Muker Meadows in Swaledale

Swaledale is a pretty special place for me. Working in Richmond, I often see walkers when I stop for a coffee before work, knowing that most of them are well into their Coast To Coast adventures. Heading further up into Swaledale you go though some spectactular places - Reeth, Gunnerside and Muker are all great starting points for walks.

We recently had visitors and so we decided to head over to Muker to have a look around the village and the wild flower meadows that you cross when heading up on the paths towards Keld.

After the long cold Winter that we had,it will be a while yet until the meadows are in bloom, but here Swaledale is really spectacular as it gets gradually narrower as it heads towards Keld. This is also where two walking legends cross - the Coast To Coast and Pennine Way routes cross just a short distance to the north of the village.

Our plan for the day was to take in a number of Dales sights - a drive across the Buttertubs Pass, visit to the Wensleydale creamery and a whistle stop tour of Leyburn, so our walk was just a quick one here. Despite the sun being out, it was pretty cold and at one moment it even started to snow - not what you expect from late April!

But whatever the weather, this is a spectacular location looks great at any time, with the meadows, barns, stone walls and the hills creating a fantastic surrounding.