like these produced the lead that was used in everything from plumbing to paint, not only in Britain, but around the world.

- In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Swaledale was the largest producer of lead in the world.

Lead production literally populated the Dale.

Miners from all over Britain moved here for work.

Entire families labored in the production of lead.

What was it like for them; the miners, their wives, and their children?

We've come to the last smelt mill on our journey, Surrender Mill, to ask Swaledale historian and resident Helen Guy that very question.

- What was a day like for a miner and his family?

- So a miner's shift was only six hours.

Whereas up here typically outside the smelt mill on the flat ground near the river you had women and children doing all the dressing so they worked the dressing floor.

And they were outside in the elements for up to ten hours.

The miners, a lot of them had you know three miles to walk up to the mines because the mines were not in a convenient place, they were right on top of the moor.

And they would work for six hours and then they would go back to their smallholdings.

A lot of the miners were also farmers and then they might do some farming, they might go dry stone walling and certainly in the summer, they would go haymaking.

- [Chris] Mortality rate, health, what was that like for the mining community?

- Typically miners lived to be 45, 55.

And then unfortunately a lot of them succumbed to a certain type of tuberculosis, which is also highly infectious.

So there was one man who unwittingly infected most of his children and he had 10 children and a lot of them died from it.

- [Lorena] But the saddest price of lead mining was paid by the children.

Did children make it to adulthood?

- Not many.

Not many.

There was an awful lot if illness.

Doctors were a luxury.

To take a child to a doctor for any sort of a consultation it could be up to a month's wages.

So it was just accepted that there was a high child mortality rate.

- So they would begin a family, knowing that some of these children would never make it to adulthood.

- Yeah.

- How sad.

How stark.

- It's very, very stark.

And of course the women were quite often left to try to run the farm, the homestead.

So the women would do an awful lot of manual work.

- [Chris] Eventually, declining lead production coupled with cheaper imported lead, had a devastating effect on Swaledale.

What was once a hive of industry lost two-thirds of its population as lead mining came to an end.

- Some packed up everything and went over to America.

And they actually went on to establish lead mining over there and some were very successful at it.

But you can only imagine what that must have been like to just have to pack up everything, sell the meager possessions that you had, and just, like, hope.

- [Lorena] The mines and mills are quiet now.

Here are the only reminders of what was once the lifeblood of Swaledale, crumbling ruins, barren landscape, and an incredible stroll through history for walkers on the Herriot Way.

(gentle guitar music) Fields blooming with beautiful but poisonous foxgloves mean we have truly left mining country behind.

- [Chris] We are welcomed into the lush embrace of the Swale river valley by woods and green fields, the likes of which we haven't seen since Wensleydale, two days ago.

(gentle guitar music) Healaugh, our first village since leaving Keld.

Home to one of the nicest phone boxes you'll ever see.

Sad to say, but phone boxes like these may become an endangered species in Swaledale.

(gentle guitar music) (birds chirping) - [Lorena] Footpaths give way to back lanes, as we arrive at our destination for Day 3 of the Herriot Way: the postcard-perfect village of Reeth.

Considered the capital of Upper Swaledale, it combines town-like amenities, small village charm, and an amazing view.

This is why Reeth is one of our favorite villages in all of Yorkshire.

(gentle guitar music) (birds chirping) - One of the great things about this walk is at the end of every day, there's a pub.

- So let's pop into The Black Bull here in Reeth for a taste of pub life.

- [Chris] Pub is short for public house.

Much more than an American bar, the village pub is the social center of the community.

Villagers, farmers and visitors all share in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

David Whyte owns the Black Bull, Reeth's oldest surviving pub.

I've heard pubs referred to as the village living room.

- Yeah, you could put it like that, certainly.

You have certain days where you get a group of friends, regulars, who will come in and sit down and chat away amongst themselves, but equally they'll chat to any visitors that come in.

- [Lorena] James Herriot spoke so fondly of the Dales people.

What makes them special?

- I think first and foremost, they're usually forthright, they won't mess around, they won't fluff around the edges so much.

They'll be direct but fair.

They're always friendly.

- [Chris] Everyone is welcome at the pub, even their dogs.

- In the country, lots of people have dogs, people come walking with their dogs, and they're a big part of people's lives in the UK.

We even get the odd cat as well coming in for a visit.

- [Chris] And at the heart of every great pub, some of the best beer you'll ever taste.

David, something that I have always wanted to do and that's to pull a pint in a English pub.

- Okay.

- You think I could?

- Absolutely.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- Great.

- Okay, what do I do?

- So, if you grab a pint from down there, pint glass.

Okay, and insert it into, all the way, yeah, so it's in right to the bottom of the glass.

- So it literally touches the bottom.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- And a nice, strong pull on that.

