The Dales Way - Station Inn, Ribblehead to Dent (10 miles)

After breakfast at the Station Inn we set off at 09:30 on a lovely, sunny day which wasn't too warm and very pleasant.
First we had to retrace our route back the mile and a half or so along the road to rejoin the Dales Way. We had been eating breakfast with three other groups of two who were also walking the Dales Way and were staying at the Station Inn.

 Ribblehead Viaduct with Whernside Behind

We rejoined the Dales Way which flowed a farm track past two farmhouses, then uphill and around the back of one of them with increasing views back towards Ingleborough and also Pen-y-Ghent.
The route crossed a couple of miles of typical gritstone moorland with the song of skylarks and curlews accompanying us with fields of buttercups and other wild flowers.

 Fields of Buttercups

 Wild Flowers

We reached a minor road which went downhill to pass beneath one of the arches of Dent Head Viaduct which like the one at Ribblehead, carries the Settle - Carlisle Railway. Dent Head Viaduct is in a more picturesque setting in a small valley with some trees and pastureland. There is also an ancient packhorse bridge beneath the highest arch.

 Dent Head Viaduct

 Ancient Pack Horse Bridge beneath the Viaduct

We walked along the quiet minor road for a few miles with the River Dee alongside, which was mostly flat limestone bedding with very little or no water at all. We were now in Dentdale which is mostly pastureland with fields and fields of hay meadows full of a variety of wild flowers. These are mainly buttercups so the meadows are an ocean of bright yellow.

 Karen and Chicken

We sat on a bridge parapet by Stonehouse Farm while Karen had a sandwich and were accompanied by a hen hoping for a free feed!
While we were waiting there, an older couple, who we had seen at the Station Inn, came walking past. We were to leapfrog each other on our way to Dent as rest stops were made.

 Lunch stop

Continuing on our way, we finally were back off the road and into pastureland until we reached a road bridge. Another stretch of quiet minor road followed, thankfully a lot shorter, leading to a recently felled wood. We stopped in the shade of some trees just before this wood with wise views back along the way we had come and had our lunch keeping an eye out for any more irate farmers but yesterday's incident proved to be a one-off.
After lunch we crossed the area of stumps of felled trees, already planted with a mixture of saplings to regenerate the wood, and then followed a series of meadows interspersed with short sections of farm tracks until we arrived back on the minor road once more.

 Dead Moles on a gate. Left by the Mole Catcher to show the Farmer he had done his work!

We were only supposed to walk along a short stretch of road and then follow a footpath to the right which should have brought us to a ravine called Lenny's Leap which has a usually dry resurgence cave but didn't see any signs and up to this point the route had been well sign-posted.
Thinking we must have missed the footpath as we had been on the road for a lot longer than expected, we saw one of the couples of walkers from the Station Inn walking towards us and at the same time spotted a footpath sign pointing to the right.
The couple, who sounded Dutch, told us that we had missed the earlier footpath but this one would get us to the same place a little further along the Dales Way. The sign said it was the way to Tommy Bridge. The correct footpath would have taken us to Lenny's Leap and then across the River Dee by Nelly's Bridge. The route would then have followed the opposite side of the river for about a third of a mile to re-cross the river by using Tommy Bridge. So, in effect we hadn't made the route any shorter or longer, just a bit longer on the road than necessary.

 Hay Making

Looking on the map, we had almost reached Whernside Manor which used to be a caving centre at one time. As we started down the footpath to Tommy Bridge, we heard the Dutch couple telling the other older couple who were just behind us about missing the correct path as well. The footpath sign for the path to Lenny's leap must either either be missing or well hidden.
On reaching Tommy Bridge we stayed on the same side of the river and followed the footpath signs across a large field away from the Dee and then downhill to a road and a bridge crossing Deepdale Beck.
A hundred yards down this minor road brought us to a footpath sign and a worn path along field edges next to the Beck. Again, the water appeared and disappeared. Soon we came the the confluence with the Dee where there was a large stagnant-looking pool with loads of small fish which were swimming around and crowding like hungry piranha around any insects landing on the water.
Just there the gap between the field fence and the river was wider than it had been and the two of us sat for a few minutes on the riverbank which was about 10 foot high and faced with drystone walling just above the pool. Karen was dropping pieces of bread from her remaining half a sandwich and giggling as the hungry fish swarmed around each piece and grabbed it. As we were doing this, the older couple passed us again on their way to Dent where they were hoping to get some soup at a tea shop before continuing onwards to their stopover place at Sedbergh.

 Cobbled Street in Dent Village

We finished feeding the fish and shouldered our rucksacks for the last little bit to Dent, arriving at the Sun Inn at 15:45. Joy of joys, it had a sign outside proclaiming a “Football Free Pub”. So we would be spared yet more World Cup television!

 The Sun Inn, Dent

Dent Church