The Bridge Inn, Grinton – Reeth Bridge loop from Grinton

Hiking trails & Routes

United Kingdom

England

Yorkshire And The Humber

North Yorkshire

Richmondshire

Grinton

The Bridge Inn, Grinton – Reeth Bridge loop from Grinton

Moderate

4.9

(12)

hikers

The Bridge Inn, Grinton – Reeth Bridge loop from Grinton

02:33

9.74km

70m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily walkable paths. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: August 13, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Yorkshire Dales National Park

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

165 m

Scabba Wath Bridge

Highlight • Bridge

Scabba Wath used to be a ford, which was then replaced by this bridge. It's known locally as Whita Bridge. The name Scabba Wath is only partly understood: while "wath" is Old Norse for "a ford", "scabba" is more mysterious and no one really knows what it is to indicate.

Just off the road here, to the west, a few yards from the bridge, are the remains of the How Hill hillfort, visible in the ground, which is where there is a good place for a food stop or a longer rest next to the pleasant murmur of the River Swale's waters.

Tip by

3.82 km

Fallen Scar

Forest

4.64 km

Grinton Forest Church

Highlight • Religious Site

Grinton St. Andrew's Church is known as “The Cathedral of the Dales” because for centuries it was the only parish church in Upper Swaledale, receiving the dead carried for miles along the old Corpse Way. Inside, it preserves rare historic features, including a chained Bible, a Jacobean pulpit, and a hagioscope (or “leper’s squint”) cut through the wall.

Tip by

4.73 km

The Bridge Inn, Grinton

Highlight • Pub

5.74 km

Stone Bridge Picnic Spot

Highlight • Bridge

There are nice cafes very close by in Grinton & Reeth. If the weather is fine however a picnic can be a great alternative.

Tip by

5.78 km

Reeth Bridge

Highlight • River

The stone bridge is a Grade II listed structure and one of the key historic crossings of the River Swale, linking Reeth with Grinton and the old Corpse Way route. Despite its modest size, it has survived multiple major Swaledale floods, making it one of the more quietly resilient pieces of infrastructure in the dale.

Tip by

6.05 km

Limestone Café

Highlight • Cafe

6.15 km

Reeth Evangelical Congregational Church

Highlight • Other

The church was built in the 1860s. The building originally had a stone cross on the point of the roof above the entrance, but this fell during a great storm of 1893. The external clock was installed in 1903, paid for by public subscription as it was to be of benefit to the whole village.

Tip by

8.09 km

Stepping Stones Across the River Swale

Highlight • Structure

A useful set of stones here to enable you to cross the river. Obviously, after rain and certainly if the river is in spate, you will not be able to cross as the stones will be submerged underwater.

Tip by

9.74 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

3.93 km

3.49 km

2.18 km

160 m

< 100 m

Surfaces

2.16 km

2.03 km

1.50 km

1.37 km

1.20 km

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Today

Friday 6 November

8°C

5°C

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Comments

March 3, 2025,Yorkshire Dales - Swaledale Walk with Jackie: Reeth, Grinton and the River Swale

After a really nice overnight stay at Britains highest Inn - the Tan Hill, it was another little saunter around Swaledale after breakfast along the river, this time from Reeth. Quite cool and breezy but, as yesterday, beautiful scenery. I'll be back over this way again soon with the bike!