(beer whooshing) - Ah, listen to that.

- All the way.

Keep going.

And then do another one to lay back up and start another one.

- Okay.

- And as you get towards the pint being full, start to lower the glass down, but keep going for now.

Keep going.

- Keep going.

- [David] There we go.

That's good.

Stop there.

And then just, keep pulling.

Some of it will go over the top, that's fine.

Yeah, that'll do.

Lovely, yeah.

And then, again just leave that to settle and that's perfect.

(gentle music) - A bit messy.

- Uh, yeah, a little bit.

- Oh, but it's beer.

- But it's worth it for a proper pint.

- Absolutely.

- [David] On an English pint you should always leave a head.

- [Chris] Uh-huh.

- So what they do, the head does, it protects the beer from the oxygen.

- And then the customer takes it away and drinks it.

- Yeah, absolutely.

- Well, I'll be the customer.

- Enjoy.

- Cheers.

- Oh.

Oh, that is so good.

And it's not warm.

Americans think English beer is warm.

- No, it's not warm.

It's all temperature controlled.

It's a nice cold pint... - Oh, that is magnificent.

- ...of English hand-pulled beer.

- Cheers, David.

- Cheers.

- [Lorena] Great beer, great company, the perfect end to a long day's walk on The Herriot Way.

(indistinct chatter) (bright music) - Good morning.

It is a gorgeous day here in Reeth as we set out for the fourth and final day of our Herriot Way.

- It's up and over wild and windy moors.

We're going to see ancient archaeology, even visit a castle that was once the prison of Mary, Queen of Scots.

We'll end the day back in Aysgarth, where we parked the car four days ago.

- Let's go.

I hope our car's still there.

Today's dale-to-dale walk starts with a gentle fieldwalk, before crossing the Swale on our way to Grinton.

Here we step into prehistory as we explore an ancient hut circle.

Continuing on, we begin our climb up onto wild and windy Harkerside Moor, with its glorious views of Upper Swaledale.

Swinging back around we make a steady descent through the hidden valley of Apedale, before Wensleydale welcomes us back with a visit to the historic Bolton Castle.

The last leg of our journey rewards us with the beautiful Aysgarth Falls, after which we arrive where it all began.

- [Lorena] Stone bridges like this one are an iconic part of the Dales landscape.

As we cross the Swale for the last time, its convenient nooks give us an opportunity to admire its tranquil beauty.

- [Chris] Just past the bridge in the village of Grinton stands the 12th century church of St. Andrew.

For 400 years, this place marked the end of the Corpse Road.

When people died at the head of the dale, say in Keld or Thwaite, their families had to carry them on an arduous 12-mile-plus journey along what's now called The Corpse Road, to the only consecrated burial ground in all of Swaledale, St. Andrew's in Grinton.

A short climb out of Grinton brings us to Grinton Lodge Youth Hostel, a 200-year-old former shooting lodge.

James and Jimmy stayed here during their walk, and it's from a spot just outside it where James appreciated its outstanding view of Reeth.

- [Jim] "I always stop at that spot "because it is the place from which Reeth should be seen.

"The cluster of houses in their encircling hills "is something that stays in the mind like a pleasant dream."

- [Lorena] Our walk into prehistory begins just south of the lodge, at an ancient structure called a hut circle.

But we need someone to explain just what these lumps and bumps mean.

Alan Mills is with the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group, and knows more about the prehistory of Swaledale than just about anyone.

- A hut circle is the remains of the round houses that Bronze Age people and Iron Age people lived in.

They're going back maybe as far as four thousand years.

The walls, there would have been some wooden posts with interwoven branches, and then you cover it with a mix of clay, often animal dung.

So that would be the wall.

You would put more posts going up to a central apex.

And you would roof that, probably in this area with heather.

And there'd be a hole at the top for the smoke to escape because you would probably have the fire right in the middle.

- [Chris] How far back does human occupation go here?

- There is evidence that around 6,000 BC, there were Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in the area.

There are finds of, lithic finds flints, arrowheads, knives.

But population of the area didn't really start until about two and a half thousand BC.

There is evidence of the first initial settlements higher up on the slopes.

And then slowly those people migrated down slopes so that the newer settlements are much nearer the river.

So there's Romano-British settlements, earlier Iron Age settlements, and so on, down by the river.

So that's it in a nutshell.

(gentle guitar music) - [Chris] When walking England's footpaths, you might find yourself tracing the footsteps of people who lived, worked, and died there hundreds, even thousands of years ago.

So when you amble past some lumps and bumps in the ground, take a closer look.

They may have an ancient story to tell.

(gentle guitar music) Our climb out of Swaledale takes us up onto the beautiful and blustery Harkerside Moor.

