Hawes to Thwaite
1 SD871898 From the Crown Inn, go east along the main road bearing left through a one-way system. Just before this ends, turn left at a road junction towards Hardraw, soon crossing a humpback bridge over the former railway. Cross a side road leading to a business park, then go through a kissing gate onto a flagstone-lined footpath through a field towards Haylands Bridge.
2 SD875902 Emerge onto a country lane, heading left along this to cross the River Ure. Take the second footpath to Hardraw, which comes just after the road starts climbing. This initially runs alongside a wall to the left, then follow the flagstones across fields to emerge on a stone driveway at the edge of Hardraw. Follow this out to a lane, emerging opposite the Green Dragon Inn.
3 SD867912 It’s worth a short detour here, up the pub driveway to the café/ waterfall entrance (NB opens at 10am, £2.50pp). There are two walks, one to Hardraw Force waterfall, one up onto the ‘top’.
4 SD869916 Return back through the café and down the driveway of the pub. Head west along the road and cross the river. Just past the Old School bunkhouse, take a bridleway right up a stony lane towards Thwaite. This walled-in green lane leads all the way to access land.
5 SD857921 Just after 5 a gate into access land, stay left to remain on the Pennine Way (not the Pennine Bridleway which forks off right), following a stone vehicle track up through former quarries onto Hearne Top.
6 SD847932 Pass through a gate into the High Abbotside estate – where if you’re lucky you might catch a glimpse of the rare and endangered black grouse which has returned since habitat restoration by the current owners. The path bends left past a ruined sheepfold, then 50m later forks right off the main vehicle track onto a grassy track. You now keep to the rough ridgeline of the broad grassy slopes.
Stone flags fade to bog and navigation could be challenging in low visibility until the flags return again near Hummsett Crags. Look to your left to see a beacon – looking like one of the Nine Standards (of the nearby Nine Standards Rigg) has gone walkabout!
7 SD843956 A large cairn atop Crag End Beacon leads to another section where the path fades briefly (about 100m) over a flatter plateau-like area. At the top of Hearn Head, a steeper climb rises up beside a stream line to the summit plateau of Great Shunner Fell. The stone flags lead across the boggy springline, peat haggs and drier grassy top to a stile and then the summit shelter.
8 SD848972 The stone flags continue on the far side of the summit. Pass through a gate in a wire fence, then descend the awkward stone path to a lower plateau. Stone flags lead down a series of terraces, passing a large tarn then a tall cairn.
SD853979 Keep following the flags as they descend through undulating and sometimes boggy peat haggs. The path abruptly becomes drier as it becomes a sandy vehicle track.
10 SD875984 Pass through a gate where the sandy track becomes a walled-in green lane, descending towards the lush green oasis of Thwaite and the Swaledale valley. This becomes surprisingly steep and sustained for a while, and filled with quite large rounded stones before easing towards a country lane. Turn right onto the lane and down into Thwaite.