It's a moor.

So guess what?

It's windy.

Very windy.

The wind tears across, blows right through you.

Be sure and wear sunscreen and lip protection, cause it'll tear you up.

- [Jim] "The farmers call it a thin wind or a lazy wind, "because it can't be bothered to turn aside "and just goes straight through you."

(gentle guitar music) - [Lorena] This shooting hut is the only building up here on the moor.

Stuart says it's sometimes unlocked, but alas, today, we'll have to eat our lunch outside.

That's fine, because the views are amazing.

In fact, just across the way is Mr Biggins' farm from the TV show.

(gentle guitar music) This crumbling structure was once a huge lime kiln.

Long ago, it produced lime for mortar in lead mining buildings as well as fertilizer for farmers.

Today, it's just a curiosity with a stunning view.

- [Chris] And speaking of stunning views, this viewpoint cairn marks what may be the prettiest view on the Herriot Way.

All of Upper Swaledale laid at your feet.

This sweeping panorama takes in the farms, the river, and a look back at all you accomplished yesterday.

- [Jim] "That quotation about not having time to stand "and stare has never applied to me.

"I seem to have spent a good part of my life, "probably too much in just standing and staring."

- [Lorena] Here's the part Stuart says causes the most confusion.

It's easy to miss, but at this signpost and jumble of stones, a skinny bridleway exits the track.

Follow this path through the heather.

It's a faint path, but it's easy to follow.

And this is one of your guides for this part of the walk: a grouse butt, a structure used by hunters while grouse shooting.

This is butt number two, so now to get to the next track, it's time to play "Connect the Butts."

I guess we just follow the butts!

(gentle music) - [Chris] And after eight butts, you're back on a track, the Apedale Road.

The path through Apedale takes you through landscape still bearing the scars of lead mining.

It's a long, bleak walk, punctuate by spoil heaps and the very occasional tree.

- [Lorena] Your turn south finally begins at a crossroads with an assortment of buildings called Dent's Houses.

This place looks inviting.

An outdoor kitchen, A spacious dining room, even a loo, which is very welcome right about now.

(flush) With soft grass again under your feet, Wensleydale welcomes you back with wide open arms.

Bolton Castle peeks at you from just over the trees, but to get to Bolton Castle the castle, you first go through Castle Bolton the village.

(gentle guitar music) (birds fluttering) - [Chris] Bolton Castle was built in the late 14th century by Richard le Scrope, who was Lord Chancellor to King Richard II.

The castle's current owner is a direct descendant of Baron Scrope.

While a prisoner of Queen Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots was bounced around all over England.

Six months of that time was spent right in this very room.

Now, she was a prisoner, but she was still a queen.

She was allowed to wander the lands around the castle, and be attended by her entourage of 51 knights, servants and ladies-in-waiting.

(gentle music) (door creaking) - [Lorena] Bolton Castle is not only rich in history, it also boasts a spectacular panoramic view of Wensleydale.

No wonder the original TV series chose it as the backdrop for James' proposal to Helen.

- Marry me.

- Marry me.

- All right.

- All right.

(gentle music) - [Chris] Just outside the castle is an unexpected surprise.

Here be a dragon!

In 2013, a Yorkshire artist called Andris Bergs saw something in this fallen ash tree.

With his chainsaw, he carved this, a wonderful sculpture demonstrating that in the age-old battle between knights and dragons, sometimes the dragon wins.

(gentle music) - [Lorena] Our Herriot Way is almost over, but the journey provides us with a glorious finish.

This is Aysgarth Falls.

Here, the River Ure tumbles over three impressive sets of falls on its way out of the Dales.

(water flowing) A tea room sits at the base of the picturesque bridge.

Ooh, a cuppa would just about hit the spot right now!

- [Chris] It's a peaceful place, where you can stop and reflect on the four days you've just spent following in the footsteps of James Herriot.

- [Lorena] But all good walks must come to an end.

The setting sun draws us across the last few fields, and into Aysgarth.

- Well, here we are back in Aysgarth, where it all began.

And we have had an amazing four days.

- We're ready to take off our packs and our boots and head into the Cornlee B&B for a well-earned cup of tea.

But first, we want to thank you for coming along with us on The Herriot Way.

- We hope one day, you'll be able to strap on your boots, walk through this beautiful countryside, and enjoy everything the Yorkshire Dales have to offer.

- Cheers.

(gentle music) - [Chris] What do you think about the fact that people want to walk in his and your footsteps?

- Well, if my father were sitting here he'd say, "I can't understand that."

Because he never really quite grasped why people were so taken with his writing.

But that's the reason that they want to walk, he's got inside people's souls, really, I think, with his writing, my father.

(gentle music)